“I think the tide is turning. This is a real win for us…”

Those were the words spoken by the President and Founder of the National Self Management Association, Dr Hans Onmyown when he sat with us earlier this week. “We’ve been promoting patient self empowerment for years. Patients need to be able to stand on their own feet, avoid lengthy and costly interactions with the healthcare system, you know? Daisy’s story is a strong indicator that all our hard work is paying off”.

The story Dr Onmyown points referenced was that of 17 year old scoliosis sufferer, Daisy Melancholy. Daisy developed a prominent scoliosis in her spine at the age of 13. It affected her posture and led to the development of persistent spinal pain. As a consequence she stood out from her peers, and was unable to participate normally in sporting, recreational or social activities. Daisy began being the target of ridicule and bullying at school.

The Good Health Tribune spoke with Daisy’s mother, Tracy, who was able to provide an insight into Daisy’s life over the past three years. “Daisy managed really well for the first couple of years. The bullying was constant but she had a wonderful Physio who really helped her to feel good about herself. The Physio was caring and supportive. Daisy looked forward to their weekly sessions. She always felt better afterwards, not just physically but emotionally too. She felt she could move a bit more freely, stand a bit taller, and you know just feel a bit more normal for the week”.

Tracy went onto explain that things deteriorated around the time Daisy got a new Physio. “Unfortunately her old Physio moved away! It was a shame because she really got a lot of value out of the time with him. We all knew that we couldn’t fix her scoliosis, but their weekly session helped her to better engage in the things she liked to do".

“Her new Physio took a different approach” said Tracy. He was really keen to reduce the frequency of Physio sessions. He kept telling Daisy that she’d be better off coming less often and that she should try to develop her own strategies to manage her bad days so that she didn’t feel like she needed to rely on anyone else to feel better. He also refused to do any hands on treatment with Daisy. Instead he just show her a bunch of exercises that she just found too painful and difficult to do”.

Tracy explained to us that Daisy eventually stopped going to Physio as she no longer found it helpful. And she felt guilty about not being able to manage her pain on her own. Over a twelve month period, Tracy noticed that Daisy’s pain was worsening, and she was becoming more withdrawn from life. “I remember the day clearly” said Tracy. I caught a glimpse of Daisy arm and noticed lines of scarring, some old, some fresh. I was horrified. Daisy had taken to cutting herself to deal with her back pain and all the other crap that comes with it”, said Tracy tearfully.

We asked Dr Onmyown for further comment on Daisy’s story. “Well, what more is there to say? It’s a great outcome for everyone involved. We’ve saved the healthcare system $100 per week. We’ve educated a patient in line with best evidence. And the patient herself is now managing her symptoms completely independently. Daisy and her Physio are to be commended.