Lesson Learned from My Father-In-Law: Trust, Faith, and Confidence

“Dad,” also affectionately known as “Woody”by his many adoring friends, is  my 91+ year-old father-in-law.  Woody, who lives in New York, traveled down here alone to escape the cold and enjoy our family in the warm sunshine.  Woody is an American hero and one of my heroes.  He is a member of the Greatest Generation.  He served this nation proudly as a U.S. Navy Corpsman attached to a Marine-division in the Pacific area during World War II.  Dad’s military service is one of his proudest chapters and he recalls fondly his fellow men who served alongside him and the trust, faith, and confidence they had to have in each other.  After Dad’s return home, he served our nation as a U.S. Postal Service mailman who carried a heavy mailbag, walked the beat of residential routes in Brooklyn, and knocked-on doors to hand-deliver a letter that looked like a college acceptance or first-time driver license.  He lived through the great Depression.  Through it all, Dad persevered and has a cheerful and positive disposition.  Here’s a lesson learned from my father-in-law and hero during a recent conversation about his health and his doctors back home:

“It’s all about trust.  If I have faith and confidence in my doctor, then I do what he tells me.” – Woody

Simple.  Lesson learned from my father-in-law and hero:  Trust, faith, and confidence are the essential ingredients to the doctor-patient relationship, patient compliance with recommendations, and very often – success.

Around the kitchen table, Dad told me about all the people back home he knows who are Coughing all the time and making such a racket that it’s sometimes hard for him to hear what’s going on.  He asked thoughtful questions  about Who has Persistent Cough,  Why they Cough, How Cough affects people, What I do to help, and the Results.  He also wanted to know more about the Clinical Research for new Cough drugs that I lead, and my teaching and training of other doctors across the country ato raise awareness about this under-diagnosed and under-treated medical condition.  During my explanation, Dad’s eyes’ glazed-over.  I spoke louder and asked:

“Dad, are you listening?”

Dad said, “I heard enough.  I heard all I need to hear to know you are the man I would see if I had this kind of a Cough.  I could tell you know what you’re doing.  I would trust you and have faith and confidence in you to make me and my Cough better.” 

Contact Dr. Mandel Sher: 727-393-8067. www.centerforcough. #chroniccoughsolution