When it comes to your health, don’t assume the professionals will take care of it.This is lazy behaviour and amounts to shirking your responsibility to yourself, and your family.I’m surprised at how vigilant we need to be in regards to our own personal healthcare in Bermuda. A few experiences this month really drove the message home to me.Each week in Body & Soul I feel it important to share one of these experiences with you, my readers.I’m doing so to point out the importance of being involved and advocating for yourself, of questioning anything that does not appear correct to you in short, of taking charge of your healthcare.I visited my family doctor with a list of concerns and he ordered a number of tests.Most of the tests were to be carried out by analysing my blood.The nurse at my doctor’s office, busy with other patients at the same time she was attending to me, neglected to tell me that some of the tests required me to fast for 12 hours.She did write the information on the form I was to present at the blood lab but I never read that.On the day I was to be blood-tested, I ate breakfast and 20 minutes later attended the blood lab at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.The nurse attending to me was preparing my arm to draw blood.She asked me to repeat my name and birth date, and then asked when I had last eaten.When I told her about 20 minutes ago, she immediately stopped what she was doing and explained that the tests required me to have fasted.I apologised and asked how many tests had been ordered and if all of them required me to have fasted.She said several tests had been ordered and only two required that I had fasted.I explained that I tend to be anaemic and hypoglycaemic and can feel dizzy after blood tests.For these reasons I said I preferred for her to go ahead and draw the blood for the non-fasting tests and that I would make an appointment for another day for the fasting ones.As she drew the vials of blood I closed my eyes and tried my best to relax.The needle hurt in my vein so I breathed deeply and reassured myself that it would not take long.And it didn’t. I opened my eyes when she was finished and pushed the small cotton ball over the pricked area.She placed a Band-Aid over it and I was done. She directed me to give a urine sample and left.After I deposited that sample I went to the reception desk to reschedule the fasting tests.The receptionists had not been informed that I would be doing this but they understood and looked to give me a new date and time.We decided on Saturday, May 16 because a walk-in service was offered then.I asked for the test form I had brought in so that when I arrived the nurse on duty would be clear on the tests that were outstanding.I was told that the nurse who had just drawn my blood would leave the form at reception.After I questioned if she was sure, the receptionist said if it made me feel better I could get a copy from the nurse.As I could not find the nurse, a receptionist went in search. She returned and told me that I did not need to come back, that everything had been done.I said that wasn’t true. She checked again with the nurse and returned telling me that the nurse had drawn blood for all the tests and that I did not need to return unless my doctor was not happy with the results.I was shocked and said so and also said that this action was sloppy.Fuming inside, I refused to meet with the nurse and instead told the receptionists to tell the nurse I would be reporting the matter to KEMH management, my doctor, and that I would also tell my readers.I spoke with Preston Swan, vice president of Quality & Risk Management at KEMH who said the matter did not appear to be a fault of any process or procedure in place.An investigation was conducted and before the end of the day Mr Swan and the investigator contacted me.Their response left me even more concerned than when I had reported the matter.According to the investigator, the nurse involved said she gave me three options when she learned I had not fasted:1) to return and have all the tests done another day2) to draw blood for all the tests, and if the doctor needed he would send me back and3) to draw blood for the non-fasting tests and return another day to have blood drawn for the fasting tests.My concern is that the second option the nurse said she gave (and I contend that she did not) should never have been an option.Even as layperson I can see that real damage could easily be caused from my doctor reading test results he thought had been taken after I had fasted.I may have been prescribed medication to counter a condition that doesn’t exist.Mr Swan and the investigator tried to convince me that it could be useful for my doctor to have the non-fasting test results and that he would be told they were such.But I’m convinced that this is just a waste of money and worse than that, a waste of my precious blood.Said a KEMH spokesperson: “Bermuda Hospitals Board welcomes input from patients, as feedback helps us improve our services.“We encourage patients to speak up if they have questions or concerns and to continue asking questions until their queries have been addressed.“It’s your body and you have a right to know. The goal of BHB’s Speak Up programme is to help patients become more informed and involved in their healthcare.”