I am a mother and I have 5 children.
When my children are sick I take them
to see the doctor and the doctor
recommends medicine. I buy the medicine
and use them. When my children are fine,
I put the medicine in the cabinet.

When my children have the same problem
later, I don't have a clue which medicine
to use for them. I can't read them and the
label doesn't have a picture to help me or
give me a clue.

I threw the medicine in the garbage. But
if I now how to read the label or the label
has a clue picture, I won't have to throw
away the medicine.

I hope that the health care system will
put a picture on the label to give clues -
especially for people like me who cannot
read. This will be a big help for my family.

A technician explained what a CAT scan is
really well. When I had it done, I wasn't a
bit scared. In fact, I felt great because I
knew what was going on.

Two nurses in our clinic always took the
time to explain things to me. They never
rushed me, but stayed with me until I
understood what was wrong and what I
had to do. I miss them.

My young son recently developed asthma. I brought him to the hospital the first time he had an attack. I was really afraid. The doctor showed me how to give him his puffer, the left me to do it. A nurse saw how upset and nervous I was, and stopped everything she was doing to make sure I knew how to treat my son's asthma. I liked that.

Sometimes I felt like I was batting my head against a wall of words.

Many times you don't understand what the health people tell you and you're petrified so don't ask questions. A lot of times you just stay at home with that ache or pain just because you're too embarrassed to go to a doctor.

A lot of times I thought, my God, am I signing my life way?

Learners in ACTION