7 Signs You're the Family CHO

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I’ve got a confession to make – I’m the Family CHO. And you know what? You might be, too. You’re probably wondering what a Family CHO even is. I’ll get to that, but first I’ll begin by telling you that the old adage “there’s one in every family,” applies here. Here’s how to tell if it’s you…

You might be the Family CHO if:

1. You have nursed your entire household through a nasty stomach virus in between trips to the bathroom yourself, because you have it too but who’s got time to rest, EVERYONE IS PUKING!
2. When you decide it’s time to switch to a healthier diet, everyone else in the house switches too, either by inspiration, by default, or by force of nagging. And if that fails, you resort to sneaking healthy food into their meals. Ground chia seeds in your pancakes, anyone? (Shhhh….they can never know.)
3. You make your significant other’s doctor’s appointments for him/her. Or, when (s)he finally takes the initiative to do it, (s)he has to ask you what the doctor’s name is again, and by the way, do you know the phone number too?
4. You can detect a fever in two seconds flat (and with 99% accuracy) simply by placing your cheek to a forehead. Take THAT, fancy infrared thermometer.
5. Over the course of any given year you will spend hours – hours! – on WebMD or some such website, researching symptoms that aren’t even your own.
6. You dole out vitamins and supplements like it’s your job (because, well, it sort of is now, though you can’t quite remember when that happened).
7. Whenever you start a sentence with “I read an article today…” your entire family lets loose an exasperated sigh.

 

Sound familiar? Well then, congratulations! You too bear the honored title of Family CHO - Chief Health Officer. And make no mistake, even if it doesn’t always feel like it, it is an honor. 

There are lots of things we don’t anticipate in life. Responsibilities we haven’t prepared for and roles we didn’t sign up for that somehow become a staple of our existence nonetheless. The role of Family CHO is one of those.

It’s a tough job, but it’s not the case that “somebody’s gotta do it.” You don’t. You choose to do it. You took on the title before you even knew what you were doing because you care, you worry, you protect, you nurture, you want the best for your family. Above all, you want to have the chance to make many more happy memories together. And for that, we all need our health.

So, now that you know there’s a name for it, wear the title with pride. I do. Like I said, there are lots of things we don’t anticipate in life. But the joy of anticipating what adventures are yet to come is what makes life worth living.

And you’re delivering that opportunity to your loved ones with every eye-roll-inducing nag, unwanted appointment and stealthy dose of ground chia seed. 

 

Laura Dunn is the Service Line Marketing Manager for Day Kimball Healthcare. She’s also a resident of Northeast Connecticut, a wife, mother and, of course, the Family CHO in her household. If you’re a fellow Family CHO, feel free to share and commiserate in the agony, defeat, trimph and joys of the job by commenting below, following posts at daykimball.org/FamilyCHO and/or subscribing to the monthly Your New Day e-newsletter. You may even pick up some new helpful health information for your family, too – word has it she’s got an inside line to the experts at DKH.