It’s like I’ve always said, when you have a challenging question, go directly to the experts.  So when I had a challenging healthcare problem regarding my relative with the bagful of conflicting diagnoses, that’s just what I did.  I am extremely grateful for the variety of innovative, thoughtful and immensely helpful answers that you set in last week.  I’d like to share some of them with you today:

A palliative care consultation may be the direction to go, as it helps to clarify the goals of care, the practical needs of patients and families and the overall impact of illness. A palliative care specialist can be your loved one’s advocate in navigating the complexities of the healthcare system and in trying to make sense of the medical advice and treatment recommendations, all the while benchmarking decisions to what your friend defines as wellness and meaningful care….Continued

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I don't have answers but, I sure know what you are talking about.  Meds my mother needed damaged her liver, which resulted in all kinds of conflicting problems and prescriptions.  She has seen so many specialists due to her cardiac problems, anemia issues, high cholesterol, arthritis, hardening of the arteries in the brain - and it goes on and on...Continued  

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Your relative’s experience is not unique. We went through 15 different doctors in two years before my husband’s spinal cord injury was correctly diagnosed and repaired. The ‘best guesses’ we got ranged from multiple sclerosis to a tumor on his spine. Some doctors just gave up and said they couldn’t help him...which cruelly left us nowhere...Continued 

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Special thanks to Dr. Vicki Rackner who called to offer her personal support in helping clear through the muck.  

And my personal favorite from Jack:

Two doctors make a paradox.

Ain’t that the truth!

Congratulations to our friend Carolyn Haynali, founder of Caregivers Army for being inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.

 

Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com