Welcome to Be Positive To A Plus...
Call me Mary. Call me Mary not only because Ishmael
has already been taken, but also because it’s my name. The tremendous,
overpowering and life-threatening badass beast in my life was blood cancer.
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) related Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) to be
exact. The fire in my belly was sheer determination, an unwavering will to
survive and a little Italian stubbornness thrown in for good measure. This is
my Moby Dick story. This is what happened to me once I reached the shore and
realized that I still had a jagged mountain to scale. This is my perception of
what has happened in my life because of leukemia and ultimately the need for a
bone marrow transplant.
Dr. Martin Abrams...
AML is a particularly lethal diagnosis, frightening to both patients and doctors alike, especially when it arises from MDS. Thankfully, in my career, seldom have I had to give such grave news and prognosis to patients and family.
Mary Teicholz’s story begins with how she discovered, felt and dealt with this threatening diagnosis. She starts out by telling us how the medical system failed her initially with improper communication about her diagnosis, but eventually came through in the end with a life saving medical procedure at a famous Boston teaching hospital.
I found it a warm, funny, informative story with many emotional ups and downs.
What is particularly enlightening about the story is how Mary weaves you through her inner feelings, extracting nuances that I found most interesting. Any patient or family member of any patient going through the process of dealing with a life threatening diagnosis should read this book as it will give you insight into what to ask, expect, and certainly not accept if the health care provider is not giving you the information and support you desperately deserve.
This book also deserves a place on the shelf of any physician in clinical practice.
As physicians we are taught everything we need to know how to get physically better. However, this book gives us the experience of the patient sitting next to us in the examining room. As we all know, as we age and need medical care, eventually we will all be patients, like it or not. It is important that doctors receive the best training to not only provide the best of care, but also the most empathetic care.
Lastly, I would like to comment on Mary’s struggle with survivor’s guilt. Why did I survive while my friend down the street or across the country did not? As physicians, we are often left with similar lingering doubts when we lose a patient. Why did this person live, and a similar person with the same diagnosis and prognosis ultimately die?
I remember the scene in “Saving Private Ryan”, at the beginning and end where Tom Hank’s character asked the same question. It affected me most dearly.
Hopefully we all live our lives so at the end of our lives, the answer is much clearer.
Martin Abrams, MD