Helpful Score: 2
Having also undergone open-heart surgery at a young age, I was surprised and affirmed to find several of her descriptions and feelings remarkably similiar to mine (and I would guess, many others who have had to face a serious illness). Although I did not have a transplant, I too am a 'chronic' patient. I can relate to presenting yourself as 'normal' when you are not and the frustration of the perception of others that down-play any seriousness of medical events that occur.
I think her book is enlightening in a broad manner, especially to those lucky and healthy enough to never have to come face to face with a life-threatening illness.
I think her book is enlightening in a broad manner, especially to those lucky and healthy enough to never have to come face to face with a life-threatening illness.
Helpful Score: 1
This was hard to read. Amy shows a lot of her agony, and I really didn't understand how hard life was for a transplant patient. She ties it all together well in the end.
Helpful Score: 1
What an amazing book, a healthy person never realized all the things a transplant recipient goes through. This book gave Any's side the of the story, the frustration, the fear, all the emotions without being sappy. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Helpful Score: 1
I feel cheated by the publisher notes and the hyper buzz surrounding this book. This was nothing more than a 300 page pity party that I would have declined attending had I known what I was getting myself into. The author is just a super spoiled whiney ungrateful hypocritical brat throwing endless strings of temper-tantrums. She is a "Karen" in (and out of) a hospital gown. While openly admitting flirting with the unsuspecting doctor trying to help her. She is more vain then Greek God Narcissus, (self described as more beautiful hen Roman goddess). While slamming her early physicians for missing the correct diagnosis, she fails to give proper credence to her failure to discuss all her symptoms, and follow up when new issues rise. Kinda hard to diagnose without a complete picture being drawn, which only she had the information and could do. It sounds to me that her physicians, while not perfect, were able to move toward a diagnosis as she shared more of her real symptoms. From my viewpoint, they seemed to realize when they were in over their heads and referred her to appropriate specialists: hard to fault them for that. No Doctor is infallible, but the majority does the best they can. Im not saying all Dr are perfect in most cases, as in her own, they seem to have done all the correct steps to identify and correct her problems. Her doctor's office tantrum told us volumes about her character. Her chart identifying her as "emotional fragile, noncompliaient" is very short form of the harpy from hell attitude lets loose where ever she goes. Shrieking at your cardiologist at first meeting that u will absolutely not take the only drug that he has to save your life because it will (maybe) make you fat, turn your neck thick and make your face heart shaped. And that the Dr shout take it and become a fatso him self! ... is not the best way to communicate with anyone, much less with a specialist that is trying to keep you from DEATH.
It's so much easier to point fingers and absolve yourself of any personal responsibility for your own life. She is ungrateful to the whole establishment for saving her. She wants everyone to pat her on the back at congratulate her for believing in her victimhood status. Not as a patient w transplant. But as a person whose life was ruined by the gift of another persons death. Not once has she considered that someone had to die so she can live. She resents that, and every Dr that had pushed this hell on her. She wants her before life back. Which is not possible. So she rages against her husband, Dr and everyone. Resentful bitter on top of all her other unpleasant Karen attributes. So she starts emotional and self harm black mail, I will stop medicating and kill this heart, and then you people will appreciate how hard my life is then. WOW
Hopefully the one lesson readers of this worthless book will come away with is the need to self educate and learn everything you possibly can while maneuvering through the quagmire of the healthcare system. Because it is a maze and not everyone is privileged enough to afford all that she has. Getting transplant and all this extra stuff cost a lot of $$. And dont get me started on Chemo. And if you assume I am being unfair and judging the author from a position of good health, be assured that isn't the case. I have multitude of serious issues. Close family have or died of cancer. Illness and death is ever more prevalent and the author wrongly assumes that she is alone and that her suffering is unique. But what Karens like her accomplish is that Dr get burnt out syndrome and they leave the profession, because they are tired of being treated like shit and on top dealing with hospital paperwork and insurance nonsense.
Lastly I want to say shame on Mehmet Oz, MD...the latest to attach himself to Oprah like lost baby...for tagging this book as "spectacular". His credibility is now in the toilet as far as I'm concerned. Its 500min of listening to a self entitled brat I wish I could get back.
It's so much easier to point fingers and absolve yourself of any personal responsibility for your own life. She is ungrateful to the whole establishment for saving her. She wants everyone to pat her on the back at congratulate her for believing in her victimhood status. Not as a patient w transplant. But as a person whose life was ruined by the gift of another persons death. Not once has she considered that someone had to die so she can live. She resents that, and every Dr that had pushed this hell on her. She wants her before life back. Which is not possible. So she rages against her husband, Dr and everyone. Resentful bitter on top of all her other unpleasant Karen attributes. So she starts emotional and self harm black mail, I will stop medicating and kill this heart, and then you people will appreciate how hard my life is then. WOW
Hopefully the one lesson readers of this worthless book will come away with is the need to self educate and learn everything you possibly can while maneuvering through the quagmire of the healthcare system. Because it is a maze and not everyone is privileged enough to afford all that she has. Getting transplant and all this extra stuff cost a lot of $$. And dont get me started on Chemo. And if you assume I am being unfair and judging the author from a position of good health, be assured that isn't the case. I have multitude of serious issues. Close family have or died of cancer. Illness and death is ever more prevalent and the author wrongly assumes that she is alone and that her suffering is unique. But what Karens like her accomplish is that Dr get burnt out syndrome and they leave the profession, because they are tired of being treated like shit and on top dealing with hospital paperwork and insurance nonsense.
Lastly I want to say shame on Mehmet Oz, MD...the latest to attach himself to Oprah like lost baby...for tagging this book as "spectacular". His credibility is now in the toilet as far as I'm concerned. Its 500min of listening to a self entitled brat I wish I could get back.
