The Fight of Our Life book by Catherine Hawley
"I do not believe anyone enters the health care industry intending to do harm, but harm does happen. This book takes the reader along on our journey through the morass of the health care system and brain injury, although the facts can relate to any complex illness or condition, and even those which are-intially-simple and straight forward. It is a ca
utionary tale, sharing many very preventable and unnecessary pitfalls, and a beautiful love story showing the promise of what commmitment, dedication, persistance, advocacy and deep love can accomplish. Our world changed forever when I was unexpectedly thrust into the role of advocate for my husband. With no previous experience, knowledge, or education in the medical realm, I was the epitome of 'average'. I trusted that the medical system would take care of him, and of us. But that was not my experience. As I came to realize the absolute necessity of being -or having- your own health care advocate, the seeds for the writing of this book were sewn.
10 days after 'successful' brain surgery, complications set in . Four weeks later, the medical team overseeing my husband's care deemed him 'unlikely to benefit from rehabilitation' , and decided he should be sent to a nursing home. My husband was fifty-six years old. A virtual death sentence. It was my unwavering belief that their decision was both wrong and premature. We chose, instead, to return to our home and began our own amateur rehab program. This book shares our experiences, good and bad, successes and failures, as well as the new and very different life we were able to achieve together. In the telling, there are many examples of how others can develop their own home programs, but it also pinpoints some of the areas in which communication fails and mistakes are (accidentally made). And why everyone must be, or have, their own advocate to get the best care, options and results possible. Our story became more complex than some, but it is by no means unique. Even in seemingly simple cases, things can go very, very wrong. What you don't know can hurt you.
