You Don?t LOOK Sick!: Living Well with Invisible Chronic Illness chronicles a patient?s true-life accounts and her physician?s compassionate commentary as they take a journey through the three stages of chronic illness?Getting Sick, Being Sick, and Living Well. This resource helps you focus on building a meaningful life that contains illness as opposed to a life of frustration and fear. Designed for patients in the beginning stages of chronic illness, this book will also be illuminating for caregivers and loved ones.
From the book: "I?ve learned that having a chronic illness is not a prison sentence. It does not mean I must spend the rest of my life feeling depressed and angry, locked away from the world inside my little sick box. It does not mean that I am useless and no longer have any gifts to share, but it may mean that I must develop some new ones."
You Don?t LOOK Sick! addresses practical aspects of chronic illness, such as:
- hiring a doctor
- managing chronic pain
- coping with grief and the loss of function
- winning battles with health and disability insurers
- countering the social bias against the chronically ill
- recognizing the limitations of chronics illness care and charting a path for change
In You Don?t LOOK Sick!: Living Well with Invisible Chronic Illness, you will find stories, dialogue, humor, examples, and analogy of the three stages to illustrate a challenging but navigable journey. You will also find suggested reading materials for learning to live well, medical Internet resources, illness-specific Web sites, names and addresses of national associations, and a bibliography of medical books by topic. The short chapters and straightforward language of the book will be helpful for readers who are weary and dispirited.
