Up the Down Escalator
eBook - ePub

Up the Down Escalator

Medicine, Motherhood, and Multiple Sclerosis

  1. 325 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Up the Down Escalator

Medicine, Motherhood, and Multiple Sclerosis

About this book

A memoir of triumph in the face of a terrifying diagnosis, Up the Down Escalator recounts Dr. Lisa Doggett's startling shift from doctor to patient, as she learns to live with multiple sclerosis while running a clinic for uninsured patients in central Austin. Recounting before and after the discovery of her MS, she chronicles vexing symptoms while trying to be an attentive mother, wife, and a caring family doctor. 2024 Gold Winner, Benjamin Franklin Awards, Health & Fitness Category
2024 Silver Winner, Nautilus Book Awards, Medical Memoir Category 2024 Best of Austin in Austin Chronicle Readers Poll, Nonfiction Writer Category 2024 Winner, International Book Awards, Autobiography/Memoir Category and Health: Women's Health Category 2024 Finalist, International Book Awards, Parenting and Family Category and Women's Issues/Women's Studies Category 2023 Finalist, IAN Book of the Year Awards, Non-Fiction: Health/Medicine/Fitness/Dieting Category Facing the prospect of a career-ending disability as she adjusts to life with multiple sclerosis, Dr. Lisa Doggett is forced to deal with a new level of uncertainty and vulnerability, and the everyday fear that something new will go wrong. Taking off her white coat—becoming a patient herself—she confronts unimaginable fears, copes with her limitations, and sidesteps her skepticism of alternative medicine to seek help from unlikely sources. Drawing on riveting patient stories, Doggett reveals the dark realities of the dysfunctional U.S. healthcare system, made all the more stark when she becomes the one seeking care. MS pushes Doggett—a perfectionist at heart—to soften her inner drill sergeant and embrace self-compassion. As a patient, she learns to advocate for herself to ensure on-time medication deliveries and satisfactory treatment plans; to navigate chronic dizziness, relapses, and parenting frustrations; and to push her physical limits as a runner to go farther than ever before. As the director of a health clinic for the uninsured, Doggett's MS inspires an even deeper empathy as she confronts challenging cases, prompting her to work harder on behalf of those in her care, many of whom struggle with illnesses more serious than her own. This hopeful and uplifting book will encourage those living with chronic disease, and those supporting them, to power forward with courage and grace. It will spark conversations to redefine perfect parenting and trigger uncomfortable discussions and outrage about the vicious inequalities of health care in the U.S. Most of all, it will inspire readers to embrace the gifts of an imperfect life and look for silver linings, despite life's detours that sabotage plans and take them off their expected paths.

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Yes, you can access Up the Down Escalator by Lisa Doggett in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Medicine & Social Science Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Author’s Note
  4. From the Author
  5. Dedication
  6. Chapter 1: Mr. Sloane
  7. Chapter 2: Caring for Our Own
  8. Chapter 3: The Tall Guy at MIT
  9. Chapter 4: Worthy Pursuits
  10. Chapter 5: Striving for Perfection
  11. Chapter 6: Something Bad
  12. Chapter 7: White Spots
  13. Chapter 8: Where’s the Beef?
  14. Chapter 9: A Life Sentence
  15. Chapter 10: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
  16. Chapter 11: Sex, Drugs, and How ’bout Staying in School?
  17. Chapter 12: Out of Control
  18. Chapter 13: Diseases That Really Suck
  19. Chapter 14: Whac-A-Mole
  20. Chapter 15: The Waiting Place
  21. Chapter 16: Another Catch-22
  22. Chapter 17: Back So Soon?
  23. Chapter 18: An Ill-Equipped Life Raft
  24. Chapter 19: Sprouts and Eggs
  25. Chapter 20: I Didn’t See It Coming
  26. Chapter 21: Your Call Is Important to Us
  27. Chapter 22: Up the Down Escalator
  28. Chapter 23: From Clueless to Competent
  29. Chapter 24: Will You Hold My Hands When I Die?
  30. Chapter 25: The Renovation
  31. Chapter 26: Happy to Be Wrong
  32. Chapter 27: You Win Some, You Lose Some
  33. Chapter 28: A Little Bird
  34. Chapter 29: It’s Happening
  35. Chapter 30: A Pebble in My Shoe
  36. Chapter 31: I Never Thought I’d Leave
  37. Chapter 32: This Is the Way It Is Right Now
  38. Chapter 33: A Near Miss
  39. Chapter 34: Cotton Balls
  40. Chapter 35: The Finish Line
  41. Epilogue
  42. Acknowledgments
  43. About the Author
  44. Endnotes
  45. Copyright