Lisa Goodman Helfand is a patient advocate and author of Does This Hospital Gown Come With Sequins?: (and Other Questions I Asked During My 218-Day Hospital Stay). She blogs at Comfortable in My Thick Skin. 

I’ve been on a ventilator before, so I’d like to sit this pandemic out

Conditions
March 19, 2020

I have bled out during emergency surgery and been revived by the expert trauma and transplant team who raced into my operating room.

I have had liter upon liter of donated blood transfused into my grey lifeless body.

I survived months on a ventilator in an intensive care unit.

I have had my lungs fill up with fluid, hurling me into impending respiratory failure.

I have heard the emergency team stampede down the hospital …

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I’ve been on a ventilator before, so I’d like to sit this pandemic out

Having access to health care saved this patient’s life

Patient
May 16, 2017

Now more than ever, health insurance is a staple story in the 24-hour news cycle. Opinions vary widely on the issue, as do politician’s thoughts on the matter. Debates rage, tensions grow, and deeper divides are formed as our government wrestles with this colossal dispute. Nestled at the heart of it all though is a basic question:

Is health insurance a right or a privilege in the United States?

I’m alive today …

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Having access to health care saved this patient’s life

Why doctors must learn from a patient’s perspective

Patient
March 23, 2016

On September 14, 2006, I was in the midst of a 218-consecutive-day hospitalization. What began as a scheduled C-section that April, resulted in a massive infection that nearly killed me. By Autumn, I was receiving physical therapy in the large hospital gym when I was raced back up to my room for my trach to be suctioned. This was not an uncommon occurrence. I was used to the process, and …

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Why doctors must learn from a patient’s perspective

Medical mistakes happen. It’s what doesn’t follow that is unforgivable.

Patient
March 4, 2016

38 states currently have an apology act. This means that if doctors feel they owe a patient an apology, they may provide one without any ramifications, if future legal actions are taken by the patient/patient’s family.

In 2006, I spent 218 days in the hospital after the healthy birth of my daughter. My chronic autoimmune disease, scleroderma, masked certain signs of preeclampsia, which went undiagnosed. This led to a massive infection …

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Medical mistakes happen. It’s what doesn’t follow that is unforgivable.

Nurses save more lives than opera singers

Patient
October 8, 2015

Since 1921, the Miss America competition has ignited public debate. Typically though, the controversy doesn’t revolve around a contestant’s attempt to convey the positive influences nurses have on their patients. Contestant Kelley Johnson’s decision to perform a monologue for the talent portion of the Miss America program was a surprising departure from traditional acts generally showcased. Her recent appearance in scrubs and a ponytail prompted ridiculing banter between hosts on …

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Nurses save more lives than opera singers

What you say matters: An insensitive comment in the ICU

Patient
May 26, 2015

Rarely are health care professionals given the opportunity to truly ponder a crucial aspect of patient care; the truth behind what it feels like to lie in a hospital bed, vulnerable, disoriented, and stripped of every basic human dignity. I have spent over 300 days as a patient in hospitals and more than three decades in and out of doctor’s offices and testing facilities. I have a profound respect for …

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What you say matters: An insensitive comment in the ICU