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Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia

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Authors: Thomas Graboys, Peter Zheutlin
Publisher: Union Square Press
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$19.95~~
Buy Used: $10.89
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Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2

ISBN: 1402753411
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.1968330092
EAN: 9781402753411
ASIN: 1402753411

Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Minor shelf wear to cover - inside LIKE NEW - QUICK SHIP - MOST ORDERS SHIP OUT WITHIN 24-HOURS - SATISFACTION GUARANTEED !!

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
DIVDIVDIVAt the age of 49, Dr. Thomas Graboys had reached the pinnacle of his career and was leading a charmed life. A nationally renowned Boston cardiologist popular for his attention to the hearts Iand/I souls of his patients, Graboys was part of #8220;The Cardiology Dream Team#8221; summoned to treat Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis after he collapsed on the court in 1993. He had a beautiful wife, two wonderful daughters, positions on both the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the staff of Boston#8217;s Brigham and Women#8217;s Hospital, and a thriving private practice.BRToday, Grayboys is battling a particularly aggressive form of Parkinson#8217;s disease and progressive dementia, and can no longer see patients or give rounds. He is stooped, and shuffles when he walks, the gait of a man much older than his 63 years. Despite the physical, mental and emotional toll he battles daily, Graboys continues his life-long mission of caring for the world one human being at a time by telling his story so that others may find comfort, inspiration, or validation in their own struggles. BRThis is an unflinching memoir of a devastating illness as only a consummate physician could write it. One can#8217;t help but imagine what Dr. Graboys, the healer, would say to Tom Graboys, the patient#8212;a face-to-face scene imagined in this inspiring book. In his joint roles, Thomas Graboys finds a way to convey hope, optimism and an appreciation of what it means to be truly alive.BR/DIV/DIV/DIV

Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Painfully revealing, moving memoir November 28, 2008
By now what might be called the deadly-disease memoir is a standard literary genre: the successful, happy man or woman laid low by a fatal ailment, soldiering on against all odds. Thomas Graboys' new book about living with Parkinson's disease silences cynicism about yet another entry into the sweepstakes. Besides being a man of much more than average gifts, material wealth, looks and success, he writes from the perspective of someone whose entire identity was shaped by being a medical doctor, a brilliant cardiologist, someone whose life's work was to take care of others. All this is now lost to him and he admits, with frequently bruising candor, the emotional cost to him and his family.br /br /Dr. Graboys' particular case of Parkinson's, as he explains, involves actual dementia, and although the book was written with the aid of a co-author, nevertheless the signs of mental difficulty are evident in the short-windedness and occasional repetitiveness of the writing. Several dozen pages are devoted not to Graboys' own writing but to passages contributed by his siblings, his children and their in-laws, passages the author did not screen in advance of their inclusion. What would be defects in another book here are in themselves touching, clear evidence of the author's ongoing struggle to maintain some sense of self-worth and productivity. He does not spare himself, dissecting in painful detail the ravages his progressive disease, and his occasional denial of its seriousness, has inflicted on his second marriage. (He did not reveal to his spouse at the time of his wedding that he was already suffering from Parkinson's, and it is perhaps significant that his wife does not contribute any writing of her own.) By the end of this volume the reader is shattered, drained, but also moved and uplifted by Dr. Graboys' resilience and optimism in the face of the darkest odds.

5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring story October 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I was inspired by reading Dr. Graboy's story. The one thing I found disconcerting was his continued driving. I know he wants his independence but even if he drives only to two local places he could injure himself or someone else on the way.

5 out of 5 stars

fascinating memoir September 29, 2008
Fascinating memoir of the same illnes my relative is enduring. I intend to share this with everyone i know who has a loved one with lewy body dementia. We must all live life to the fullest now, while are brains are healthy. Dr. Graboys' story is one of how love and humanity are possible beyond that, long into this illness. Beautiful!

5 out of 5 stars

I know you, Tom Graboys. September 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Tom Graboys offers sensitive and poignant insight into a devastating disease that afflicts millions as patients, family and caregivers. Being married to a fellow academic physician, world renowned and respected, who suffers from Parkinsonism, I miss my spouse's wise counsel as the "go-to"- person described by Graboys, who continues to be a comforting, wise healer. This book fills that gap a bit by honestly describing the agony of the disease and how to cope with certain loss of self as previously known.

5 out of 5 stars

Considers Parkinson's from the rare vantage point of both patient and doctor September 11, 2008
Any general-interest library or health collection needs LIFE IN THE BALANCE: A PHYSICIAN'S MEMOIR OF LIFE, LOVE, AND LOSS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA. The author is both a doctor and patient, at the peak of his career at age forty-nine when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Parkinson's and dementia. His memoir is revealing and insightful - and considers Parkinson's from the rare vantage point of both patient and doctor.br /br /Diane C. Donovanbr /California Bookwatch

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