Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia by Thomas Graboys, Peter Zheutlin

From the Publisher

At 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 and souls of his patients, Graboys was part of “The Cardiology Dream Team” 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’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a thriving private practice.
Today, Grayboys is battling a particularly aggressive form of Parkinson’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.
This is an unflinching memoir of a devastating illness as only a consummate physician could write it. One can’t help but imagine what Dr. Graboys, the healer, would say to Tom Graboys, the patient—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.

The New York Times - Abigail Zuger

Doctors get seriously ill just like ordinary people, and some of them never recover from the shock. If of a literary bent, they are often moved to reflect for posterity on this disruption of the natural order, detailing their former hubris and the enlightening misery of health care experienced from the other side of the bed. Against this generally lackluster collection of memoirs, Dr. Thomas Graboys's stands out as a small wonder. Unsentimental and unpretentious, it manages to hit all its marks effortlessly, creating a version of the old fable as touching, educational and inspiring as if it had never been told before.

Dana Ladd Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information - School Library Journal

Graboys, a top Boston cardiologist, devoted his life to his work and his patients. He was at the top of his field and was physically and socially active. At the relatively young age of 63, Graboys now finds himself in the role of the patient and no longer able to work as a physician owing to Parkinson's disease and an associated progressive dementia. Graboys struggles with tremors, involuntary jerks of his hands and arms, sweats, and cognitive dysfunction. Navigating new places or keeping up a telephone conversation have become challenges for a man who used to make complex medical decisions. Graboys describes how his disease has affected every aspect of his life: work, family, social, physical, and appearance. He also gives an honest view of how he struggles to deal with the challenges, anger, bitterness, and guilt he feels. Enhancing his memoir are segments from family members and friends. This well-written memoir of a life shattered by Parkinson's disease will give readers, patients, and their caretakers an honest account of life with the disease. Recommended for most libraries.

What People Are Saying

Timothy Johnson
"I was blown away. ...An eye-opening read. ...A remarkable book."--(Dr. Timothy Johnson, ABC News Medical Correspondent)

Jerome Groopman
"A powerful and poignant portrayal of a physician who refuses to have illness rob him of his dignity and joy. A unique and inspiring memoir that captures the resiliency of the human spirit."--(Dr. Jerome Groopman, Professor, Harvard Medical School, and author of How Doctors Think)

"Beautifully written, searingly honest, this book lets us see the impact of serious illness on a man who is both a doctor and a patient."--(Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People)

Details from Seller

• ISBN: 1402753411
• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Pub. Date: April 2008
• Condition:
• Attributes: Dust Jacket

Comments from the Seller: Good Some wear on the dj. A sticker on a page. Otherwise it is in good and clean condition.

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents