Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot....

"Five months pregnant, on a flight to their "babymoon," Allison Pataki turned to her husband when he asked if his eye looked strange, and watched him suddenly lose consciousness. After an emergency landing, she discovered that Dave-- a healthy thirty-year-old athlete and surgical resident-- had suffered a rare and life-threatening stroke. Next thing Allison knew, she was sitting alone in the ER in Fargo, North Dakota, waiting to hear if her husband...

"People often do not avail themselves of hospice care available to patients and families dealing with terminal illness, because they don't understand what it entails. Many wait until their last few days to request this extraordinary comfort care instead of using the full six months available to them through Medicare and other insurance options. Demystifying Hospice describes, through stories, good news about end-of-life issues. Written from the perspective...

"A completely updated and revised edition that provides comfort, information, strategies, and advice for those living with lupus. There is no cure for lupus, so a diagnosis of this potentially debilitating autoimmune disorder is understandably disquieting. This new edition of Coping with Lupus answers all the important questions one might have and offers practical coping strategies to help those with lupus live their lives to the fullest. Dr. Robert...

"Care for yourself, while caring for a loved one with dementia When caring for someone with dementia, your own mental stability can be the single most critical factor in your loved one's quality of life. The Caregiver's Guide to Dementia brings practical and comprehensive guidance to understanding the illness, caring for someone, and caring for yourself. From understanding common behavioral and mood changes to making financial decisions, this book...