"The Long COVID Survival Guide" (Fiona Lowenstein, ed)

TITLE: The Long COVID Survival Guide: Stories and Advice from Twenty Long-Haulers and Experts
AUTHOR: Fiona Lowenstein, ed
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: The Experiment, 2022, (288 pages).
 

It has been more than two years since the pandemic began. Since 2020, people around the world have become more cautious about face masks, vaccination requirements, handwashing, disinfectants, and many other healthcare concerns. Many have gotten covid and subsequently recovered. However, not all recoveries are the same. Some continue to suffer symptoms called "long covid." While the rest of the world chug along, those with long covid symptoms find it the journey long and often lonely. From initial diagnosis to constant anxiety about whether it gets better or worse, even medical professionals are learning new things every day with regard to how to help patients deal with covid, especially long covid. In this book, we hear directly from contributors who have experienced either directly or indirectly the challenges of long covid. In this book, twenty contributors share their stories. Sabrina writes about her loss of smell, headaches, stomach flu symptoms, and a sense of exasperation of not having anyone who could expertly tell her what to do. She tells us that there are a lot more nuances to know with regard to healing and recovery. Many who have struggled with long covid realize they are no longer the same persons they used to be. We learn about what it takes to be a knowledgeable, understanding, and supportive community. We learn about logistical and financial advice. We learn about symptom management, crowdsourced guidance, discerning the theories floating around covid-19, and a host of other issues pertaining to understanding more about Long Covid. Conventional words like healing, recovery, care, disability, patient, are all redefined under the new awareness of long covid. From a first-person perspective, we read about:

"Christianity and Modern Medicine" (Mark Wesley Foreman & Lindsay C. Leonard)

TITLE: Christianity and Modern Medicine - Foundations for Bioethics
AUTHOR: Mark Wesley Foreman & Lindsay C. Leonard
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (384 pages).
 

How do we make critical medical decisions that do not have easy answers between right and wrong? Do we accept answers just because everybody is doing it? In matters that do not seem to have clear-cut answers, we need biblical guidance. We also need trained scholars and practitioners to help us interpret biblical principles in our modern contexts. Authors Mark Wesley Foreman and Lindsay Leonard combine their expertise in biblical studies, bioethics, law, and practical theology to give us an updated resource for tackling the controversial issues such as abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, assisted suicide, alternative procreation techniques, genetic ethics, clinical ethics, human experimentation, etc. Calling it "Foundation for Bioethics," the authors narrow down these discussions to legal and moral implications for bioethics. The authors define bioethics as " the analysis and study of ethical conflicts and problems which arise due to the interrelationship between the practice of the medical/biological sciences and the rights and values of human beings." Bioethics essentially cover difficult and complex decision pertaining to:

• Life and Death Issues
• Clinical or health-care issues
• Medical Research
• Social Health-care policy

"Designed to Heal" (Jennie A. McLaurin and Cymbeline Tancongco Culiat)

TITLE: Designed to Heal: What the Body Shows Us about Healing Wounds, Repairing Relationships, and Restoring Community
AUTHOR: Jennie A. McLaurin and Cymbeline Tancongco Culiat
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2021, (272 pages).
 

There is much we can learn from the workings of the human body. There is also much that we do not yet know. This does not mean we cannot benefit from the knowledge available to us, the interconnectedness of the body systems as well as how we can use this knowledge to apply to human relationships. Learning about how the body heals gives us profound insights into healing human relationships all around. At the same time, their shared Christian beliefs enable them to relate to healing far beyond the physical domain, especially pertaining to the repair of relationships in a community. McLaurin begins with a dramatic retelling of a serious that happened during a family ski trip. Her husband Andrew was badly wounded and had to be rushed to the hospital. It so happened that the physical wounds coincided with emotional hurts arising from Andrew's work situation. That was a significant moment that motivated McLaurin to apply what she knew about healing to a societal level. Co-author Bem also had her traumatic moments when her husband Julio developed polycythemia. In the midst of her family struggles, many friends and fellow believers flooded them with multiple acts of care and love, creating an environment that facilitates healing and recovery. Going through the four stages of physical healing, a physician and a geneticist share their expertise and knowledge about how the human body functions before and after a wound, and how it heals. The four stages (overlapping but distinct) of healing are:

"Glimmers of Grace" (Kathryn Butler, MD)

TITLE: Glimmers of Grace: A Doctor's Reflections on Faith, Suffering, and the Goodness of God
AUTHOR: Kathryn Butler, MD
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers, 2021, (224 pages).

Faith and Fear; Hope or Despair; Health or Sickness; Life and Death. These are the daily issues that plague hospitals all over the world. As a critical care surgeon who sees patients experiencing struggles of life and death, author Kathryn Butler has seen a wide spectrum of human ups and downs.  As a Christian, she has also questioned why God had allowed people to go through pain and suffering. Where is God in all of these? What happens when one does not see the promises of God fulfilled in their lives? How do we locate our feelings in the field of grace? This is what this book is about. Seeing God's grace in the midst of medical calamities. Written in three parts, Part One shows us how medical situations could challenge our faith. Part Two looks to the Bible for insights into who God is and how we can find comfort in God. Part Three moves forward to show us how to live with hope based on the Resurrection Promise. 

Butler shares many stories about the amazing grace in the hospital room. She sees how a dying man was able to hang on to his very last breath until his wife arrives. She marvels at how one Christian by the name of David continues to minister to his Church members in spite of his health condition. She remembers a strong and independent friend who just needed prayer even in the midst of discouragement. She notices how the best of medical sciences cannot measure up to the miracle of God's design. God heals from the inside out and the outside in when humans can only apply a band-aid. Each chapter comes with reflections about various medical situations and assurances from the Bible. Readers can sense quickly that the author needs the assurances herself too. Recognizing the limits of science and medicine propels her to embrace the mystery of God's assurance and eternal comfort. Science might define life as a beating and death as flatlining. Faith enables one to go beyond these parameters into the mysteries of the afterlife.

"Ward Nine: Coronavirus" (Alys Morgan)

TITLE: Ward Nine: Coronavirus: One Woman's Story
AUTHOR: Alys Morgan
PUBLISHER: Cardigan, Wales: Parthian Books, 2020, (150 pages).

We are now in the second year of the global pandemic. Since late 2019, many parts of the world have been locked down, travel curtailed, and in many countries, the mandatory wearing of masks. In the early part of 2020, it was also common to see members of the public coming out regularly to openly support workers in essential services. These are the front-line workers in healthcare, people who face customers regularly, and those in public services who had gone beyond their call of duty to serve others. Most of us see these healthcare professionals and frontline workers from the outside. What about scenes from the inside? What about stories and perspectives that come from the patients of hospitals, especially in those wards that are focused on caring for Covid patients? This book is about the story of a Covid-19 patient admitted to a special ward on March 21st, 2020, and her 48-day journey to recovery.

Part One of the book describes all the activities prior to her entering Ward 9, the NHS Wales and Mind. It all began with caution. With impending city lockdown, public facilities like libraries were all preparing to close. People were told to avoid gathering in public and to stay home. The news throughout the country was about the lockdown. Soon Alys Morgan was working from home. Some people were panic buying. People were starting to wear masks when they venture outside. Ten days later, her daughter Caitlin got sick. Soon, Alys got the sniffles, which coincided with the British Prime Minister who was moved into the Intensive Care due to Covid-19. By mid-April, it was Alys turn to get sick. As her illness struggles linger longer, her daily notes grew shorter. Soon she had to be hospitalized. She has been infected by the dreaded coronavirus. Even in her weakened condition, she manages to put down her observations in writing. She writes about how she was admitted to hospital. She remembers the different nurses and doctors checking her blood pressure, taking her temperature, monitoring her overall health, and the presence of so many different medical specialists. It was a surreal moment when she saw her ward description: "Ward Nine. Coronavirus: No Unauthorised Entry."

"The Voices We Carry" (J. S. Park)

TITLE: The Voices We Carry: Finding Your One, True Voice in a World of Clamor and Noise
AUTHOR: J. S. Park
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Northfield Publishers, 2020, (288 pages).

Many of us have heard about the differences between the head and the heart. The former popularly refers to the intellect while the latter describes the emotions. Using the head means we let our thinking and rationalizing decide our next steps. Using the heart means we allow our emotions to lead the way. Truth is, we need both head and heart for authenticity. Instead of separating the head and the heart into two entities, how about looking at it from the perspective of voices that speak to us, regardless of whether it is to the head or heart? This makes sense because the line between the intellect and the emotions is not easily distinguishable. What is more important is how we listen to the voices, both from outside and from the inside. Author JS Park writes this book with honest inquiry and personal experience about the many different types of voices that come at us, both voluntarily and involuntarily. In an age of social media, we are susceptible to all kinds of comments, both positive and negative. Even the most well-intentioned posts could trigger a whole spectrum of criticisms and trolls. One may claim to communicate facts but others would be quick to clothe all kinds of feelings and judgment on them. External voices create all kinds of inner ripples, some good, some bad. The best way forward is to discern the facts, determine what's helpful and what's not, and to find our own voices. Don't cave in to lies.

"Ask Dr Tony-Answers Asperger's & Autism" (Craig R. Evans with Dr Tony Attwood)

TITLE: Ask Dr. Tony: Answers from the World's Leading Authority on Asperger's Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism
AUTHOR: Craig R. Evans with Dr Tony Attwood
PUBLISHER: Arlington, TX, Future Horizons, 2018, (200 pages).

It began with the website called "Autism Hangout" in 2006. The purpose was to provide immediate information on autism containing expert advice from practitioners, medical professionals, researchers, social workers, teachers, and experienced thought leaders. This idea progressed on to books and videos. One of the most popular segments was the interviews with Dr Tony Attwood, who was based in Brisbane, Australia. With close to 300 interviews, this initiative was very well received. Since then, the Dr Tony show has grown in popularity. This book is a transcript of the 2010 program called "Ask Dr Tony." Craig Evans is the interviewer with Dr Tony Attwood the expert authority on autism matters.

The book revolves around 17 top issues, ranked according to Evans's proprietary research in 2012-13. These issues are:

"Pursuing Health in an Anxious Age" (Bob Cutillo, MD)

TITLE: Pursuing Health in an Anxious Age (Gospel Coalition (Faith and Work))
AUTHOR: Bob Cutillo, MD
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016, (208 pages)

What is health for? With more advanced medical technology and world-class healthcare, should we not be happier people? Not really. In fact, there are some disturbing trends that are happening in our era. There are many top quality tests but there is a lack of accuracy in diagnosis. There are many different branches of healthcare but they are more fragmented than ever. There are also that disturbing lopsided orientation toward cure rather than care. With the experience of hindsight and the genuine concern for holistic healthcare, author Bob Cutillo summarizes his concerns and gives insights on what good healthcare looks like as follows:

• It must be scientifically competent and comes with well-informed choices
• It needs a measurable and efficient system
• It must include genuine care
• There are lots of areas that health insurance often leaves out, which means we need to taper our expectations accordingly.
• Politics play a big part in healthcare policies
• Healthcare must involve not only the curative but also the preventative aspect
• Healthcare also requires vulnerability and trust; and acceptance.

"Gifted Mind" (Jeff Kinley with Dr Raymond Damadian)

TITLE: Gifted Mind: The Dr. Raymond Damadian Story, Inventor of the MRI
AUTHOR: Jeff Kinley with Dr Raymond Damadian
PUBLISHER: Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2015, (240 pages).

There have been great medical advancement through the centuries. Sometimes, many of us have taken the advancement for granted, oblivious to the many years of research, hard work, and brilliance behind each medical procedure we benefit from, each pill we swallow, and each medical equipment we use. One such equipment is the Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment. From TV shows to real life hospitals, many people have heard of or benefitted from the use of the MRI to detect cancer or obtain some form of assurance about the presence of normal cells in our body. What about the origins and history of the MRI? Who started the whole process going? What are the milestones of the invention of this great device? Are there any controversies? Dr Raymond Damadian, a doctor working at New York's Downstate Medical Center in 1971 discovered how certain chemical signals in cancerous body cells react differently from normal cells in that the former contains more water. All it takes then is to develop a machine to detect the additional hydrogen atoms that linger in cancer cells.

"Hoping to Help" (Judith N. Lasker)

TITLE: Hoping to Help: The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering (Culture and Politics of Health Care Work)
AUTHOR: Judith N. Lasker
PUBLISHER: Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016, (256 pages).

One of the growing movements in the helping industry is medical missions. Whether one calls it "voluntourists" or holiday missions, the pattern is familiar. Some group from a rich first world country would organize trips to third-world countries to "contribute" and to do some good for the people there. This is especially so for medical related trips like "medical missions," "health brigades," "flying surgeons," or anything that has medical professionals flown in from the rich to the poor countries. In 2007, researchers have calculated about 1 million Americans have contributed 162 million hours at the cost of $3 billion into third world countries around the world. This figure is just for USA alone. This is not taking into consideration many other private and non-accounted for volunteering by smaller groups. Amid the big impressive figures, there is a growing disquiet among observers looking beyond the nice feeling generated by the huge numbers.

• About 50% of the money spent are airfares.
• How much of these money go directly to the third-world countries?
• Are the third world countries really that poor and dire?
• Are the people there as needy as the Western media paint them to be?

"Medicines That Kill" (James L. Marcum, MD)

TITLE: Medicines That Kill: The Truth about the Hidden Epidemic
AUTHOR: James L. Marcum, MD
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Publishers, 2013, (192 pages).

This book is a remarkable testimony of a doctor about the dangers of medicine. It is a clarion call to all to remember the wise maxim from Dr William Osler, who has said, "The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine." It is a reminder that there is no free lunch with regards to health and medication. What we put into our bodies do have side-effects and the more informed we are, the better it is for our general health. Writing as a physician, Marcum shares the many stories of how many patients have been more hurt and harmed, rather then helped or healed. The crux of the author's conviction is that we need to know medicines are not miracles. They come with side effects. The more aware we are, the better it is for us to learn not to put undue faith in modern pills and medications.

Marcum begins with a disclaimer, that he is not against medication, just against the blind faith many people attached to medicines. He calls it the "hidden epidemic." Whether it is malpractice on the part of physicians, erroneous labeling by the pharmicists, wrong dosage given by nursing staff, incorrect instructions given by the manufacturers, or misguided conclusions done from the research, or problematic test situations in the release of the drug, it is critical to understand the economics, the sciences, the whole process from the lab to the public, as well as the ethics of modern medicines. The beginning of the book is startling. Marcum highlights how some medicines like "Fen-Phen" has contributed to heart valve failures, how heparin solves one problem and creates another, how chemotherapy kills not just bad cells but good ones too, how some drugs are rushed to market, insufficient testing and research, and how many deaths occurred with frequent mentions of the diseases, but little confession of the medications that have contributed to many deaths. Marcum often thought: "Which is worse: the treatment or the disease?" Not only that, the same old patients seem to come back with the same problems again and again despite the prescriptions. Marcum soon learns that being a physician is not just keeping people alive, or making people well. It is also to help patients protect themselves from clever marketing by the pharmaceutical industry, and to remember as far as possible that the natural way is often the best way. Health is a by-product of a love relationship with God, and observing God's ways for mankind.

The first part of the book is so negative about the state of use of medications and prescriptions, that Marcum has to put in a disclaimer, that he is not against the use of medications, but the uncritical and often blind faith in medications. In a chapter called the "Misuse of Medications," Marcum warns against slow poisoning, suicidal use, addictions, and how the misuse of medications has led people to do bad things to themselves and other people. Worse, these abuses are increasingly more common and pervasive, especially with the easy availability of online purchases of drugs. Combined with the lucrative trade and economic windfall, warnings about medications tend to be subdued by authorities and the pharmaceutical industry.

The second part of the book offers not just the redemptive perspective of using medication through practical wisdom and knowledge, it provides guidelines on thinking before consuming medication, on recognizing both the benefits as well as the dangers of the pills, and ultimately to remember that God's plans are still valid for mankind's health and good. First, begin with a relationship with God, seeking wisdom and trust. Second, learn about the medications, what they are, and why we are using it. Third, depend less on medications but on the natural created things God has given, like drinking lots of water, exercise when possible, and rest. Four, exercise is key. Five, rest well. Six, improve one's diet, and finally, be happy through trust and confidence that God knows best. Marcum also provides a chapter to describe the different kinds of medications, on acid-blocking medications, chemotherapy, weight-loss medications, sleep, diabetes, diuretics, cholesterol lowering medicine, blood pressure, antidepressants, and many more. My favourite part of the book is how Marcum describes the Bible as the "greatest health journal ever written." The key idea is that God has given us the best garden of health. The nearer we are to this, the healthier we will be. The farther we are, the less healthy we become. Uncritical trust, abuses, and the erroneous expectations about  medications are very much the latter case. Using the seven days of creation, Marcum proposes a brilliant health plan.

1. On the First Day, God created the heavens and the earth, and the light, with the Spirit hovering over the surface of the deep. Modern man needs this light, an illuminate mind to recognize that it is not your doctor, but God who knows what is best for us.
2. On the Second Day, God created expanse of the water and the sky. Drinking lots of water and a healthy dosage of fresh air does wonders to our general health.
3. On the Third Day, God created plants and vegetables. Here, Marcum argues for consuming more fruits and vegetables. 
4. On the Day, God created the light. Our bodies are made for rhythms, for day and for night, and we are not to violate this by mixing the time to rest during the night through overwork. Technology can be a bane for health, like keeping man awake longer than necessary, leading to increased stress and lowering body immunity.
5. On the Fifth Day, God created livestock, and animals for man to take care of. Instead, man has grown to eat these animals! He notices that in places where there is low meat consumption, there is a corresponding lower occurrences of heart disease and cancer.
6. On the Sixth Day, God created human people, both male and female, for companionship. Marcum says that it suggests harmony and goodwill toward fellow people will bring about health benefits too! God created love. 
7. On the Seventh Day, God created the Sabbath and rested. Marcum besides talking about the need to rest, also suggests it as a day for us to look out for the needs and interests of other people.

Marcum summarizes the health benefits through the seven laws of health, namely, good nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, air, rest, and sabbath to focus on others.

My Thoughts

As a cardiologist, Marcum writes with passion, preferring to debunk the myths of medicines as the sole avenue of healthcare, toward a holistic health that incorporates God's design for health. As an observer of much medical abuses by many different parties involved, from the pharmaceuticals to medical personnel, from misguided trust in drugs to abuses of medications, from human errors to insufficient research of medicines, Marcum is burdened by the high number of people who died not because of their disease but because of the medications. Not only that, it is common to see deaths as a result of a "disease," but few due to the use or misuse of certain medications, for whatever reason. For Marcum, medicines can be used as a healing product, and equally potent as a poison too. Thus, taking medications is always a risk, and doctors are constantly managing that risk. It is the author's belief that the threat of medications and the misuse of it is larger than what most people have thought. He writes: 

"I believe that medications are the number one cause of death. Do I have statistics? No. Will others back me up? Probably not. Yet in my medical practice I have seen over and over the dangers." (107)

With this conviction, Marcum is on a journey to inform, instruct, and to inspire people to look beyond the pharmaceutical industry for salvation. God's plan is the best. He is not encouraging readers to avoid medications altogether. He is calling for greater education of what the medication is, what it does, how it is prescribed, why we are taking it, and what are the side-effects of taking it. The reason why he writes so strongly and negatively against the uncritical use of medicines is because far too many people have taken for granted the modern availability of medications. There seems to be a medication for nearly every kind of ailment. Such a situation can easily trick people into thinking that it is the medication that heals. More often than not, medication solves one problem and creates another. Prescriptions normally take on a 'lesser-evil' approach, that the recovery from the disease is a greater benefit than the side-effects. Marcum questions what if our presumption like this is wrong, that we are eating a poison over the long run?

More importantly, Marcum is calling for a sustained health level through obedience to God's original design. Modern medicine can do a lot, but its benefits are limited. What happens in the lab is not necessarily the same in the real world. This book is an eye-opener for readers who lack knowledge about how medicines work, and gives a glimpse of what the pharmaceutical industry is about. I enjoy this book. Those of us who desires a more holistic health book must read this book.


Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me free by Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.