Nothing could have prepared me for what our family went through five years ago. As we searched desperately for help for our infant son who was in constant pain, it quickly became clear that not all in the medical community were compassionate individuals, and the level of care for diseases which were not easily fixed was uneven at best.
After six months of frustration and heartache, we were finally able to build a healthcare team who knew their stuff, and they diagnosed my son with gastroesophageal reflux disease, and began state-of-the-art treatment.
To prevent others from enduring the same amount of heartache and frustration that my family experienced, my husband and I, and members of our medical team wrote Acid Reflux in Infants in Children (www.refluxguide.com). As a result of this book, we heard from many families around the world who were looking for answers, or at least someone to listen and understand the impact that chronic disease was having on their lives.
I am now a third year PhD student in human development and family studies, focusing on the psychological and social impact of disease and disabilities on individuals and their families. I am currently researching the affordability of caregiving, and in September, I will be also be focusing on what "integrated healthcare" means to practitioners and policy makers, with the hopes of helping the U.S. take the next step forward in combining the psycho/social aspect of illness into mainstream care.
Relying on my own experience of caring for a family member with a digestive disease, information from support groups, family theory, and the latest research findings, each week I will provide you with the latest information available to help you or a loved one live with IBD.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Tracy
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