The Power of Two: Surviving Serious Illness with an Attitude and an Advocate

When my husband had a massive brain hemorrhage followed by brain surgery, we had just moved hundreds of miles from family and friends. As we searched for a business to purchase, we worked part-time temp jobs and had no insurance. Another reviewer felt that "The Power of Two" may not be helpful to readers who lack the resources and support system of the Monaghan's, but our experience demonstrated that the type of advocacy outlined in this book can have dramatic results in any situation. Patients, no matter what their previous station in life or financial level, become instantly vulnerable and unable to responsibly advocate on their own behalf. Advocacy may not get the patient the same level of care Brian Monaghan got, but it will vastly improve the care at any level because health care providers will be aware they are being closely scrutinized, and they are expected to give the best possible treatment available to that patient. To quote another reviewer, our current health care system is driven by "cost effectiveness" rather than adequate patient care. In that climate, mistakes are often made and patients do not receive medications or treatments that would elevate their quality of life. I found, as did Gerri Monaghan, that constant vigilance is a necessity. Gerri used the internet, social networking, and gut instinct to lead her to the best possible treatments. Gerri and Brian acted as a team, making decisions together, which allowed Brian to retain his dignity and personal power. This is essential, since the health care system quickly strips the patient of any power they may have felt before their health emergency. My husband has recovered beautifully from an event the doctor's said he had a 5% chance of even surviving. We both feel that intense and unrelenting advocacy were the key to his recovery. We agree that "The Power of Two" is a must read not only for those who are dealing with an illness, but for anyone who uses the medical system. Lee & Steven Hager are the authors of Quantum Prodigal Son: Revisiting Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Perspective of Quantum Mechanics

The sad truth is, the medical establishment is not incented to provide the BEST care for patients, but instead to provide the most COST EFFECTIVE care for patients. Particularly if patient is seriously ill (or elderly!), this can mean not getting all the care that they need. Every hospital and care facility has HMO representatives prowling the halls, looking for costs to cut (ie, patients to send home). This book is about fighting back. This is the perfect book to help you get your loved one the care they deserve. The program it describes is right on track for us non-medical professionals, with an emphasis on asking questions, learning about the disease, and firmly demanding the best possible care. Those two words in the title- Attitude and Advocate-are exactly what a critically ill patient needs. I want to focus on the Advocate role for a moment. This is the most valuable concept in the book. It may seem obvious that a spouse, parent or adult child can act as an advocate for our sick loved one. But at those critical moments, when the HMO rep is trying to deny care, or ship your loved one off to a nursing home, or drug your loved one instead of giving them more expensive therapy, an advocate can fight for the proper care. It will be a difficult fight, so do your homework. Bottom line: if you haven't been through the medical roller coaster on a serious illness ticket yet, this book will help you get better care with less stress. Five stars.

As our population grows older, more and more of us will be placed in the position of advocating for our parents, spouses, siblings, and other loved ones. Rather than guess my way forward, I chose this book to see whether it would help me in my pursuit to become a well-educated advocate. I was not disappointed. When Brian Monaghan was diagnose with Stage IV cancer neither he nor his wife Gerri gave up. Gerri doggedly learned as much as she could about Brian's condition and never gave up. This book offers 50 tips on how to be the best advocate you can while still maintaining your sanity. It includes some common sense items, but many are much more than that.

My friend was recovering from extensive surgery for abdominal cancer. She was dozing off two days post-op while I read a book by her bedside. We both looked up as a young resident and a med student entered the room. "Hi," the young man said, "We're from the psychiatry team. Your doctors asked us to come around and see how you're doing." "You've looked at the chart," E. said, "So you can probably guess how I'm doing. I'm in a lot of pain, I have cancer, and I had a really bad night. [unspoken thought 'You have got to be freaking kidding me!] "Well," the student began as she stepped forward while staring at the floor, "Are you feeling a little down?" As the conversation proceeded in this Alice in Wonderland sort of way, the real motive for the visit surfaced. Turns out the surgical team wondered if E. was depressed, so they called the psychiatry team in to get the scoop. The psychiatry team wondered if she'd like to start an antidepressant, but agreed, at our urging, to simply tell the surgical team to spend a little more time in the room each early a.m. discussing pain management, sleep meds, and care planning with E. and her daughter. And I wondered, once again, how anyone survives medical care without an advocate. We are fortunate, therefore, that Brian and Gerri Monaghan have written a moving account of their own journey through life-threatening illness and advocacy. Not only is this book a compelling, entertaining, and (at times) tear-jerking account of love and loyalty in sickness and in health, it is a step-by-step, tip-by-tip, how-to manual for all of us who will face a serious illness or care for someone in that situation. And, through my life roles as doctor, wife, daughter, mother, and friend, I can tell you that will absolutely be all of us. I'd like to say that I'm going to keep this book on my shelf for my next advocacy adventure, but I've already given it away to a friend who was diagnosed last week with cancer. With the Monaghans on their team, and this guidebook in hand, she and her daughter can stand up and tell the psychiatry team, the pain team, the surgical team, and/or the oncology team, KEEP IN TOUCH!, and first and foremost talk to the home team!

When you are informed of an illness, you can either prepare to suffer or prepare to heal. The journey taken by Brian & Gerri Monaghan is an outstanding example of two people who banned together and prepared for a healing. Their journey was obviously not without great struggle, but they were able to reach the outcome that they had created in their minds as the journey began. In reading the synopsis for this book, I was immediately interested in the involvement of the "advocate" in the telling of this inspiring story. I have an ill family member and I am what would be considered her advocate. Gerri lays out plenty of tips for effective advocating, some of which are common sense, but some of which have given me a great sense of direction and even a sense of power in directing the course the disease will take in my loved one. The personalities of these two individuals melded in a way that left Brian's brain tumors and cancer very little chance of "defeating" him. Their attitudes overcame a seemingly hopeless situation and I was inspired by the results of the love and care that they have for one another. This book has been an invaluable tool in the advocacy that I provide for my loved one and I would strongly recommend it. I do not necessarily share all of their beliefs, but that is of very little consequence, as the power and weight of the story will benefit greatly anyone who chooses to read it.