Lived Experience

Stories from the immunocompromised

Now that restrictions are lifted across Canada, discussions with my immunocompromised patients about infection risk are not “one size fits all.”

‘We take care of our own’: Shared family values guide Togethering

Stella and Derek are an example of proactive "Togethering." When the couple were expecting their first child, they purchased a home across the street from Stella's parents to stay close. Part two of the togethering series explores how Stella and Derek are considering new ways of "togethering" as Stella's parents require more care.

Togethering in the face of a degenerative disease

After Andrea's father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015, it became difficult for her to provide him care in Toronto from her home in the U.S. Eventually she would have to figure out a shared living space that worked for both of her parents and her and her husband. Read Andrea's story navigating "Togethering" in part three of the series.

Togethering – Exploring housing options and the concepts of care

Togethering is unique for each family. It can take many different forms in where we live, how we support each other and how we transition together as an intergenerational “circle of care.” This introduction to the "Togethering" series explores some housing options built around concepts of care.

Giving birth during the blizzard of 2022 – while fighting COVID

Carrie Clayton drove herself though downtown Toronto during January's record-breaking blizzard to give birth to her daughter. To make matters worse - Carrie also had COVID. This is her story.

Quit your job, go home and prepare to die: Surviving the AIDS epidemic

In 1986, I left Toronto and moved to New York. I fell head over heels for a man in 1988. We wanted to make sure we didn’t transmit HIV to each other, so we got tested. I felt healthy as ever. However, my test came back: HIV positive.

From music to medicine: Organization strikes a new note at the Ukrainian border

The second installment from Canadian emergency physician and journalist Anthony Fong as he describes his experience at the Ukraine-Polish border, treating Ukrainian refugees fleeing the full-scale invasion of their country.

‘I am more than just a girl with bipolar disorder’: Illness inspires woman’s passion to pursue degree in psychiatry

I have experienced the deep dark caves of depression and the sky-reaching highs of mania. I’ve even experienced life beyond the scope of reality during psychosis. Despite the overwhelming obstacles my mental illness presents, in a way I’m still grateful for my psychiatric disorder.

Born with a disease that kills but not at death’s door: Living in that in between

As a child with cystic fibrosis, I was hit with this adult issue of mortality – something no 5-year-old should be worrying about. When I was born in 1971, the median survival rate for women with CF was 20 years old. I’ve chased that median age of survival my whole life.

​​‘You’re in remission’: Professor goes from picking out gravestone to planning retirement

My illness was something that happened to me, but I was still under there. I had to come out from under that shadow to figure out who I wanted to be even if I was going to die in a few months. My life changed significantly when I realized I was in control. I’ve decided I’m going to retire earlier than originally planned so I can scratch things off my bucket list now that it is deeper than before. I know if my cancer returns, I’m going to have a big blowout funeral party and obviously attend it myself.

Our problems don’t stop once we turn 18: Mental health care for young adults

I was 19 when I hit rock bottom. Mental illness wasn’t new to me, but COVID created the perfect storm.

‘I’m not scared of bombs. I’m not scared of war. I became a nurse for a reason’: Volunteers at the Ukraine-Poland border

Canadian emergency physician and journalist Anthony Fong describes his experience at the Ukraine-Polish border, treating Ukrainian refugees fleeing the full-scale invasion of their country.

Trusting my mind again after psychosis failed it

My illness is not your adjective. If you are acting unhinged, you are not “psychotic.” If you’re feeling unstable, you’re not “bipolar.” In the same way, if you like things neatly arranged, you’re not “so OCD.”

‘The well is starting to run dry’: Emergency department physicians speak out

Representatives of Toronto Women in Emergency Medicine, a group of emergency physicians working in hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area, were asked to reflect on their experiences of the most recent wave and what health-care systems can do to survive the next one.

Hope and spiritual care

Spiritual care can be a powerful therapeutic intervention. However, 80 per cent of patients reported that physicians never or rarely discuss spiritual or religious issues with them. But the role of spiritual health does not have to fall on physicians alone.

ADHD in females: Outdated criteria leading to missed diagnoses

I have ADHD, but it took nearly my whole life to receive a proper diagnosis. Unfortunately, I am not alone – females with this condition often go either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, since ADHD diagnostic criteria are male-oriented.

How I have been lonely during COVID and benefited from It

While COVID has progressed we have had the need to wear masks to slow or prevent the spread of COVID. The good thing about this is that while wearing a mask no one expects me to show emotions so I can just sit there in silence.

How the Pandemic Affected Me

Because we are into two years of this pandemic and I'm so on the verge of losing my cool I can't contain it any longer and I bet you would all agree with me because you want this all to end.

Family member’s undiagnosed illness gives physician new patient perspective

When patients have strange, unidentified illnesses, physicians often focus more on finding a diagnosis than managing symptoms. When a close family member struggled with such an illness, I saw the importance of addressing patient suffering earlier on.

‘Focus on the tooth and the person’: The movement for trauma-informed dentistry

People joke that they don't like going to the dentist, but for some, a trip to the dentist can actually trigger past traumas. The trauma-informed dentistry movement is trying to make dentists' offices places where vulnerable patients feel safe.