Second Opinion to Second ChancesWritten by Janet Auty-Carlisle
Second Opinion to Second Chances Janet Auty-Carlisle grew up playing with toys and dolls, just like any other girl. She went to school, got married and started a family. Everything seemed to be going well when unthinkable happened. Janet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and, with support of a devoted husband, began to deal with doctors and medications and hardship. Although Janet was still able to work at first, things became harder for her as time went on. And as medications began to take their toll, she was forced to resign her position. Before diagnosis Janet ran a company that specialized in corporate relocations, aiding people in their own transitions by helping them get settled into new schools and tapping into local services as they adapted to their new homes. Janet eventually decided to use skills she’d acquired in her relocation firm to help people transition when learning to live with a chronic disease. She formed a local support group which met once a month, organized first annual SuperWalk for Parkinsons' and raised $45000 first year. She began an education campaign at local school board and traveled throughout her community raising public awareness. In addition Janet developed a program called “Bridging Borders”, a weekend-long awareness conference for people with Parkinson's and their care partners, and an empowering program for fund raising called ICAN. (www.icanforpd.ca). After six years of taking medication and being exposed to so many people with Parkinson's, Janet noticed that disease was not progressing. Questioning her specialist Janet was always told "You are in denial. You do have Parkinson's. Deal with it." Not satisfied with this answer Janet met a neurologist at one of her conferences who agreed to provide her with a second opinion. Shockingly, this doctor told her that her symptoms were possibly due to stress and a virus she’d had at time of original diagnosis and not Parkinson’s disease at all! It took Janet a full year to wean herself off powerful drugs she had been taking for wrong disease. The medications had some serious side effects, but she overcame all of this. At 48 years of age, she felt like she’d been given a new life. Janet now lives by motto: “The only constant in life is change.” Janet discovered that her real strength and passion was for coaching, writing and speaking. After coming to terms with her illness, she realized that what she wanted most out of life was to help people learn to live a life of joy and passion. Janet now coaches others as a Lifestyle health and wellness coach. Having experienced similar life situations as her clients provides Janet with ability to relate to her clients on a more intimate level and place of profound understanding. What lessons has Janet learned from her experiences?
| | Vioxx and Bextra Lawsuits Could Tie Up Courts for YearsWritten by Charles Essmeier
In September, 2004, pharmaceutical giant Merck voluntarily withdrew its painkilling medication Vioxx from market. Studies show that Vioxx increases risk of heart attack and stroke among patients who have used drug for longer than 18 months. Vioxx, a drug from a family of Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors, is one of only a few drugs specifically designed to minimize inflammation while avoiding stomach disorders long associated with other anti-inflammatory medications. Since its introduction in 1999, Vioxx has been a huge success, and sales of drug worldwide topped $2.5 billion in 2003. That is certainly a great deal of money, but it pales when compared to amount that Merck stands to lose through product liability lawsuits, which will soon come to court. As of this writing, several thousand lawsuits have been filed nationally, but attorneys estimate that total number of lawsuits filed could reach a staggering 100,000.
One hundred thousand lawsuits is certainly a formidable number, but that figure could represent only half of number of lawsuits related to COX-2 inhibitors. Earlier this year, Pfizer voluntarily
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