Three not-so-little words Following on from ‘Drowning in my Diagnoses…part one’. 2016: Having spent several months in Egypt, I am now concerned that whatever a Tarlov Cyst is, it is causing more problems than I first thought. Whilst hiking in Egypt, I had been experiencing more back pain and had started to trip over withContinue reading “Drowning in my Diagnoses…part two”
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Drowning in my diagnoses…part one
An ill-fitting box ‘…I put the word “diagnosis” in quotes because I have not yet seen that case in which a “diagnosis” led to a “cure”, or in fact to any outcome other than a confirmed, and therefore an enforced, debility.’ – Joan Didion, Blue Nights. I spent decades wanting a diagnosis, a meaning, aContinue reading “Drowning in my diagnoses…part one”
On Rare Disease Day – when you hear hoofbeats, it’s definitely zebras!
That sounds bizarre, so let me explain. In the medical world a ‘zebra’ is medical slang for a ‘rare, unusual, or surprising disease or condition’. The usual quotation, frequently used in medical school, is ‘When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras’ – which is encouraging the student doctor not to confuse common ailmentsContinue reading “On Rare Disease Day – when you hear hoofbeats, it’s definitely zebras!”
Philippa Lee 