Books on Medical Issues

The subtitle calls this a "guided journal for parents and child advocates," but don't let the word "journal" put you off. This handy spiral-bound book is less about sharing your feelings -- although there's room for that -- than about asking questions of medical professionals, recording their answers, and working your way through the process of learning and preparing and advocating. You'll never forget a question or an answer again. 5 Stars

Seeing a child have a seizure can be one of the scariest experiences a parent can have. The authors of this informative, panic-free book want you to calm down, take a deep breath, and realize the world has not come to an end. It's an empowering message. 5 Stars

If your pediatrician doesn't have the time or the inclination to really talk you through your decision on vaccines, Dr. Robert Sears is ready to step in with research on what goes into those shots, why it's there, and how concerned you should be about it. The decision, he still leaves up to you, but he shares some opinions and options on ways to vaccinate safely and responsibly. It's a remarkably civil consideration of an incendiary topic. 5 Stars

Alex Stimpson's birth, three months premature, starts a 13-month ordeal of poking, prodding, thumping, testing, confinement, and medical torture -- and that's just for his parents, whose first-baby fantasies are trampled under a stampede of doctors, nurses, administrators, and insurance drones who treat them in ways ranging from polite disinterest to contempt. How Alex finally makes it home, and how he and his family are changed by the experience, is the subject of this tough, touching memoir. 4.5 Stars

Newly revised in its third edition, this information-packed guidebook is full of medical information about various types of seizures and syndromes, as well as lifestyle issues for infants through adults, including school advocacy, driving problems, employment rights, legal considerations, and insurance concerns. It's a lot to take in, and you may just want to skim through as needed, but if you have a child with epilepsy, you'll want to add this to your bookshelf. 4.5 Stars

Doctors and other professionals are good for a lot of things, but experienced parents are the real experts when it comes to getting you through the nitty-gritty of your days with a food-allergic child. That practical wisdom fills this book, offering perspectives that can only be gained by living with caution 24/7. It may be overwhelming to realize how protective you really have to be, but Coss and the parents she quotes have been there, and do a lot to light the way. 4.5 Stars

It's bad enough when misbehavior involves tantrums and lying and disrespect. When it involves skipping medication and avoiding treatments, it reaches a whole new degree of difficulty. The normal rules of Love and Logic parenting get tweaked here to accommodate the heightened stakes that come with chronic illness, and empower parents to create kids who can really take care of themselves. 4.5 Stars

For all its length, I blew through this book in a weekend. It's the kind of read where you strap yourself in and hang on for dear life as it pulls you through episodes of incredible grief, struggle, challenge, triumph, tragedy, risk and reward. If it was a novel, you'd never believe it, but it's one family's true story. And what a family. 4.5 Stars

For parents accompanying a critically ill child into a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), it can be hard to know what to expect, and what to make of all the tending and treating and tweeting of scary machinery. Dr. Christopher M. Johnson, former director of the Mayo Clinic's PICU, introduces readers to his specialty, pediatric critical care, and to the expertise and guesswork and dumb luck that goes into reversing the progress of devastating illness and injury. 4.5 Stars

Not for the faint of heart, this book is all about giving unflinchingly frank replies to the kinds of questions teens are embarrassed to ask their parents (and parents, all too often, are embarrassed to answer). 4 Stars