Collect Gone In A Heartbeat: A Physician's Search For True Healing Depicted By Neil Spector Issued As Textbook

heard the author of this book speak on a radio program, I was so entirely moved by his experience and his interview, that I decided to read the book.
If one could look at my Kindle, you could tell I don't read many books from cover to cover but I did this one.
Even after hearing the entire interview on the radio and knowing the outcome, I was still motivated to read the book.
I'm glad I did because I would have missed a lot if I didn't, It's not only a story of a medical doctor who goes through a health crisis and survives, but a story about the things that are really important in life, how we often lose focus on them, and how to get ourselves back to "center".
This is a book you can't put down! Really wonderful, inspiring, courageous story of a physician's difficult and trying health journey.


So much power in his story, full of courage, honesty, and inner strength, Beautiful, touching.

Highly recommended, especially for anyone who has dealt with chronic illness or dealing with illness in general.
One of the big takeaways is you have to be your own best advocate as a patient.
Trust your gut. Research your condition and your treatment options, don't take drs input astruth, Don't be combative with your drs, just be informed so you can ask the right questions and be an active participant in your healthcare.
Drs don't have the time to fully investigate and pour their heart and souls into each individual case, that is a luxury.
And often given our current health care system they just can't afford to do this even if the will is there.


Also you have to watch out for the fact that todays mds are often overly reliant on lab testing which they don't always fully understand, without any idea on the specificity or sensitivity of the testing.
Sometimes the overreliance on testing comes at the cost of listening to the patient, leading them to discount and devalue patient history/testimony.
Skillful diagnosis is both a deductive puzzle and subtle art, While I was a good book on surviving heart disease I felt the Lyme aspect of his illness wasn't developed enough This memoir by one of the top oncologists in the United States is riveting.
Neil Spector, M. D. , who ran track for UNC in college, spent grueling years as a resident, intern, etc, at hospitals from Harvard to Parkland Memorial in Dallas, was the picture of health, . . until he could feel that he wasn't, His navigation through the medical maze as a patient is quite the cautionary tale for lay people like me.
There are stories in here that are not exactly religious but give me goosebumps for the spirituality that comes through our bodies and he has captured in his personal journey to getting a new heart.
When my father was dying, words from this book helped me let go and I shared them with my family and it helped them as well.
It's a page turner of a story that will make your heart soar and, perhaps, instill wisdom from which you can pull at some point in your life as well.
Neil Spector's writing is heartfelt when talking about his patients and his own struggle with illness, As difficult as this story is, I enjoyed reading it because he Spector's perspective is one we all need.
It teaches us to have courage to believe what our bodies are saying more than what the professionals are telling us.
This book is representative of the struggle many Lyme patients experience in getting the correct diagnosis and proper treatment.
A cancer researcher finally undergoes a heart transplant because Lyme has ravaged his own, Thankfully, the author is healthy and running half marathons now, and even better, speaking about his journey and enlightening the masses about Lyme disease.
His descriptions are direct, honest, tangible, Best book i have read about Lyme disease thus far, This is more about surviving heart disease, and ultimately transplantation, than it is about Lyme disease, I was hoping the author would talk more about Lyme, since it was his appearance on Diane Rehm's NPR show about Lyme that brought him to my attention.
That said, this is a fascinating book about the medical and spiritual aspects of chronic illness, I learned a lot about physiology, but more about perseverance amidst horrible odds, This book is about a doctor's journey through his own quite serious medical problems, He teaches us to take one day at a time, never lose faith, and not to worry about tomorrow.
This is one of the best books I have ever read, A doctor's story of his own healing

There is to admire in this book.
From one medical emergency to another, the narrator manages to survive and thrive, For me, the vast amount of religious content was perplexing, coming from a medical doctor, The silliest coincidences, for example that a consulting physician is named Dr, Perfect, is used as proof that God exists and wants this particular person to survive, The author includes a lot of terrible verse, Any editor, worth his or her salt, should have edited this saccharine greeting card verse out of the book.


Nevertheless, the saga of survival against all odds was enjoyable overall, Gone in a Heartbeat: A Physician's Search for True Healing is a heart wrenching story of a physicals agonizing ordeal with an undiagnosed disease that almost kills him numerous times and eventually destroys his heart.
Duringyears of horrendous pain and suffering, many prominent doctors refuted Dr, Spectors selfdiagnosis of Lymes disease, Where most people would have caved in and succumbed to many misdiagnoses, Dr, Spector questioned the “experts” and finally found the answers himself,

What I found amazing is how the love between Dr, Spector and his wife grows stronger as they combat this disease together through love, prayer, persistence, and research.
In the end, it is determined that Lyme disease is the culprit that destroys his heart,

Dr. Spector emphasizes the need for patients to believe in their instincts and listen to their heart, He stresses the necessity for those in the medical field to intently listen to their patients descriptions of their symptoms instead of rushing through office visits and relying on medical tests that frequently provide an incorrect diagnosis.


Through reading this amazing book it is evident that Dr, Spector is an extremely comprehensive and compassionate physician the kind of doctor who takes the time to listen to patients and not just medical tests.
The reader also gets to know the human side of Dr, Spector through the eloquent poems he wrote during those painfulyears, His writings

seem to be a form of therapy that helped him survive the torture he was enduring.
The poems also show the gentleness of this brilliant physician, who is also a wonderful, loving, father and husband.


This book is a must read that will have you rooting for Dr, Spector and also wondering how anyone could have survived so many years of suffering and pain, I wept many times throughout the book, but in the end I realized that anything is possible with the love, prayer, and compassion of family and friends.
Never give up and always follow your heart!
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