An Alert, Well-Hydrated Artist in No Acute Distress

Book excerpt: Two Artists, a Singular Friendship, and a Six-State Quest for a Diagnosis Hadley Ferguson and Catherine Armsden, a painter and a writer, have each spent years seeking a diagnosis for their troubling symptoms. When they are finally diagnosed with Parkinson' s disease, they meet in an online support group and quickly become long-distance friends. But for Hadley, the shared diagnosis is still not correct. She embarks on a traumatic, six-state odyssey that Catherine documents in vivid detail. Part critical commentary on the American healthcare system and part primer on Parkinson's disease, An Alert, Well-Hydrated Artist in No Acute Distress tackles many topics beyond Hadley' s and Catherine' s personal experience, such as the causes and treatment of Parkinson' s; navigating the doctor-patient relationship; so-called cognitive errors made in diagnosis; and the role of empathy in healthcare. This moving memoir will resonate with anyone who's had difficulty getting a diagnosis or lives with chronic disease, but will also inspire all readers with Hadley' s and Catherine' s ultimately victorious parallel quests to achieve the most fulfilling creative work of their careers. "Catherine Armsden' s wonderfully insightful book should be read by anyone who' s ever received a difficult diagnosis as well as anyone who' s delivered one. ... The book is dedicated to those who don' t look away, and An Alert Well Hydrated Artist in No Acute Distress never does." Dave Iverson, journalist and author of Winter Stars: An Elderly Mother, an Aging Son and Life' s Final Journey