PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Goldstein, Adam O.
TI  - Living on the Edge
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2011.02.090185
DP  - 2011 Mar 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 211--213
VI  - 24
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/24/2/211.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/24/2/211.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2011 Mar 01; 24
AB  - This essay describes a remarkable patient with severe medical and psychological problems who died a tragic death when she was only 46 years old. Despite suffering early coronary artery disease, persistent abuse from her spouse, and caring for a daughter with severe physical handicaps, the patient did not complain or seek pity for her condition. Rather, through her belief in God and a focus on the day forward rather than the day behind, she reminds clinicians that the sum of a person's life is more than their medical problems. After the patient's death, her husband's medical problems force him to seek care; this raised ethical issues because the doctor who was treating him also cared for his wife.