num_pages: 216
description: Bag Lady . . . is the poignant true story of a woman's struggle with the chronic, debilitating disease of ulcerative colitis. It chronicles how she coped with it before and after making the momentous decision to have an ileostomy and commit to wearing a plastic bag on her stomach for the rest of her life.Bag Lady . . . runs deep. It is more than the story of a woman and her disease. It is the story of a life buffeted by adversity, by a mind-boggling series of profound downers, any one of which would defeat most of us. It is a metaphor for the physical and emotional "baggage" that encumbers every person's life. It reads like page-turning fiction, but it is all true. Bag Lady . . . speaks to the millions of victims of ulcerative colitis, Crohn's diseaseand colon cancer, and to the family and friends who live their illnesses with them.It trades frankness and understanding for the euphemisms and misconceptions ofdiseases that, for too long, have been consigned to the shadows of polite discussion.Bag Lady . . . an antidote to fear. pThe doctor's words to the IBD patient are chosen carefully: "Maybe it's time to consider surgery." The rationale and explanation follow. And the patient's tension mounts . . . the apprehension is clearly visible. Doctors see it all the time at this critical moment. Fear of the unknown, of a radically changed life: the wondering: what will become of me after the surgery? How can I possibly cope with this for the rest of my life?pSandra Ben�tez confronted that fear and asked those questions. And in Ibag lady/I, she answers them. And she does it in a way that can provide understanding and reassurance not only to the tens of thousands who each year make a decision to have, or not have, surgery, but to the millions who live with managed IBD.pIn this sense, Bag Lady is an antidote to fear. As such it is required reading for IBD patients and their families. And it is highly recommended to the doctors, nurses and therapists who provide them with care.
language: English
title: Bag Lady: A Memoir
titlecomplete: Bag Lady: A Memoir
genres: Memoir
ratings_count: 28
publisher: Benitez Books