Imagine finding out, at the age of 22, that your mom had early onset Alzheimer’s. Imagine reminding yourself every day, as you enter the adult world: There will come a time when Mom will not recognize you.
Then imagine finding out, two years later, that all that grief was unnecessary. Your mom never had Alzheimer’s. It was a misdiagnosis.
That’s what happened to Sean Fischer. On Saturday, we published his account of his family’s tragedy—and their miracle: “My Mom Was Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Then She Got Better.”
“While starting my first job in the city, I watched her live a life that was coming to an end, and I felt a deep, renewed wellspring of love for her,” he wrote. “Her doctor had told her to keep exercising, so she aimed to ride our stationary bike every day, and while home for Easter in 2023, I saw a note she had stuck on the handlebars: ‘Pedal harder, for your boys.’ ”
The story struck a chord with thousands of you. Readers wrote to tell us that the piece had given them hope that their own mysterious illnesses may yet be cured. You shared stories about loved ones lost to medical oversight. Many of you observed that doctors exist in specialist siloes, treating patients’ individual symptoms rather than patients as whole human beings.
In other words, Sean’s story has implications for all of us. His mom was misdiagnosed by a fragmented medical system we all depend on—a system that far too often fails its most vulnerable patients, allowing them to fall through the many cracks.
So, we wanted to give you the opportunity to talk about it. To tell your stories. To ask your burning questions. How many people have been misdiagnosed with an incurable disease? How many are suffering? Or getting the wrong treatment? How many could be cured?
Join us for a Free Press livestream on Wednesday, January 8, at 3 p.m. ET, hosted by Nellie Bowles with Sean Fischer himself. They are joined by Dr. Vinay Prasad, a dissenting voice in medicine who for years has sounded the alarm about the state of healthcare in America.
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