The Perfect Mix Tape Segue #5: Sickness and Health

"This is a story of the illness that dogged Joe through his teens and twenties. He describes over a decade of symptoms and the Goldilocks-esque assortment of doctors that he sees. One doctor is too homeopathic and unprofessional, another is entrenched in tradition and won’t listen, and the third is just right. Joe’s story speaks to a few of the many problems with healthcare in the U.S.: the capitalism, and the lack of dialogue between those practicing natural medicine and the people who work in hospitals. He also calls out for people to have sympathy for their friends whose symptoms remain undiagnosed. Just because the doctor can’t tell what’s wrong doesn’t mean that everything is okay. I would have liked to read more editorializing on the experience, instead of what was mainly a list of events, but there’s something here for everyone who has ever had a frustrating medical problem and felt let down by their doctor."

Detailing Biel's mysterious chronic sickness from its puzzling beginnings through to diagnosis, fifteen years later, naturopaths, acupuncturists, homeopaths, random friend's advice, and theories are expounded upon, until finally an expat British doctor figures out that he has hypoglycemia. People who have read Biel's zines over the years will dig this.