Pack Your Own
Healthcare Parachute
A Story About Medicine, Family, and What Happens When the System Takes Over
Pack Your Own Healthcare Parachute is not a clinical manual.
It is a deeply human examination of what happens when medicine collides with family, grief, aging, and a healthcare system no longer designed for reflection.
Through personal narrative and professional insight, the book explores how patients and families fall—often without warning—into a system that moves faster than human emotion can follow.
This is a story about learning when to hold on, when to let go, and when to slow the descent.
Before Medicine Changed
The story of an immigrant physician. Medicine once felt personal and relationship-driven. This section offers context for how corporatization reshaped judgment, continuity, and trust.
Family Dynamics in the Shadow of Terminal Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis affects an entire family. How people fracture or unite. The weight of surrogate decisions. The fear behind "do everything."
Grief, Coping, and the Illusion of Hope
Grief starts long before death. Why more treatment is not always more life. Living with uncertainty. How to keep hope without harm.
Cancer, Aging, and Functional Reserve
Care grows complex in older adults with other conditions. Functional reserve matters more than age. Frailty, polypharmacy, and the gap between "can we" and "should we."
The System Itself
Most harm is systematic, not malicious. Regulations and incentives shape choices. Procedure-driven care, rushed consent, and defensive medicine.
Death and Dying
Reclaiming dignity. Honest prognosis, early palliative care, and what good death can mean for different people.
Who This Book is For
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Families navigating serious illness
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Clinicians who question the system they work within
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Patient advocates, ethicists, and policy leaders
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Anyone who has felt powerless inside healthcare
This book does not offer easy answers. It offers language, permission, and perspective.
Media & Speaking
Invite Shiella for keynotes, panels, workshops, and podcast interviews. Topics include informed healthcare choices, second opinions, family unity during serious illness, and end-of-life clarity.
"Shiella's insights empowered my family during a tough time!"
Michael
"An invaluable resource for understanding medical complexities!"
Samantha
"Her storytelling connects deeply with those facing illness!"
Carlos
"Practical advice delivered with compassion and clarity!"
Nina
Buy the Book
Paperback and eBook available.
Looking for advocacy services?
Visit Healthcare Parachute