Jacqueline L. Jones can write Secrets of Getting a Diagnosis Unmasked with wisdom and understanding because she has been there. As you read her first words you’ll know you’re in the presence of a friend: “You’re tired. You’re in pain. You’re sick of being misunderstood. You need some answers, but where do you start?” Thankfully Jones knows right where to start and she will not only point you in the right direction but offer practical steps and ‘Action Checklists’ to make sure you can deal with your healthcare confidently. Having this book is a good idea for your own peace of mind, but the tips and information it provides could some day save your life. I whole-heartedly recommend it!




Lisa Copen
Founder of Rest Ministries for the chronically ill and National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
www.restministries.org and www.invisibleillness.com

Kudos to Jacqueline Jones for providing the chronically ill a step-by-step means by which to 'divide and conquer' an illness, as well as providing great advice on how to trek the treacherous world of modern medicine. Her well-written manual provides encouragement to those who are trapped in their bodies, as well as instructions on what one should do when you feel that the medical world has closed its doors on you and your condition.

I can only wish I would've had this important piece of literature many years ago when my daughter suddenly became extremely ill. I spent years searching for an answer to her debilitating illness. While I searched, she suffered; often in agonizing pain. The only thing I knew to do was to take her from one doctor to the next....hoping someone would care enough to listen to our desperate cry for help. No one did. Because physicians had given plausible diagnoses and prescribed steroids and pain meds, my daughter was expected to go home, (stop complaining) and live the remainder of her life doubled over in excruciating pain. Only people who have lived the nightmare of an undiagnosed and chronic illness can understand the hopelessness and helplessness that haunts the sufferer and the caretaker day after agonizing day.

Our family spent a small fortune on useless doctors' visits. Jacqueline's manual helps one avoid this frustrating and blind selection process that many people endure as they search to find the "next" physician that they hope will help them resolve their pain and suffering. Moreover, Jacqueline allows the reader, caretaker, and the chronically ill person to take control and to realize that they are in charge of their circumstances and that the physician must be viewed as the people they are: hired to help you solve a problem. During our long ordeal of illness, I often felt that I had been blindfolded and was being turned in circles by the medical community at large. Once the spinning stopped, I would pin the tail on the next doctor, remove the blindfold to see who he (she) was, and promptly pick up the phone and make the next appointment. Thousands of dollars were left behind in this process, as each and every appointment and test has a requirement from the ill: money. Even when the doctor turns you away and admits that he cannot help you, you will still be required to pay the cost of the "visit" and any "test" that was done. (Often these tests are the same tests that have been done countless times before. Unfortunately for the ill, it seems that every doctor wants to repeat the same tests. For the ill, the expense is two-fold: not only must they undergo the same procedure again and again, but they must also come up with the funds to replenish a wallet that is constantly being drained.)

When you or your child is ill, you are willing to break the bank to find an answer. Somehow you believe that somewhere along the way you will pay the right person and wellness will be found. Jacqueline's advices narrows this frustrating process and removes some of the tight enclosures that the chronically ill must maneuver while trudging the maze of medicine, illness and doctors. Karen Steward, author of the book, Doctors: Bound By Secrecy? Victims: Bound By Pain!