Hope

By Robert B Downes MD

Hope is the journey of a physician complicated by PTSD. It is a heartwarming, insightful and inspirational story.The Epic tells how his family and heritage help him stay the course to success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503551275

Robert B Downes MD

DR.Downes was born in NYC. He took his medical degree at University College, Dublin(Ireland) .Initally trained as a pediatrician, he has been working with patients who are addicted to opoid drugs for the past 10 years He is married with 2 children and 4 grand children Dr Downes lives and practices in Natick , Massachusetts.

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Copyright © 2015 by Robert B Downes, MD.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015903773

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5035-5125-1

                Softcover        978-1-5035-5126-8

                eBook             978-1-5035-5127-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 03/09/2015

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Chapter 1 Loving Nana

Chapter 2 The Boys and the Girls

Chapter 3 My Story

Conclusion

Dedication

The book is dedicated to my loving wife, Jo-Ann, and children, Kristen and Jim

Acknowledgment

Acknowledgments for support and advice:

Joanne Jozefowski, PhD

Paul McDermott

Introduction

I am a physician trained as a pediatrician although for the past seven years I have been treating only adults who have been addicted to hard-core drugs. I have, for many years, wanted

to write a book about my own experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder and about the deep anxiety, depression, and anger that accompany that syndrome. Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined as a terrifying event such as rape or battle injury which has lasting consequences for the victim—such as flashback, anxiety, fatigue, and social isolation. PTSD is a life changer, and it can be a life destroyer. My own experience with PTSD began when I was a young medical student in Ireland, the result of a terrible automobile accident that led me to many, many years of anxiety and depression. The book I want to write is an account of a long journey that led me from the edge of despondency to hope, to a regeneration of my dreams to be a good doctor, to be a productive professional and a happy person.

Although my writing experience is generally limited to assembling medical histories and writing prescriptions, I am a good listener to the stories of other people, and I am fascinated by my own life experiences, the people who have shaped and molded me, and the culture from which I sprang. I am of Irish extraction, and I am a New Yorker by birth. I would like to think that all of that would help me be a decent storyteller.

My sole intent in writing is, therefore, to provide hope to people who have experienced traumatic events in their lives, people who have lost control, lost joy, and lost confidence in their ability to walk free from fear and depression—people who have felt unable to cope with the demands of everyday life. I desire particularly to help people with whom I now work, men and women who are addicted to hard-core drugs and are seeking to find hope in their struggle for freedom. The story I want to tell of my own life is a story of hope and a story of how, as a doctor and a person, I became a wounded healer.

Chapter I

Loving Nana

May Davis was my grandmother, but she was called Nana by all in the family. Nana’s story