The Medical Day Planner – A Review & Giveaway!

How it can be time for another giveaway you might be asking. Didn’t I just have one?

Yes I did and thank you readers for that great response!

So now I’m breaking my own rule.

What rule?

Well, in the past I’ve always limited myself to offering one giveaway a month at the most and no more.

Why? There can never be too many chances for readers to win free stuff can there?

Maybe, maybe not.

It was just a self-imposed rule of mine and since this is my blog, even if I make the “rules,” I don’t really have to follow them do I?

Anyway, there are three reasons for my decision to go ahead with this particular review at this particular time.

First of all, The Medical Day Planner:  The Guide to Help Navigate the Medical Maze by Tory Zellick is a fabulous resource to help you organize your (or a loved one’s) medical information.

Secondly, I’m pretty certain I am not the only somewhat highly unorganized person out there.

And thirdly, cancer or no cancer, I realized there may be many others like me who cannot remember things very well for whatever reason.

There might be many others out there in dire need of this very resource right now, so why wait?

Getting back to reason number two…

Here’s how I organize medical files and information, in fact, it’s how I organize lots of stuff. It’s the “bin” approach.

While it works, it’s not terribly efficient and it’s not truly organizing. Putting stuff in bins with the intention of sorting and organizing later is really not organizing at all but merely procrastinating, as hubby often likes to remind me.

But it’s a start don’t you think?

Luckily for me, hubby is highly organized, in fact, he loves to organize stuff. Any stuff. At times this attribute is bothersome, even down right annoying, but during a medical crisis it is a wonderful attribute for a partner to have!

Speaking to the third reason I stated above for doing this review now, I have a tiny confession to make.

Last week I finally realized and openly admitted I am not able to remember on my own to take one tiny white pill (hubby calls it my mini-dose chemo pill) which I’m supposed to be taking on a daily basis.

You would think this would be a simple daily task to remember, but for me, apparently it is not.

I can’t tell you how many days I find myself standing at my kitchen sink saying to myself or hubby, “You know, I can’t remember if I took my pill today or not.”

I have one prescribed pill to remember to take each day; yes one.

I even keep my pill bottle out on the counter in plain sight. I cannot miss seeing it and I do see it, but often times I cannot remember if I have opened it, taken a pill out and swallowed it.

I finally realized I must force myself to make an actual mark on my calendar every single day after I take it. Eventually this will become automatic. I hope. I know, I know I have to remember to make the mark, but for some reason this method seems to be working. So far.

But of course, the first and most important reason for this review is because the Medical Day Planner is a wonderful tool!

Remembering medical information or having a place to record it so you don’t have to remember it is vitally important if you or a loved one has a medical condition or serious illness of any kind.

How many prescribed medications are you taking?

How many is a loved one of yours taking?

They can and do often add up to quite a few.

When my mother was ill, my brother set up a record keeping system in a black composition notebook. We recorded all her medications (and there grew to be many), time of day each was given, who gave it and the like. We also kept track of things like how much she was able to eat and drink each day, how long she slept, when her next appointments were, questions to ask next time and so on.

The Medical Day Planner helps you keep track of all these things and more.

If we had had the Medical Day Planner back then, our documenting job would have been a whole lot easier. It certainly would have come in handy after my diagnosis too.

It comes organized, so you don’t have to be.

The Medical Day Planner is put together in a spiral format and is divided into ten sections. Each section has a handy summary of its purpose, suggestions and places to record vital information. It also includes a 52 week day planner. This is a planner to take notes in; in short, it’s a planner to use and wear out!

In addition to being such a well-thought out handy organizer, I am greatly inspired by Tory’s personal story and dedication to helping others.

You see, Tory’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when Tory was only eighteen years old. Tory became her mother’s primary caretaker for six years. Sadly, Tory’s mother passed away in 2009. While grieving for her mother, Tory developed her vision for this guide.

As Tory says in her book’s moving introduction, “This book was born out of turning loss into love.”

That’s how the Medical Day Planner came into being.

Thank you, Tory, for taking your idea and turning it into an amazing tool that I know will help many people navigate the medical maze for a long time to come. You can visit Tory’s website here. You can watch a brief you-tube video by clicking on the book above.

If you would like a chance to win a free copy of The Medical Day Planner:  The Guide to Help Navigate the Medical Maze, leave a comment saying so below by noon CT on Tuesday, August 22nd. If you comment on the accompanying Facebook post, your names goes into the drawing twice. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

Sign up to win a copy for yourself or to give away!

Are you an organized person?

Are you familiar with the “bin” approach?

How do you keep track of medical information/records?