Evonne Hedgepeth

Bold and Relentless — Book Overview

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BOLD AND RELENTLESS — BOOK OVERVIEWA Memoir about a Great Love, Tragic Loss and Medical Madness by Evonne Hedgepeth For anyone who is living with their own illness or disability or caring for a loved one with one, this inspiring combination memoir and advice book by psychologist/educator Evonne Hedgepeth, Ph.D. (with contributions by her environmental scientist husband, Andy McMillan) illustrates a “better way” to obtain and maintain the highest quality of life possible in such circumstances. The story of their near decade long experience with managing multiple myeloma and autoimmune disease, while living with the chronic condition of multiple chemical sensitivities, by using a self-designed integrative treatment approach also provides a clear-eyed, no-holds-barred critique of modern medical systems of all stripes and offers a playbook for how patients and their caregivers can safely navigate such treacherous waters to get their health care needs met without sacrificing their humanity. The fatal …

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This Caged Bird is Going to Sing

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This Caged Bird is Going to Sing “If one has courage, nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” Dr. Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings If you’ve read my post on this site “All of Us are Canaries Now” then you are aware that the term “Canary” for chemically sensitive people is derived from the historical practice of coal miners taking a canary in a cage down into a mine shaft with them while working. As long as the canary was still alive and well, the miners assumed it was safe for them to go to keep working in the mine. The canary bird is best known, however, for its beautiful song, which delights its listeners. But those of us humans who identify as “Canaries” are less likely to sing. We have survived “going down into the mine shafts” of environmental exposures but we suffer …

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If It Smells, It Sells

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“If It Smells, It Sells” Serious journalists complain that “if it bleeds, it leads” when their substantive, public-serving stories are bumped off the front page and not used as “teasers” on TV news programs in favor of tales that have more blood, tragedy, and shock value. The editors, who are responsible for keeping readership and media outlet profits up, understand human nature and know that such titillating stories are much more likely to catch the viewer’s attention. Similarly, modern manufacturers of a whole array of products from garbage bags to car waxes to construction materials to bubblegum know something about human nature too: “if it smells, it sells.” A product advertised as having “fragrance” is much more likely to be purchased than one without added scent. What manufacturers do not disclose is these fragrances are made up of synthetic chemicals (not natural ingredients) and harm human health and the environment, …

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Double Casualties of America’s Broken Medical System

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INTRODUCTION to Medical Madness Category Caution: Some content in this post may be disturbing to certain individuals. DOUBLE CASUALTIES of America’s Broken Medical System “They have killed me. They have f——- killed me.” Andy McMillan, an hour before he died from a medication overdose. Months after my husband’s death, I found a letter he had written in his journal for me to find. It began: “If you are reading this, then the worst has happened.” On March 6, 2014, my beloved spouse Andy had exhaled his last two breaths into my mouth, as I frantically tried to administer CPR to him, to no avail. The hospital staff had refused to respond to our daughter’s urgent pleas for help when Andy suddenly stopped breathing. Someone had placed a “Do Not Resuscitate” order in his chart without our knowledge. The attending hospitalist that night had stubbornly refused him care–not even effective pain …

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Butterflies, Birds, and Other Messengers from Beyond the Veil

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Butterflies, Birds, and Other Messengers from Beyond the Veil “After I’m gone, look for me in birds.” Andy McMillan “Will I die, too?” Angelica, a ten-year-old dear to my heart, asked me while we sat close together on a bench in a small church cemetery. A week earlier, Angelica’s 18-year-old sister Bethany had been killed in a head-on vehicle collision on a beautiful sunny day while she was driving a back road to her volunteer job as a paramedic for the local fire department. Only a few days before, we had celebrated Bethany’s stellar life along with nearly a thousand people crowded into and overflowing from the standing room only church into an auditorium where the service was being live-streamed. Many of the attendees were Bethany’s fellow students and faculty members from the school for the gifted she had attended, laying groundwork for her planned career as a pediatric ER …

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All Humans Are Male Or Female—Or Are They?

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INTRODUCTION to Series of Posts:  Sexuality, Sex, Gender, and Attraction: The Differences and Why They Matter ALL HUMANS ARE MALE OR FEMALE—OR ARE THEY? “Under the Trump administration, it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” Donald Trump, December 22, 2024             In a recent speech to a large gathering of the political action group, Turning Point USA, President-elect Trump made this alarming promise: “With a stroke of my pen on day one, we are going to stop the transgender lunacy.”   Apparently, the President-elect believes the word “transgender” refers only to individuals who want to or already have transitioned from one “gender” to another: i.e., from biological male to biological female, or female to male.[i] (To give him credit where it is due, at least he said “genders,” not “sexes.”)             But for a leader of the …

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Patients Just Want Their “Props”

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INTRODUCTION to Series:  PATIENTS JUST WANT THEIR “PROPS” “It’s not a suggestion, it’s a prescription. Follow your doctor’s orders!”                                                               Billboard message by a medical practice in Salt Lake City, Utah  Have you ever felt scolded by a provider because you did not follow “doctor’s orders?” Ever been stuck in the patient waiting area until long after your appointment time? Ever had your own time with your provider shortened because he or she is running behind? Ever waited for a promised follow-up communication from your provider that never comes? Ever wanted to smash something because the fancy new office “portal” is so user-unfriendly? Ever been told that you cannot get a copy of your medical records unless you pay a fee, because your records “belong to the practice,” not you? Ever suspected that you are not receiving proper care from your provider because of your race, gender, gender identity, sexual …

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All of Us Are Canaries Now

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INTRODUCTION to Category: “Surviving the Chemical Age”   “For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now being subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.”  Rachel Carson, The Silent Spring “Canary in a Coal Mine” In the past, coal miners would lower a canary in a cage down into the mine to check for the presence of dangerous gases. If the canary was sick or dead when its cage was pulled back up, the miners knew not to go down into the mine. Nowadays, all of us, our loved ones and our pets are “canaries.” We are the subjects in an uncontrolled experiment by the Chemical Industry. We are all being sickened by it, whether we know it yet or not. When I was a young child, we worried about “The Bomb”— annihilation by nuclear war. Today the …

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