About Dr. Fisher
Dr. Michael Fisher received his medical degree from State Medical University of New York in Syracuse in 1968 and completed his nephrology fellowship at UCLA in 1972. As co-medical director of acute dialysis at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital since 1984, he has conducted 131 teaching lectures at the hospital on topics that include management of malignant hypertension, renal management of toxic shock syndrome, and NSAID drug-induced renal failure.
Dr. Fisher describes two events that shaped his career. As a Peace Corps volunteer to Bolivia, he learned “how much we all have in common. People want to live healthy lives and they want the same for their loved ones. Most importantly, it was clear to me that having loved ones around during surgery or sickness was powerful medicine.”
Then, in 2013, Dr. Fisher was diagnosed with lung cancer. He writes, “Walking in the slippers of my patients allowed me to more fully understand the challenges they faced and the courage they found to overcome them. I realized that I had been in the presence of heroes, my patients, and I was determined to get well and to write a book to tell their remarkable stories as way of honoring them. My hope is that such a book will inspire all who face major life challenges to find their own inner fiery spirit and to succeed in overcoming adversity.”
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Dr. Fisher’s career was shaped by two distinct events. While he was preparing for his practice, Dr. Fisher served as a Peace Corps physician serving in La Paz Bolivia from 1969 to 1971. In his own words:
“One of the key lessons I learned in Bolivia was how much we all have in common. People want to live healthy lives and they want the same for their loved ones. Most importantly, it was clear to me that having loved ones around during surgery or sickness was powerful medicine.”
In 2013, Dr. Fisher was diagnosed with lung cancer.
“I suddenly became a patient myself and came face-to-face with the idea that I was no longer a part of the “temporarily healthy.” Walking in the slippers of my patients allowed me to more fully understand the challenges they faced and the courage that they found to overcome them. I realized that I had been in the presence of heroes, my patients, and I was determined to get well and to write a book to tell their remarkable stories as way of honoring them. My hope is that such a book will inspire all who face major life challenges to find their own inner fiery spirit and to succeed in overcoming adversity.”
READERS SAY…
A doctor
Michael Fisher’s book is the work of a rare sort of specialist—a physician who treats not organs but human beings, who sees disease and health not in narrowly physiological terms but as manifestations of the mind/body unity long taught by ancient wisdom and eloquently...
A kidney advocate
From his own serious illness, Dr. Michael Fisher emerged an inspiring communicator whose passion for patient care far exceeds the norm. This book captures not only the hope, grit, and courage it takes to overcome kidney disease, but illuminates a path to prevention...
A psychiatrist
Michael Fisher’s deep insights into the suffering of his renal patients are a model for the empathic practice of medicine. His work is a major antidote to a one-sided technical approach to medicine, and a timely reminder of the importance of the human side of...
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