Joshua Kors is an investigative reporter for The Nation, where he covers health issues. He is the winner of the National Magazine Award, George Polk Award, IRE Award, the National Press Club’s Hume Award, the Mental Health Media Award and many others. His reporting on health issues has been featured on PBS, CNN and the BBC. He also collaborated with ABC News’ Bob Woodruff on “World News Tonight” and “Nightline” investigations, part of a series on health issues in the military, which won the Peabody Award.

He has written extensively about his own epilepsy. The following article was completed in May 2003, as his master’s thesis for the Columbia School of Journalism. This version has been updated to include reporting on his epilepsy experience in the 8 years since its original publication to October 2011. ♦ ♦ ♦ May 2003 The Talking Treatment Looking at a New Approach to Epilepsy  By Joshua Kors

Even today I have a hard time talking about my epilepsy.

Though it’s been 11 years since my first seizure, five years since I last saw the inside of an ambulance, I still feel my stomach constrict when the topic comes up.

There are reasons, I suppose. In a sheltered life lived in the suburbs, epilepsy [...] continue the story

By Dr. Jennifer Kelly February 12, 2012

I was jogging one day while on a business trip in LA and collapsed during the run. Within hours, I was at the hospital at UCLA Medical Center on a gurney headed for a CT scan of my abdominal cavity. I remember telling the ER physicians that I was a doctor and recommending my own course of action. As my advice to the ER doctors went largely ignored, I realized, at that moment, that being a doctor myself really didn’t matter.

I wasn’t a doctor anymore. I was a patient.

That was almost a year ago. At the time, I recalled that The Archives of Internal Medicine had published a much-discussed study that revealed doctors might recommend different treatments for their patients than they would for themselves. They were far more likely to prescribe for patients a potentially life-saving treatment with severe side effects than they were to pick that treatment for themselves. Yes, doctors were much more willing to risk their patients’ lives than their own; they were much more willing to gamble with their patients’ lives than their own.

Understandably, people are worried that these findings mean doctors know something they’re not telling [...] continue the story

Feb 19, 2011

An amazing and heart warming story of hope in Haiti. Watch George, a 28 year old dancer, as he regains his life after he was severly injured in the earthquake and following a long rehabilitation process in Israel and Haiti.

It’s been almost a year since my friend Kay and I had our car accident. We were only two years out of college and had just finished work. Both of our families lived far away so we were “it” for each other. We carpooled often, and that day was her turn to drive. It could have just as easily been me behind the wheel. The light turned green, and we started to cross the intersection. A driver was texting on his phone, ran the red light, and smashed into our car. I have no memory of what happened after that.

People tell me that Kay and I were pinned in the car, and that it took a while for the paramedics to get us to the ER. Kay was in critical condition with a severe head injury, her heart stopped several times, and they had to perform CPR on her.  We both hadgone into a coma.

Although I eventually woke up, Kay suffered severe brain damage. For days, doctors did everything they could to keep her alive – breathing machines, stomach tubes, and all the other “extraordinary measures.”  When her family finally arrived and found her advance medical directives days later, they [...] continue the story

It’s hard to imagine what a palliative care environment is like unless your family has experienced a loved one dying in one.

Almost eleven years ago, my 89 year old mother was dying of lung cancer. Fortunately, the almost five-year course of the disease had left her mostly symptom- and pain-free. But, about a month before she died, my mom suffered a nasty fall. After a day or so of hospital tests her (very wise) physician told us, “the disease has spread to her brain; there’s nothing more we can do. I suggest we transfer her to hospice.”

Startling, but not unexpected, news.

We talked with my mother about the transfer. She was calm and knew it was for the best.

I don’t remember what I was expecting when we accompanied my mother to the hospice facility, but it certainly wasn’t the kind of vibrant atmosphere we found there.

After all, death is supposed to be solemn and foreboding.

But not here. Here, families were sitting in a spacious greatroom, watching TV, playing games and laughing. There were kids around. The staff was upbeat and engaging.

We were shown to my mother’s room and encouraged to visit any time, day or night. A staff nurse reassured us [...] continue the story