Family care coordination, with visuals

For much of my journey with Pictal Health, I’ve worked with folks (to me, “clients”) who have very complex health histories. I’ve helped them map out what happened on a timeline, prep other visuals to tell their story, and organize their thoughts for upcoming appointments. Normally these have been people with unsolved or confusing issues that don’t fit a clear clinical picture; many were dealing with post-acute infection syndromes such as Long Covid, Chronic Lyme, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As someone with a history of strange symptoms and complicated immune issues, I understood their desperation to be heard and find answers.

Over the years, others have expressed interest in using these visuals to help coordinate care for a family member, such as an aging parent, a spouse, or a child with medical issues. This has always made sense to me, but in the past I have been more attuned to the unsolved mysteries, the people like me.

Now I see things differently. In the past year, one of my parents received a cancer diagnosis and is going through intensive treatment; another took a terrible fall down the stairs, had a subsequent hospital stay plus multiple surgeries, and now has lingering pain. Their situation would be overwhelming if just one of them were having health issues; with both at the same time, everything is compounded. The sheer number of appointments has them working at least a part-time job. It’s chaotic and exhausting, and it takes up a lot of mental space.