Liel's Medical Odyssey
Liel Pink died on August 4, 2022, at the age of 21, from severe damage to multiple organs caused by a rare, non-genetically identified mitochondrial disease. For most of her 3-year illness, she was misdiagnosed and her symptoms routinely minimized by medical professionals. Beyond the many medical mistakes and medical indifference to which she was subjected, Liel was often treated cruelly, blamed for her illness, and made to feel that her life didn’t matter by the very people who were responsible for her care. We are grateful to those few clinicians who clearly understood the seriousness of Liel’s condition and wanted to help her. Even those with good intentions, though, were often unable to do so because our healthcare system prioritizes profit and expediency over patient safety and compassionate care.
Here is Liel’s story:
Liel's Story Featured on PBS NewsHour
Liel's Mom Speaking at MN Alliance for Patient Safety Conference
Healthcare Advocacy & Activism
After realizing that individual doctors and medical systems were unwilling to learn from the mistakes made during Liel’s care, we found The Patient Revolution (TPR), a nonprofit dedicated to transforming healthcare into a more careful, kind, and human-centered system. TPR recognizes that patients and healthcare professionals alike (40% of physicians anticipate leaving the field within 2 years) are suffering under the current unsustainable model. Only through a collaboration that brings patients, caregivers, clinicians, and decision-makers together, such that they facilitate, are we able to demand and innovate meaningful and enduring change that will benefit everyone.
Since partnering with TPR, Liel’s story has reached millions, inspiring clinicians and patients to demand and work toward transformational healthcare improvements. Her story was:
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Featured on PBS NewsHour
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Highlighted at the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety and Antibiotic Stewardship Conferences
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Integrated into TPR’s Foundations of Care course
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Included in a major medical school’s curriculum
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The focus of a podcast on mitochondrial disorders
We invite you to learn more about TPR, sign up for the free Foundations of Care course, and support TPR’s vital work in Liel’s memory.