Without a Manual
The reflections of a woman in her forties determined to live her fullest life, while facing terminal illness
by Sandy Trunzer

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In 2009, after being diagnosed with Erdheim-Chester Disease, a rare, life-ending illness, author Sandy Trunzer began a blog, with the simple intention of keeping friends updated on her health. Over time, and with feedback from an ever-increasing number of readers. Without a Manual evolved into a wry and unflinching account of what it’s like to see your death looming just ahead…and keep on living anyway. Through battles with insurers who refused to finance medications for an illness so rare there was no real medical protocol, and while suffering ever-diminishing health, increasing pain, and a devastating personal betrayal, Sandy continued to maintain her blog. A deeply insightful account of approaching the end of life with grace, love and humour, it lights a beacon – illuminating the way ahead for the sick and able-bodied alike.

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"Poignant, funny, heart breaking, and heart warming...The journey of a dying young woman in her last five years of life."

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Proprietor of The Intrepid Lens, Sandy Trunzer was a professional photographer whose home city of Burlington, Ontario is surrounded by the beauty of farmland and the Niagara Escarpment. While she was well, Sandy lived and breathed photography; both landscape and portraiture. Since her diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester Disease, in 2009, she has become a blogger, a spokesperson for Canadians with rare illness, and was recently the subject of a CBC documentary on end-of-life options called Last Right. She has a twenty-year-old daughter, Suzanna, who has taken a hiatus from university to care for her mother in her final days.

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Contributors

Author

Sandy Trunzer

Foreword

Ken Banks

Introduction

Shannon Delbridge

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