Patient in the Mirror: Respiratory Therapist’s Journey from Caregiver to Patient—and Back to Purpose
About this ebook
For most of his life, Mitchell stood on one side of healthcare. He educated patients, supported families, worked alongside physicians, and helped people breathe easier during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. He understood illness through the eyes of a healthcare professional.
Then everything changed.
A painful kidney stone, hospitalization, surgery, a urinary catheter, and weeks of living with a ureteral stent suddenly placed Mitchell on the other side of the healthcare system. The caregiver became the patient.
Through fear, pain, frustration, humor, and unexpected moments of reflection, Mitchell began to see healthcare differently. He experienced firsthand how vulnerable a person can feel when control is taken away, when pain becomes overwhelming, and when compassion from a healthcare professional can matter as much as the treatment itself.
But Patient in the Mirror is about more than one medical experience.
It is a story about a lifetime of caring for others, surviving loss, rebuilding after difficult chapters, finding friendship and community, returning to the water through kayaking and paddling, and discovering that purpose can be renewed at any stage of life.
Mitchell’s journey challenges healthcare professionals to remember the person behind the diagnosis and encourages patients and caregivers to recognize the strength found in sharing their experiences.
Written with honesty, humor, and compassion, Patient in the Mirror is ultimately a story of transformation. After more than forty years of looking at patients from the caregiver’s side of the bed, Mitchell Ball finally saw himself in the patient’s reflection.
And what he saw changed him forever.
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About the author
Mitchell Ball is a Certified Respiratory Therapy Technician (CRTT) with more than forty years of experience in respiratory care, patient education, home healthcare, CPAP and BiPAP therapy, physician relations, and clinical consultation.
After spending decades caring for patients and helping families navigate illness, Mitchell unexpectedly found himself on the other side of healthcare when a kidney stone, hospitalization, surgery, and weeks of living with a ureteral stent transformed the caregiver into the patient. That experience inspired Patient in the Mirror: A Respiratory Therapist’s Journey from Caregiver to Patient—and Back to Purpose.
Mitchell is also the author of When the Last Witness Is Gone: Our Responsibility to Remember, a personal reflection on Holocaust memory, antisemitism, and the responsibility of future generations to preserve the stories of those who can no longer speak for themselves.
Beyond writing and healthcare, Mitchell is the organizer of All About Paddling, a South Florida community that brings kayakers and paddleboarders together through friendship, recreation, and a shared love of the water.
Through his books, healthcare experience, and community involvement, Mitchell seeks to encourage compassion, preserve memory, and remind others that difficult experiences can lead to renewed purpose.
