At the age of 55, John Gudmundson suffered major health issues and spent 40 days in New Westminster's Royal Columbian Hospital. He self-published a memoir about the experience, "The Heart Logs: An Engineer's trip through the medical system" (Friesenpress, 2014).

This intimate exploration of life inside a BC Hospital from a patient's point of view covers the six months of Gudmundson's life after he developed endocarditis, followed by kidney failure within three days. In hospital, he underwent heart surgery and began hemodialysis. The memoir provides insights into what patients face during long term treatments. Most of his key doctors and nurses agreed to be included in the story.

Born in Edmonton, Gudmundson has lived in BC since he was 14. He spent over 20 years in the software industry, seven of them in Switzerland, the rest in BC.

BOOKS

The Heart Logs: An Engineer's trip through the medical system" (Friesenpress, 2014)

[BCBW 2014]