Chasing My Cure

From someone that has lived through years of, "We just do not know.", for myself and many of my children I can somewhat relate to David Fajgenbaum's journey. On page 5 he says, "I've had a lot of time over the past few years to think about doctors, and they've had a lot of time to think about me. One thing I've learned is that every one of use who puts on a white coat had a fraught relationship with the concept of authority. Of course, we all train and grind for years and year to have it. We all want it. And we all seek to be the trusted voice in the room when someone else is full of urgent questions. And the public expects near omniscience from physicians. But at the same time, all of it instills in use a kind of realism about what is and what is not ultimately possible. Not one of use know all there is to know. Not even nearly." Wow! These words are so very true. When we are sick and desperate for answers we forget that sometimes even the best of doctor's just do not have the answers. Our own family realized this back years ago when after the NIH having studied our family for over a couple of years came back and told us that they just didn't have answers for us. Talk about feeling DEFEATED!  We have come across these same issues with our local teams of specialists. We have heard it all. We haven't ever seen anything quite like this. Your family is very special and unique. We are not quite sure what to make of these results. We really do not know what else to do. You and your husband make beautiful children but genetically you make downright crappy kids. And the list goes on...

Having just started medical school rotations, David soon began to experience extreme fatigue, enlarged lymph nodes, abdominal pain, nausea, sweats, and blood moles. He would soon be in for the fight of his life. David would recover then relapse again. Doctor's did not know what he was fighting. Was it cancer. No. Eventually it would be discovered that he was fighting something just as fatal as cancer, if not worse. He had Castleman Disease. Castleman Disease is a rare autoimmune disorder. Eventually it would be up to David to find his own cure.

I am leaving out so much of the good stuff that makes this book so wonderful! I read this book in less than a day because I was unable to put it down. This book will inspire and uplift you. It will give you a sense of HOPE for finding cures for the rare and unusual diseases that are often overlooked.

I admire people such as David Fajgenbaum who are passionate about fighting for and finding cures for rare diseases. It is sad that it took David having to be diagnosed with Castleman's in order to bring about the groundbreaking research on this horrific disease. He chose to fight back and make something good come out of it.