Laura Hillenbrand interview "Leaving Frailty Behind"

[fdotx]

Interview with Laura Hillenbrand followed by an audio transcript of a longer interview. ( I don't see that it's been posted but apologies if it has.)
http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2016summer/leaving-frailty-behind.html

 

[Remy]

Laura Hillenbrand has been leaving hints about her "recovery" for months now...but without any solid details of how she got there.

I don't believe she simply worked up to being able to ride in a car...and poof, cross country journey, now she is well again. Can you imagine that working for any of us? Someone called it graded car therapy on another site. Funny, but apt.

I understand her need for medical privacy but it's very frustrating not to know at least some details. She has to know how many of us are following her.

Nonetheless, obviously, I wish her well in her new life on the west coast and hope for continued improvement.

 

[fdotx]

I sure didn't get the impression she was well or even close to recovered, only that she's doing quite a lot better than before. Would be nice to know what she's done though....

 

[Cort]

Laura has never been interested in being a spokesman for this disease or except for one or two events over the past twenty years being engaged in it to a meaningful extent in a public manner at all. Quite frankly its been disappointing.

If she used new treatments to help her get better not mentioning them is unconscionable. Here's one of the most popular authors in the world saying that she's had this huge breakthrough in her health - she knows that everyone in the ME/CFS community is going to be hanging on every word - and will want to know how she did it - and she doesn't say anything about it - that's doesn't make sense to me.

Recently, Hillenbrand has made a lot of changes in her medical treatments and in her life.

If some sort of mind/body practice worked or if she pushed out and discovered she could do more than she thought then she should say that. If some other treatment worked - then say that - why be so private about it?

As with many things with Laura Hillenbrand the ME/CFS community is left with an glass an 1/8th full.

 

[Cort]

It sounds like she's mind/body work - that she's teaching her brain how to better tolerate stimuli.

If I keep doing this, can I teach my brain how to tolerate it? I’d go a little longer and a little longer. And over two years, I went from being just miserably dizzy after five minutes to being able to go two hours.

 

[Cort]

I agree - nobody should think that she's well - she's clearly not well - she's a lot more functional though.

I sure didn't get the impression she was well or even close to recovered, only that she's doing quite a lot better than before. Would be nice to know what she's done though....

 

[Cort]

I agree - nobody should think that she's well - she's clearly not well - she's a lot more functional though.

She and Gary Sinese started a charity called Operation Iraqi Children in 2004 which lasted for nine years. That must have taken some work....

She's been at White House screenings of her movies with Pres. Bush and Steven Spielberg and she sat next to the Bushes at a major event. I vividly remember thinking wow - she has the ear of the President.

She did give money to Solve ME/CFS and did headline an event for them....But that's like one instance in the past 10 or 15 years or whatever it is. It's been really frustrating.