He fought hard for his mother and himself. I can see a movie being made.

That's amazing - not sure I could handle all those medications my sef but good for him

Dedication to help others. Bless him. I hope he lives a long, happy life.

Thanks for this great post! Bookmarking and sharing with friends.

able to get access to those rooms and been taken seriously?

I have the skills and skin color to eventually break through.

Our story is not as dramatic - but I diagnosed my daughter with a previously known, but rare, condition and badgered the doctor until he ran the tests I knew would confirm the diagnosis.

To do that, I did have to do independent research the doctor refused to do (he was sure nothing serious was wrong with her), pin down her symptoms to a particular organ, and determine which "flavor" of disease of that organ she had.

I have access to medical journals, and the education and basic medical sense to interpret them. I have the luxury of time (largely because my education gave me access to a job that pays well enough I don't have to work myself to death - and a high enough salary that I can rob time from the job without suffering financially). In a limited medical area, I was able to know more than the doctor did - so that when he posed objections to my diagnosis I could counter with why he was wrong.

And - likely becuase I have white skin - my badgering did not get me thrown out of his practice.

But I agree with the basic principle that those of us with privilege (beyond just race and gender) can use essentially brute force to get our voices heard - and that is not a luxury available to those who are poor, uneducated, inarticulate, or who belong to a class of people society does not take seriously.

After quite a battle with the disease and then the medical establishment , he was finally treated and mostly able to do his academic work

This happened in the 70s or 80s

A later sad coda---my ex informed me a few yrs ago that his wife developed early onset Alzheimers

Not to mention, a similarly brilliant, well educated and affluent minority or woman could have been the subject of this story. I would also mention, that he clearly had friends who were there for him.

While it is clear that this man and his mother were obviously from a wealthy family. I get that a poor person - of either sex or any race - would not have had the ability to live through that lost decade where he could not function AND have the resources to get medical books and a computer to do the research. However, I suspect that many people, if in that position and wealthy, would not have the focus, ability, and perseverance to do what he did.

While fortunate in his background, affluence and education, his family was afflicted with a devastating medical issue that they could not get help with. Reading that his mom lived with this since her son was a toddler is sobering. I can't help thinking of how much she lost out on - when as a young woman, she should have been enjoying raising her young son. Clearly, the family had the resources to have someone care for him and her.

out, and why a conference doesn't determine that a white man who says he graduated from Harvard actually didn't.

Both are true. I know lots of people similarly situated to me/our family who just accept the doctor's word and/or give up. I'm wired more like this young man. So when my daughter's doctor insisted nothing serious was wrong with her, I did just as this young man did. I diagnosed her and - far from being "nothing serious," at the time of her diagnosis gave her disease had a prognosis of 10 years to death or transplant. So - yes - my perseverence, focus, and ability allowed my daughter to get her diagnosis in approximately 1/10 of the average diagnosis for this disease - and yes, I forced the doctor to run the tests necessary to confirm my diagnosis. And that is no small accomplishment.

It takes nothing away from our success, though, for me to acknolwedge that a less educated, poor black woman would not likely have been able to accomplish the same thing I did.

The reality is I know this very well - the awareness of the many privileges I have is wired into the very fabric of my being. It is precisely because of that awareness that I do things that I could afford not to do - like spend 200 hours fighting with the insurance company over a $100 bill. Their system was broken, I had figured out precisely how it was broken (By the end, I was describing to the front line phone staff exactly where to look for the document they could not find - without ever having seen it). My privileges allowed me to sort that out - and even though it was only $100 out of my pocket (which I could easily have afforded to lose), I had the educational and communicative abilities to make them fix system - so that when seomeone without those privileges (for whom it might have been a mistake of several thousand dollars) encountered the system, they would not be stuck with a bill for the services for which they were entitled to payment.

I have no idea whether this young man is as aware of his privileges as I am of mine - but becoming aware is a good thing (and is not in the least bit offensive to one already aware of that reality).

That was amazing!

The entire article is well worth reading

Just amazing!

Wow, those are two totally different career paths!