As a society, we’re always watching SOMETHING.
Television, smartphones, tablets, smart watches, computers – we’re always glued to some form of media, so it’s always nice when the people we see behind those screens and monitors are diverse and reflective of the population.
So it’s great to see someone living with – and THRIVING WITH – a rare disease share their story on the media.
On last Friday’s episode of the View, renowned journalist Richard Cohen (alongside wife, fellow journalist and former View cohost Meredith Vieira) was a guest to discuss his new book Chasing Hope: A Patient’s Deep Dive into Stem Cells, Faith, and the Future.
The books is a “deep dive into the cutting-edge world of stem cell research and his journalistic investigation of hope includes interviews with doctors, scientists, and religious leaders, as well as conversations with others living with chronic conditions” – which is something we’re a fan of!
“[Diagnose and adios] – that was a very popular phrase, because when you got a diagnosis like [MS] there was nothing they could do. And there was no hope. It was sort of like- you got it, so long, have a good life.”
Cohen has been battle with multiple sclerosis (MS) since the early 1970s, when he was diagnosed at the age of 25. MS is a neurological disease that affects the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. A person’s immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve cells known as the myelin sheath.
To read more about MS, click here.
But Richard says the turning point of hope – and results – was stem cells, the subject of his book.
While the debate on stem cells used to be a hot topic (particularly embryonic stem cells, which several religious advocacy groups denounced as it relates to government-funded research) – technology has got us to a point where the Vatican (yes, THE VATICAN, the Catholic Church’s HQ) has organized and hosted several international stem cell research conferences!
For more details on Richard’s book “Chasing Hope” click here!
But the interview is very sweet, considering his wife Meredith joins him to talk their early days of courtship, a pet one of them loves and the other hates, and what it was like raising a family. Richard recalls-
“When there’s illness in the family, especially in the parents, it has a tremendous impact on the kids.”
Meredith hits on the head when she says that illness in the family is a double-edged sword; obviously a challenge, but also an opportunity to grow as a family because of the bonding circumstances.
