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September 26th, 2012
12:00 PM ET
Helping the littlest patients fight cancerEditor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week we meet a young man who will graduate from Temple University at age 19. Fabien Navidi-Kasmai is a survivor of both childhood cancer and cancer treatment. The chemotherapy and radiation led to nausea and changes in his palate, making the foods he loved inedible - if he felt like eating at all. His mother's challenge was to find healthy foods he would like to eat, so he could stay in the fight. The recipes mother and son developed together can now be found in their cookbook, "Happily Hungry." They hope it will help other children and their families survive the treatments designed to kill cancer. From Fabien Navidi-Kasmai: In Farsi, they call yogurt "mast." It isn't spelled like that though, because well, people who speak Farsi write in Farsi, but it's pronounced like "must." From a young age I've loved mast. My grandma would dice cucumbers and put them in mast, we would put mast on rice, and add honey to mast as a sweet, healthy dessert. I've even been told stories about how when I was two years old I would demand "more mast!" and my American grandfather would keel over laughing. FULL POST
September 20th, 2012
01:40 PM ET
Young motocross racer silences competition againEditor's Note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces you to a remarkable young women named Ashley Fiolek, who won her first national motocross championship in 2008 - her rookie year. Less than two weeks ago, she became the national champ for the fourth time. Fiolek quickly became a role model for many girls who love this sport. Not only is she good at it, she does it without being able to hear her competitors. Fiolek was born deaf. She tells ESPN that this was her final season racing in the women's outdoor motocross (WMX) series, but she's not retiring. She will continue to compete in the X-Games and hopes to branch out, including possibly racing against men and maybe trying something new, like truck racing.
September 13th, 2012
07:36 AM ET
Making your health a priority, even on the roadEditor's Note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week we take a closer look at Glenn Keller, who is one of seven CNN viewers selected from around the country to train for and compete alongside Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Here are his thoughts on this journey. Well, there are only a few days left. There is a little nervousness and a lot of excitement that we have made it to this point. When friends and family notice the weight I've lost and comment about how much better I look, it can only be compared to how much better I feel. I look forward to being able to cross the finish line in Malibu with the rest of my teammates on Sunday. I'm not sure if any of us knew this is where we would be at this point of our lives. I know I didn't, but it is giving me such a sense of accomplishment - so much so that I haven't even done the first triathlon yet, but I find myself looking forward to paying my own way just so I can participate next year. FULL POST
September 5th, 2012
08:08 AM ET
Chopper crash survivor helps others heal with artIn the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week we introduce you to Laura Sharpe, founder of Artists For Trauma, who has first-hand knowledge of the power of art as an effective healing tool. I am like you in almost every way but one: I survived a tragic and traumatic helicopter crash on Catalina Island on May 24, 2008, Memorial Day weekend. Trauma is such a part of the life process. Level 1 trauma is more prevalent than you may know. It happens in an instant. It’s unexpected, devastating and life altering! “Divine intervention” were the first words I spoke when I finally came out of a 4 to 6 week coma following that horrific helicopter crash that took the lives of three lovely humans and almost killed me, our oldest daughter and our friend.
August 29th, 2012
07:38 AM ET
One-handed kid meets his baseball idolEditor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. From the moment he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, Reece Holloway is living, breathing and thinking about baseball. He taught himself how to hit the ball at the tender age of 2 and has never let anything stop him from doing what he loves best. When Reece's idol Chipper Jones saw the story of this young player, he had to meet him. Jones invited the whole Holloway family to a Braves game in Atlanta. Jones told his loyal fan to try hard and do his best, no matter what life throws his way. What seemed nearly impossible has occurred as a result of this meeting: Young Reece is even more enthusiastic about playing the game of baseball.
August 22nd, 2012
07:12 AM ET
Overcoming barriers to bring mobility to the worldEditor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Ralph Braun was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 1947. I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when I was just 6 years old. Doctors told my parents I’d only live to be a young teenager. They encouraged my parents to leave me behind to be studied, to be institutionalized. Fortunately, my parents refused. Years later, we discovered that the doctors had diagnosed me with the wrong type of MD. Eventually the disease took away my strength, just not as quickly as the doctors had originally predicted. By the time I was 13, I was relying on piggyback rides from my dad to get out of my wheelchair and into the back seat of my family’s car.
August 14th, 2012
10:00 AM ET
8-year-old writes book on hearing lossEditor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Samantha Brownlie was diagnosed with nonsyndromic sensorineural bilateral hearing loss when she was 3 years old. Hi, my name is Samantha. I'm 8 years old. I have an older brother named Sean. Me and my family live in New York City. I go to P.S. 3 in Manhattan. Sean and I were born with hearing loss. We both wear hearing aids. It's not that hard to get used to wearing hearing aids. All you need to do is think of good things and then you put it in your ear and you hear better. That's all there is to it! My mom or dad used to put my hearing aids in but now I'm old enough to do it by myself. I really like my hearing aids because I can hear so much better with them. I used to wear one hearing aid and now I wear two. They are pink and blue!
July 18th, 2012
01:21 PM ET
Healing process more than skin deep for burn survivorsEditor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Lesia Cartelli's childhood tragedy motivated her to found a retreat for young women who have scars just like hers. It happened again. We witnessed more miracles of strength and courage in just seven days. We just completed our ninth retreat at Angel Faces. After every retreat I think…can this get any better? Are there more girls out there in the world with so much pain, yet desire to heal from their serious burn injuries? The next year rolls around, another retreat gets underway where we witness more adolescent girls flocking to us with a hunger to overcome their fears of being accepted, a desire to embrace who they are, and an urge to get excited about a new life. The girls arrive at the front gate with scars molding and weaving various shapes over what once was fresh, virgin skin. Often the depth of their scars is not even close to the depth of heart pain that came with those scars.
July 11th, 2012
03:21 PM ET
Cancer survivor helps other patients surviveIn the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Richard Dickens wanted to help cancer patients, but he never imagined he'd have to battle disease himself before being able to do so. Three words unite all cancer patients: “You have cancer.” These words shock the mind and for many begin a period of denial. Denial is not a bad word. As someone once said in a young adult group I attended, “sometimes there is a healthy dose of denial.” I experienced a healthy dose of denial when I was diagnosed with stage 4 follicular lymphoma at 37. Before my diagnosis, I had just received my acceptance to attend graduate school to study social work. I was an avid athlete and a competitive marathon runner. I felt I was at the peak of good health. Then one morning, when I lifted my arm and saw a swollen lymph node, I knew it was serious. Walking numbly through weeks of tests and appointments with several doctors at different hospitals, I learned my prognosis. The good news was that my cancer responded to chemotherapy, but the bad news was that it was terminal. I asked a nurse and doctor how long I had to live; they told me I had maybe 10 years.
July 4th, 2012
08:37 AM ET
Iraq vet says adversity will come - be ready!Editor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. Army Major Daniel Gade was wounded in action twice in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. He continues his active duty military career as an instructor at West Point, where he teaches American Politics. Gade also inspires many as an endurance athlete - he just completed a 3,000 mile bike ride across the United States. When I woke up in the hospital in February 2005 after having been hurt in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Iraq on January 10, I knew that I was seriously hurt. My right leg was missing at the hip, my skull and spine were fractured, my entire abdomen was open up to my sternum, and I had limited use of my hands due to nerve damage. That wasn’t the worst of it, either: I had many different forms of bacteria colonizing my wounds, any of which had the potential to kill me. In short, I was mangled. |
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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