Words of Help From a Friend We’ve Never Met – Until We Do

Isn’t life full of special coincidences? Some even call them “God-incidences.” Circumstances show know that life is not all random, but the right words are often there at the right time – no matter when they were written.

A couple of special coincidences occurred in February when I was in Washington. As my friend Leslie and I took off from Orlando, I got a text message from my friend Dave deBronkart that he’d gotten an earlier flight to D.C. and, we’d arrive to the same airport only an hour apart! When Leslie and I got to the baggage area, my cell phone buzzed with a text that Dave’s plane had landed even earlier so we decided to join up and share a cab. We stashed our luggage at the hotel and went for coffee (ok, I got juice).

Dave and Leslie hit it off, and I don’t know why I was surprised. Only because Dave is over six foot, an MIT graduate, and world-traveled public speaker, and Leslie is a petite, quiet wallflower who didn’t go to college. But, they’re both exceptionally bright, creative, and dear friends. Leslie is the one true friend who stayed by my side when the Rheumatoid disease stole so much; since she knew the old me, there was never a doubt or accusation that my illness wasn’t real. Each of them has been an astonishing encouragement in my life over the past few years.

That day in the lobby, the conversation turned to attention deficit disorder (ADD), and what it is or isn’t, and that they both have it, whatever “it” is. In an extraordinary twist we realized that twenty years ago Dave helped to write the very book that had been so valuable to some in Leslie’s family. The book by Thom Hartmann is about the “Hunter/Farmer Hypothesis.”

That night, Leslie and I found one copy of the book online and bought it. The next three days were full with the Institute of Medicine event, and meetings at PCORI. Then, Leslie got a message that the book had arrived – there was just enough time to get to our hotel lobby for Dave to autograph the book while his cab waited, and then rush to catch his plane.

The whole turn of events astounded me. How validated my dearest friend and others in her family had been by the words in a book written long before she knew about it – and all thanks to my other friend.

Postblog: Another book – time warp – validation story

Researching last month, I stumbled across a sixty-year-old book about Rheumatoid disease, by someone who would know – a patient. Through this difficult week, I’ve felt like I’m not alone, as I read so many parallels to my own experiences. The author is a friend I never met.

I’ll review the book soon and tell you more about it.

NOTE: Dave has a new book, Let Patient’s Help – here’s the link.

Recommended reading

• Another story about Leslie
• Where the Rubber Meets the Road or What If Only the Cancer in Dave’s Kidneys Was Treated?
• Health Data Is Like Yogurt: Full of Possibilities
• What Drives Patients to Get Engaged in Healthcare?
• When Eventually Is Now: the Rheumatoid Time Warp