Fajgenbaum - Chasing my cure: a doctors race to turn hope into action: a memoir

I could not put this book down. Dr. Fajgenbaum is an inspiration, and Chasing My Cure is a page-turning chronicle of living, nearly dying, and discovering what it really means to be invincible in hope.

A NGELA D UCKWORTH , New York Times bestselling author of Grit

This book is so gripping that I read it in one sittingand so moving that I cant stop thinking about it months later. Its an extraordinary memoir, filled with wisdom, by a doctor who came face-to-face with his own mortality. It belongs in rare company with Atul Gawandes writings and When Breath Becomes Air.

A DAM G RANT , New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals and co-author of Option B

Chasing My Cure is a medical thriller that grapples with supreme stakesreal love, bedrock faith, and how we spend our time on earth. Fast-paced and achingly transparent, David Fajgenbaums deeply thoughtful memoir will have you rethinking your lifes priorities.

L YNN V INCENT , New York Times bestselling author of Indianapolis and co-author of Heaven is for Real

This is a riveting story of a remarkable journey of one persevering through illness to medical discoveries and recovery. Its a tribute to Dr. Fajgenbaums rare qualities of spirit and intellect, the support of his family and friends, the power of modern science, and the role that patients can play to find new treatments. Chasing My Cure is mesmerizing.

J. L ARRY J AMESON MD, PhD, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

This is a fascinating true-life story of a young doctor who, stricken with a rare, life-threatening disease, takes matters into his own hands and, with total focus, finds a cure.An informative and inspiring read.

A NDREW W EIL , MD

I was riveted from the very first to the very last page of this extraordinary story of life, assumed death, resilience, and hope. I am convinced that through his incredible journey, David Fajgenbaum has acquired superpowers that will no doubt shape the lives of others, now and well into the future.

N ICOLE B OICE , founder of Global Genes

Chasing My Cure is an extremely powerful story about turning fear into faith and hope into action. David Fajgenbaums ferocious will to survive and his leadership in the face of his rare disease provide a model pathway for others to follow when searching for cures of their own.

S TEPHEN G ROFT , PharmD, former director of the Office of Rare Diseases Research, National Institutes of Health

A remarkable and gripping story of how a potentially fatal and rare illness inspired the patient to commit himself as a physician/scientist to search for its cause and cure. Dr. Fajgenbaums description of his journey is a tale of courage, dedication, and brilliance that will enthrall and fascinate its readers.

A RTHUR H. R UBENSTEIN , professor of medicine, the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Inquiring physicians have discovered much from studying patients with rare diseases, but rarely has the physician been the patient. Dr. Fajgenbaum tells the remarkable story of his own mysterious, nearly fatal multisystem disease and his brilliant deduction that a long-known drug may be the cure. This bookpart detective story, part love story, part scientific questshows how one indefatigable physician can bring hope to patients who suffer from a rare disease that is barely on the radar screen of medical science.

M ICHAEL S. B ROWN , MD, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1985

David Fajgenbaum, a self-proclaimed rare disease quarterback, shares with us his extraordinary story of assembling a team and a framework to conduct unprecedented collaborative research. In his deeply personal memoir, he makes plain the urgency of hope, and explores how the human spirit might transcend suffering to inspire communities to take collective action against seemingly insurmountable odds.

J OHN J. D E G IOIA , president, Georgetown University

Dr. Fajgenbaum has taken a tragic personal situation and turned it into a story that provides a model for all those who want to improve treatment of rare disease. Indeed, the lessons are not only good for people concerned about rare disease, but also for anyone dealing with illness or considering doing something to change the biomedical science enterprise.

R OBERT M. C ALIFF , MD, former commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

AFTER YOUVE MASTERED the basics of techniquehand placement, head tilt, and timingand after youve accepted the inevitable feeling of shattering ribs beneath the heels of your hands, the hardest thing about performing CPR is knowing when to stop.

What if one more pump could do it?

Or one more after that?

Whenno matter how hard you push, how hard you hope and praythat pulse just will not return, then what comes next is entirely up to you. The life has already been lost. But hope hasnt been, not necessarily. You could keep that alive at least. You could keep doing compressions until your arms and shoulders are too worn out to continue, until you cant push hard enough to make a difference, much less break another rib.

Sohow long do you try to bring someone back?

Eventually you will remove your hands from the body, eventually youll have tobut eventually isnt a number. It isnt guidance. You wont see it in a CPR diagram. And it doesnt even really answer when so much as why. When you