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The Puzzle Solver
The Puzzle Solver: A Scientist's Desperate Hunt to Cure the Illness that Stole His Son | Ronald W Davis, Tracie White
1 post | 1 read | 1 to read
For the past six years, Whitney Dafoe has been confined to a bedroom in the back of his parents' home, unable to walk, to eat, to speak. The sound of music causes him pain. At one point, the formerly healthy, young, freelance photographer, faced starvation as his 6'3? frame withered to 115 pounds. In desperation, Whitney and his parents went from one specialist to another, and still no answers. Then, finally, a diagnosis: the mysterious disease myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Whitney's story is heartbreaking, but it's also one of redemption. It reaches far beyond just one family's harrowing tale. Today, ME/CFS affects between 1 and 2.5 million Americans-and 20 million people around the world. Those afflicted largely suffer in silence because the disease is little known and much misunderstood. The question lingers still whether it even exists outside the patient's mind. Often disbelieved, they're abandoned by family and friends. They lose their jobs, and battle with insurance companies over rising medical costs as the chronic disease continues on year after year. In one way, Whitney has been lucky. He could reach out to his father, a world renowned, scientist, for answers. This book is the story of one father's desperate hunt for the insidious illness that stole his son away. The Puzzle Solver follows Ron as he unravels the molecular trail within his own son's donated blood and genome, to began to find answers. He confirms this is a biological disease and uncovers new possibilities for treatments and potentially a cure. At its heart, The Puzzle Solver is about more than just cutting edge research or a race to find the cure for ME/CFS-it's about the unbreakable bond between a father and his son, and the lengths to which a parent will go to save their child's life.
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review
Megabooks
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Mehso-so

Mixed feelings about this one. I loved learning more about ME/CFS, but this author couldn‘t decide between biography or science, so I wasn‘t satisfied with either.

Whitney, a world traveler, fell ill with ME/CFS in India. After returning to the US, he was locked in a body he couldn‘t move being fed IV. His father, a Stanford researcher, concentrated his efforts to finding a cure. This is Whitney‘s story and some of his dad‘s breakthroughs. ⬇️

Megabooks I‘m glad I read this, and I think Littens with ME/CFS may feel seen by Whitney‘s (and others she profiles) stories, but I wanted more science. (edited) 2y
Cinfhen Hmmmm, I think I‘ll pass for now ….great review 😄 2y
squirrelbrain Great review Meg, but it puts me off trying this one. 2y
Megabooks @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain thanks! It was interesting to learn about ME/CFS but organization was off the mark. 2y
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