“My illnesses” are contentious enough: mold, Post-Lyme, ciguatera, fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is the short list. No wonder there are so many attorneys (personal injury and disability alike) wanting something from my office. Just 10 years ago though, who could show the mechanisms of inflammation these illnesses all have? Now we can. And now that the mechanisms by which abnormalities in innate immunity develop in these patients are defined, and they are all chronic inflammatory response syndromes (CIRS), successful therapies follow. Seeing someone injured by exposure to a moldy building, for example, return to productive life after 10 years of functional disability brings a sense of joy different from the professional pleasures from my earlier medical life. I used to treasure the feeling that came from helping a three year old survive ear infections, mono, marriage and then parenthood. I still do. The two phases of my medical career have reinforced my belief that physicians can truly make a difference in society.
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