Broadbent: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome victims, 2.1 million in U.S., need your help
By Carol Broadbent
Special to The Mercury News
POSTED: 05/23/2016 05:08:35 PM PDT | UPDATED: ABOUT 5 HOURS AGO
The new bestseller "Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance" has arrived just in time to be the perfect gift for the graduate in your life.
Author Angela Duckworth, a psychologist and former math teacher, describes in her book and in her T.E.D. Talk that hard work is more important than I.Q. or social intelligence to long-term success. And what parent would not want to instill the value of hard work in their young graduate?
Duckworth says, "Grit is about having what some researchers call an 'ultimate concern' -- a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do." For the parents of children suffering a chronic illness, battling that illness defines us every day.
My daughter, age 21, and the other 2.5 million Americans suffering from the neuro-immune disorder called M.E./CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome), have an abundance of grit.
M.E./CFS delivers crippling fatigue, a dysregulated immune system, severe pain and extreme cognitive dysfunction. It can strike anyone at almost any age, leaving them housebound or disabled for decades. There is no cure. And making the battle endless: After decades, there is still no unified national response invested in treatment and cure...
