• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Dr Peterson retiring from medical director at WPI

acer2000

Senior Member
Messages
818
Dr. Peterson is overworked as it is just keeping up with his incline village practice... I wouldn't be surprised if he just decided that he couldn't do a good job at both, and once the institute was up and running chose loyalty to his patients over running the institute.
 

Forbin

Senior Member
Messages
966
I agree with acer2000 that Dr. Peterson is probably pretty much swamped by his current patient load and might not be too keen on balancing that with being the medical director of an institute 50 miles away.

I also can imagine that Dr. Peterson did not anticipate that WPIs nascent virology research would hit a home run before their building was even completed. The discovery of XMRV may have altered WPIs original direction somewhat away from clinical study in favor of virology. Peterson himself may have concluded that he was not best suited to be the director under those circumstances. Never-the-less, it is a well-deserved and apt tribute to Dr. Peterson that the WPI bears his name.

[It's perhaps worth noting that, in 1892, William Worrall Mayo, patriarcal founder of the Mayo Clinic, promptly retired after hiring into his practice the first doctor from outside of his own family.]
 

Ecoclimber

Senior Member
Messages
1,011
Maybe of Trouble in XMRV Land

There have been a few statements by researchers on some science blogs that indicate there may be a problem with xmrv. Also, there are some researchers who are concern about some of the of the statements coming out of WPI linking it with other diseases such as autism. They are concern that a researcher should not speculate or hypothesize and is anecdotal without scientific proof. Causality of me/cfs with xmrv has not been replicated outside of WPI.

Cort reasons for Peterson leaving may be legitimate. A doctor who spent his reputation and entire life treating CFS patients and see the fruits of that labor culminating at that pinnacle of worldwide recognition, normally does not suddenly leave and go back to his private practice without knowing something is not right.
 

Roy S

former DC ME/CFS lobbyist
Messages
1,376
Location
Illinois, USA
and the Academy Award goes to Cort Johnson in the category of

rumor-monger.jpg





Cort, how about not stressing out very sick patients? You know stress is especially bad for the sickest patients. Judy Mikovits stated sometime ago that stress increases cortisol which helps MXRV replicate.

I expected this transition eventually. Dan Peterson has always been dedicated to his patients. The WPI should have a full-time person in that position, IMO. It will be very demanding and I am glad they have announced a nationwide search.

Somehow I think your tone would be very different if the CAA announced that Suzanne Vernon was leaving.
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
I think there are very good reasons to question the reasons dr p left the building. We may be sick but we are no idiots. I don't like how you accuse Cort. He is not the person for unfounded speculation.
 

shiso

Senior Member
Messages
159
I agree - can we leave name-calling (of the disrespectful kind) out of this? It's both disconcerting and unnecessary.

It's natural that people are wondering (some out loud) what happened. We can choose to take others' speculation at face value - or not.

We will or won't learn in time what happened. In the meantime, as others have stated more skillfully - I'm wishing both WPI and Dr. Peterson the best and giving both the benefit of any speculative doubts.
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
right, and with that in mind, this is i propose to write on the flowers card (see below). if anyone wants to make another suggestion, that is fine! just post it here. i don't have a clue if there is enough room to put all this on a card:

Dear Dr. Peterson,

We are forever grateful to you for your superman-like powers in fighting for people with ME/CFS. As if being on the front lines of the truly scary initial outbreak and holding yourself steely steady was not enough; as if respectfully, skillfully, compassionately treating patients for 25 years was not enough; you then had to go and establish the most important ME/CFS research and clinical trial institute in the globe. We hope this next phase of your career is full of the love and joy we feel at having you in our lives. Thank you for your dedication.

Go Superman!

Warmly,
The online community on the Phoenix Rising Forum (xxx members strong)
http://forums.aboutmecfs.org/
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
thanks, koan! do you know how many members we have? i want to put that in the note.
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
Thanks Rrr that is beautiful :) we have 694 active members and 1793 people with accounts
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
thanks, leaves! and i called WPI and they said he is at his nevada clinic. so i'll send there. from all 1793 of us.
 

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder
Nice letter.

I doubt we'll ever really know exactly what happened....and really everybody could be right - it could be a combination of things - problems within the WPI, a desire to stick to his own practice,.....We don't know what Dr. Peterson's plans at the WPI were anyway ....was he going to close his practice of 25 years and move to Reno? (Very possibly not). Was he going to be there part time? Very possibly so. How was this going to work out? .....These things were presumably worked out to his satisfaction before he took the Medical Director position but there is so much we don't know ......

In any case, while Dr. Peterson does not wish to be officially associated with the WPI anymore, he's leaving quietly.... he doesn't want to hurt their efforts and he wishes them good will and good luck and I think we (I :)) should respect that and support them both. He wants it to be a quiet transition and I think we (I :)) should support that. They both need support in a difficult field. :)

I think XMRV's fate. up or down, has really been mostly out of the hands of the WPI for quite awhile now. They started the ball rolling - and now its fate is in the hands of the many labs and excellent researchers outside the WPI who are studying it. I can't imagine that his leaving, while, on the face of it, not a positive thing for the WPI, will effect the outcome of the XMRV discovery in the slightest.
 

Nina

Senior Member
Messages
222
Rrrr, this is so beautiful. Nobody would be more deserving than him.

If I may add to the discussion and speculation about Dr. P. leaving the WPI: For me it was really the way it was announced. The WPI is usually so upfront and shares as much information with our community as possible that it feels odd to announce such a big move so quietly. I am sure there are reasons for that, but we just don't know so it's inevitable we will wonder (aloud) what they might be.
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
done and done! i called his tahoe office and he is there on monday, so tho it cost a bit more for a monday delivery, i had it sent to arrive then.

two dozen long-stemmed (read: extra fancy) roses, assorted colors. with a large vase!

and it only cost us $46, not the anticipated $50.

oh, and our longish thank you card would not fit, so his assistant, trish, promised to print out the email i sent her and give it to him with the flowers (or today, if she thought it best).

xxoo
rrrr
 
R

Robin

Guest
done and done! i called his tahoe office and he is there on monday, so tho it cost a bit more for a monday delivery, i had it sent to arrive then.

two dozen long-stemmed (read: extra fancy) roses, assorted colors. with a large vase!

and it only cost us $46, not the anticipated $50.

oh, and our longish thank you card would not fit, so his assistant, trish, promised to print out the email i sent her and give it to him with the flowers (or today, if she thought it best).

xxoo
rrrr

Awesome, rrrr, I'm late on this! Amazing job!
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
it was easy to do. and this is the most appreciative forum ever on the history of the planet. so when you do something you get back 100 fold in "thank you's" --

these are the flowers
http://products.proflowers.com/flow...ros&Ref=organicgglbrand_proflowers&PageSplit=

and this was the note.

Trish: Thanks for talking with me just now. We ordered the gift. Please don't tell Dr. Peterson what the gift is, just that a gift is coming on Monday, and that this below email is the accompanying note. Feel free to give this note to him today or Monday. Maybe today is best? PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOU GOT THIS EMAIL. -- Warmly, Rrrr


=*=*=*=*= THANK YOU, DR. PETERSON =*=*=*=*=

To: Dr. Dan Peterson
Fr: The Phoenix Rising Forum online (1782 members with ME/CFS)
Dt: April 30, 2010
Re: Upon the occasion of Dr. Dan Peterson retiring from his position at WPI

Dear Dr. Peterson,

We are forever grateful to you for your superman-like powers in fighting for people with ME/CFS. As if being on the front lines of the truly scary initial outbreak and holding yourself steely steady was not enough; as if respectfully, skillfully, compassionately treating patients for 25 years was not enough; you then had to go and establish the most important ME/CFS research and clinical trial institute on the globe. We hope this next phase of your career is full of the love and joy we feel at having you in our lives and on our side. Thank you for your dedication.

A small token of our appreciation is arriving at your office on Monday. We hope you enjoy it.

Go Superman!

Warmly,
The Phoenix Rising Forum online (1782 members with ME/CFS)
http://forums.aboutmecfs.org/

Sent via Rrrr
ME/CFS for 20 years