SumedhaDesperate Attempts
Doug saved himself from the rare disease through his endeavors but there is one person he was not being able to help even after trying so hard.. his mother. Among all the happiness that he deserved for having fought his illness, there was this sad news about his mother’s deteriorating health.
Loss
The doctors told Doug clearly that his mother was too weak to undergo the process of surgeries and treatments. She was too delicate for any change now. The only part that she could move by herself in her body was her neck, that too not completely. And where on one side Doug’s health was improving, his mother’s health kept declining and he lost her in 2016.
Back On Track
After his recovery hit a pace, Doug went back to school and decided upon finishing his degree which he had to leave in between because of his disease. He started his career from where he had left, even if it was 16 years later than he had expected it to. He walked the graduation ceremony at Rockhurst University in 2016 but unfortunately his mother was not there to see him walk on the stage.
Positive Over Negative
The most important part of Doug’s story is his positive outlook towards his life no matter how hard the conditions are. He was adamant on finding solutions. His friend, Zach Jones recalls, “Here he hasn’t even graduated from college yet, and we roll him up to these Ph.D.s so he can challenge their ideas and have a discussion. These guys have been studying this stuff for a long time — they know what they’re talking about — and he’d be able to go toe to toe with them.”
Courageous
What Doug did in difficult times, not everyone can do. “Most people in his situation would just say, ‘The heck with it! The doctors told me no, and that’s it. My life is over,'” says Ken Blumer, a professor at Washington University, who’s been supporting Doug since day one of his illness. “Despite this significant but gradual deterioration of his condition, he still wants to find a solution for himself. Who can say no to a guy like that?”
Deserving
There is no doubt that Doug deserved the life that he has now got. He has fought for it, suffered for it, and taught himself the conditions as well as treatments. He bet his life and won it back in return. He risked himself with new non-experimented drugs . All of this paid-off when he started on the path of recovery.