Judy Woodruff on how her son with disabilities changed her view of health care

[elleng]

Last edited Fri Dec 30, 2022, 03:12 AM - Edit history (1)

The ‘PBS NewsHour’ anchor is stepping down but still plans to report from around the country, with some stories about people with disabilities.

Last month, TV anchor Judy Woodruff had some news of her own: She is stepping down from “PBS NewsHour” on Friday, Dec. 30.

One of the most respected and honored journalists on television could have retired. Instead, she’s embarking on a new PBS project, “America at a Crossroads,” where she’ll spend the next two years traveling around the country trying to figure out what voters want, what they need and how to repair the deep divides.

One subject close to her heart that she wants to highlight? People with disabilities.

Her oldest son, Jeffrey Hunt, was born with what she calls a “very mild” case of spina bifida. When he was a teenager, what was a supposed to be a routine operation left him in a wheelchair and in need of full-time care. It was life-altering for Jeffrey and the entire family.

Jeffrey, now 41, lives in a group home in Maryland, and says the love and support of his family got him to this point. “After I was injured my parents were with me every day,” he writes in an email. “They told me despite disabilities, I can succeed. I have succeeded thus far.”'>>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/29/judy-woodruff-pbs-newshour/?

P.S., today (Friday) may be Judy Woodruff's last day on PBS NewsHour.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. It's unfortunate that until people experience things like this,

they are often totally unsympathetic to those needs.

That's what's so wrong with our health care in this country. Those who are healthy, those who don't have someone in their life with a disability, totally dismiss the needs of the sick or the disabled. Which is horrifying. And what needs to be changed.

I will add, as full disclosure, I'm incredibly healthy, never get sick, don't have anyone close to me who is disabled. I recognize how incredibly fortunate I am. Honestly, were I do get even one wish, I'd wish that everyone be at least as healthy as me. Okay, so that would put lots of doctors out of business, but it would probably be an overall good.

[aggiesal]

4. They have no ability to feel empathy ...

They have no way to feel what others feel, without experiencing the feeling themselves.
This is a lack of empathy.

[area51]

8. +1 n/t

[lostnfound]

2. A particularly shocking personal story

Last edited Fri Dec 30, 2022, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Handing your 16 year old fully capable son over for surgery and having the result be him in a coma is a special kind of hell to live through.

On edit: I removed the reference to Ben Carson since he was the doctor who treated him after the coma, not the one who did the shunt surgery.

[elleng]

3. Awful. Please examine the facts, as recited.

'In 1998, when Jeffrey was 16, his doctor recommended an operation to replace a shunt, which had been inserted when he was a baby to drain excess fluid on his brain. The night before, he was joking around with friends; the next day, he was in a coma. . .

'The doctor who saved Jeffrey’s life? Ben Carson, then a groundbreaking pediatric neurosurgeon — '

[lostnfound]

6. It IS awful. Thanks for pointing out

What I missed. I just feel terrible for the family, the whole family. I can’t imagine the pain.

[marybourg]

5. It didn't change her habit of

playing devil's advocate with every Democratic iinterviewee and gullible believer with every Publican one.

[kimbutgar]

7. My own life changed when my son was diagnosed with autism

I was a career women making big money and had to eventually leave the workforce full time and adjust my work around my son. It was a life changer that lead me down a new career path that I’m happier with.