My life in public health: a brief history

April 21, 2025

No aspect of this post is created using any type of AI. All mistakes are mine, a real human.

THINKING ABOUT:
1977: This is my cousin Jack. He loved to be outdoors, especially in the winter when we’d visit them in Burlington, VT. His brother Richard, a few years older, would get out the VW bug that had skis instead of front wheels and chains on the back tires. Jack and I would ski down their front yard and Richard would tow us back up to the house as many times as we asked. It was the coolest thing EVER.

I can’t tell you more about Jack, because when I was 16 and he was 17 he caught the measles. We didn’t know his parents hadn’t vaccinated him for religious reasons or that the measles had already spread to his brain. My dad asked if I wanted to visit him in the hospital, but I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him in a coma. No amount of praying or medicine could help. Jack died. I was furious during his entire his funeral. I couldn’t believe my beautiful, sweet-natured cousin was lost to something that was 100% preventable.

1985: I start my master’s program in public health, wanting to work in nutrition education and help share public health knowledge in under-served communities. My favorite class turns out to be epidemiology: studying the spread of disease, particularly viruses. One of my teachers shares his ground-breaking work on the positive impact of fluoridated water. He’d found a river that had a naturally occurring fluoride source, and compared dental records from two towns, one above the source of fluoride and one below. The difference in tooth decay was astounding. We learned that decayed teeth aren’t simply a cosmetic nuisance, they frequently lead to bacterial infections entering the blood stream, causing far more serious illnesses.

Kinda like measles can.

1987: There aren’t any health educator jobs when I graduate in 1985, so I end up working for Northwestern University Medical School on a multi-site study on kids with high cholesterol. After that I work on a nutrition education grant at the Chicago Children’s Museum and spend most of my career working in museums. I’m always thinking about and using what I learned in public health school in some way.

2010: I start my food blog The Recipe Renovator, sharing recipes suitable for people who have to change their diets for health reasons. I later rename it Migraine Relief Recipes to coincide with my third book’s debut. In the ten years it’s active I post over 400 original, nutrient-dense recipes made from whole foods.

2014: I have successfully trained my golden retriever Daisy to pass the Canine Good Citizen test, and we’ve jumped through all the hoops for her to become a hospital therapy dog, providing evidence her vaccinations are up to date. I’m asked to take a blood test to make sure my measles titer test is high enough to provide me with immunity. I am shocked when it isn’t, as we can’t start volunteering until I’ve completed both measles shots. I don’t complain or question this, as it’s a completely normal procedure to make sure I don’t make a patient sick.

2020: I watch in disbelief as straightforward public health measures like masking and vaccines have gone from modern-day fucking miracles to being considered an assault on personal freedom. As an immune-compromised person, I have my first panic attack. I no longer feel safe outside my house. This takes several years of therapy and Wellbutrin to address.

2025: The new head of Health and Human Services is working to ban vaccines or at least make them “optional,” and floats the idea of “wellness farms” to segregate from public view anyone the administration deems defective.

Will I be sent to a wellness farm? I have five chronic illnesses.

Will I no longer be able to take Wellbutrin, one of many medications that helps keep me functional, because he doesn’t “believe” in SSRIs?

Will autistic people be sent to wellness farms?

Will kids start dying from measles? (See, Texas)

Will we see the return of polio, smallpox, and other completely preventable illnesses?

I am heartened to see people speaking up and fighting back against this complete madness. When you do, please think of my cousin Jack.

WATCHING:
Survivor: Season 48 (CBS), Alone, Alone Australia (History channel)
I’m a fan of Survivor, but there’s something happening on Season 48 that’s bugging me no end. One of the players, David Kinne, formed an alliance he calls the Strong Five. And by strong he means big muscles. He’s regularly stating that it’s only right and fair that a “strong” player win the game, as if physical strength is the only real strength that matters. As if the show’s motto for 25 years hasn’t been Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.

This is the exact kind of health privilege that’s driving RFK, Jr’s dangerous new HHS policies. And it’s ironic, because one of the Strong Five is Eva Erickson, a young woman on the autism spectrum who plays men’s collegiate hockey and is working on her PhD. (Eva is in the center of the above cast photo, in the midriff top.) Her incredible performance on the show belies every poisonous thing RFK, Jr. recently said about people with autism spectrum disorder.

We also watch the shows Alone and Alone Australia, where survival experts are dropped in the wilderness with ten items of their choice and try to outlast each other. We frequently see contestants come up against their body’s limitations and struggle against them. They are shocked they cannot make their body do what they want it to do. Every single person who lives with a chronic illness knows this frustration.

My friend Elaine was fond of saying, “Everyone is just a banana peel away from being disabled.” As someone who would LOVE to be physically fit, never have a migraine attack again, and did nothing to “attract” or deserve getting a rare blood cancer, I hope that people will make their voices heard, and that we can re-embrace science, medicine, vaccines, and taking care of each other—regardless of the strength of our meat suits at any given time.

READING: Through the Shadowlands: A Science Writer's Odyssey into an Illness Science Doesn't Understand by Julie Reymeyer
Rehmeyer is an author, award-winning science writer, and former college professor. For the past 20+ years she has also lived with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME). Julie and I had a profound conversation about finding meaning in an existence that's 100% not what we wanted or expected for ourselves. Her extraordinary book details her life before and after being slammed by chronic fatigue syndrome and mold sensitivity, and takes you inside that experience in an unforgettable way.

You'll find all of my book recommendations at my Bookshop. If you buy from this link the author makes more, an indie bookstore gets the sale, and I make a small commission. Win/Win/Win!

Here’s the Amazon link if you prefer.

Fun To Be Around is written by me, Stephanie Weaver, MPH an author and TED talk coach. I post for the delight of writing and connecting. No paywalls, ever. If you enjoy my posts and find yourself looking forward to the next issue, support my work as a disabled writer with a $5 monthly subscription. Feel free to try a paid subscription for a month or two.No worries if you decide to cancel. I love hearing from you, whether that's by email or in the comments where you're reading this.