Is the Body Capable of Healing from Chronic Diseases? An Interview with Kat Mische Elle
Dr. Ben, can you tell us what brought you to your profession today? loved science and technology as a kid. I remember when I was 10 years old, I was also into video games and science fiction like Star Wars. At that age, the first thing I wanted to be was a doctor who put bionic parts on people. I was playing a game that was similar to Dungeons and Dragons, but it was called Heroes Unlimited. In this game, you could have bionic arms that shot out laser beams, and I thought, “Okay, that would be a really cool job to make the bionic arms and put them on people.” So that’s what I wanted to do when I grew up. Then I realized one day that was not really a thing. I then thought maybe by the time I’m 25, that will be a thing. I was always interested in improving the human condition. As I got older, I went to college and bounced around in different science and technology majors and eventually earned a mechanical engineering degree. After I graduated, I went to work at horrible corporate jobs in cubicle farms. I was helping companies develop microchips that went into TVs in foreign countries and not really doing anything of serious value. I was making good money, and I had a prestigious job, so I didn’t have reason to complain, but I felt that this wasn’t really what I was meant to be doing. And since the bionic engineering jobs were just non-existent at the time, I stayed the course. In my late twenties, I got really sick, and I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I came down with a bunch of chronic health conditions. I had severe digestive issues, skin issues, chronic fatigue, and chronic muscle pain. At first, just like any red-blooded American guy in his late 20s, I didn’t do anything about it. It was late 2009 was when I first picked up the inklings of feeling off, and then by early 2010, I realized I’m not doing very good. Then by late 2010, I was really bad. I kept getting worse and worse. I finally decided to go to the doctor. I was given a list of labeled conditions and referrals to visit many places. I was told, “You have gastrointestinal issues, we must send you to the gastroenterologist. You have skin issues; we need to send you to the dermatologist. You’re suffering from chronic pain issues. We must send you to the rheumatologist.” I was being sent to see all these different doctors, who were running different labs and checking on things and putting me on different medications, yet I was not feeling any better. I was told by the specialists, “You know, everything comes up normal, nothing’s wrong with you.” I had multiple conversations that ended with, “Well, the piece of paper says that you’re not sick. So, you must not be. There is nothing we can do for you, bye.” I realized that these doctors worked from the assumption that they knew everything. And if my issue was not inside of their ‘everything,’ then it must not be real. It was a very frustrating experience, and I was still not getting any better. Up to this point, I had always been someone who trusted the medical system, especially since I was coming from having a science background. But it was experiences like those which eventually set me on the path to change careers and see if I could find something they hadn’t been able to figure out. I felt isolated in this experience, believing that I was the only one suffering like this. My condition kept getting worse. I couldn’t work, I had no social life, I was horribly chronically fatigued and in pain. I never wanted to go out and do anything fun with my friends, and then they started fading away. I told myself 56
I N S P I RE D S U CC E SS MAGAZINE | SP RING/ SUMME R 2022
D R. BEN BEN U L IS
HE A LT H , W EL L N ES S & B E AUTY
