List date(s) this work was published or aired.
March/April 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
This piece tells the story of the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, a mecca for people with mysterious ailments that have stumped their hometown doctors.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Not applicable.
Explain types of human sources used.
The key element for this story, and the trickiest, was a willing patient. NIH press officers, who are familiar with my work, were most cooperative, but the first patient who agreed to talk with me ended up having to postpone his visit to the Clinical Center because of his illness. I needed someone quickly, and I got a call about Nancy Groski in the middle of her stay at the NIH. I had to drop everything I else I was working on and go quickly to the Clinical Center the day before Groski was discharged. I feel lucky the magazine was able to photograph Groski the next morning. Of course, the NIH physicians were another vital part of the story, and they loved talking about their work.
Results:
Not applicable.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
The patient and the doctors I interviewed for this story were so articulate, so passionate, that I felt my main job was not to get in the way. That’s both a pleasure and a challenge. If Nancy Groski had not been a great interview, I would have had to seek out another patient.