Attention to Detail

Had a great work week following Easter. Re-committed to paying attention to details.

Did not take anything for granted. Asked more questions, thought of additional potential solutions. Whatever it was going to take to avoid being a Mr. Mediocrity™, I did it in spades, and the results validated the focus, for which I am very thankful.

Nightly television has gotten so bad that I go to YouTube, pick out a thematic visual production that fits the moment, with music (typically Jazz), and read and relax, think and relax, or … just relax. The details of the video backgrounds normally are stunning, whether inside a coffee shop, on the side of a mountain, or in the midst of blooming flowers and butterflies … good stuff.

Attention to details seems to make a positive difference in our lives, from picking up on the sadness of a loved one or close colleague, to keeping good records for tax reporting, to pulling apart the layers of an evocative Bible verse.

And, then, there is Duchenne and the over 25 years of research for a cure or at least significant mitigation and scores and scores of millions of dollars raised, appropriated and spent in the effort … and we Duchenne families, especially among the young ambulatory patients, are not much closer to good news than similarly-situated families were two decades ago.

Challenge: Let us Duchenne families and the medical providers who are making a positive difference in the battle against DMD challenge those who are searching for answers pay greater attention to details, whether details of trials past or details of currently active research.

My father was a pre-eminent Mechanical Engineer in charge of materials testing at a world class research lab in Birmingham whose team with other U.S. scientists and engineers helped put Man on the Moon and participated in the design and performance development of powerful delivery systems that kept evil autocratic powers from incinerating a generation of people.

Dad once told me that research cannot be placed on a timetable or schedule; it is not a water faucet to be turned off and on. Rather, good research requires great attention to details which takes time but will more times than not evolve into an epiphany of good discovery.

With DMD, let’s challenge the medical and scientific communities to pay greater, laser-focused attention to details to reach an epiphany in the form of a cure to Duchenne.

Kindly yours,

Papa from Franklin