- 6 weeks ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Here at the Essence Wellness House at War with COVID-19 and Health Care Inequities Edition,
00:09we want to remind you that, yes, this is extremely difficult, but there will be life after COVID-19.
00:16And we're going to have a conversation right now to help us refocus our life and dreams after
00:20quarantine. And to do so, we have a dynamic duo, starting with biotechnology mogul, Dr. Tony Coles,
00:27who's the Executive Chairman and CEO of Cerevelle Therapeutics. And he is joined with our very own
00:33Essence Ventures founder and chair, Rich Dennis, and they are going to inspire us with their past
00:38and their hopes for the present and the future. Essence Wellness House is presented by Walmart
00:44and sponsored by AARP.
00:57Well, good afternoon and welcome everyone.
01:27to what I know will be an absolutely amazing conversation. I, for one, have been looking
01:32forward to this for a long time. I am joined by my good friend and my brother in every way,
01:39in heart and in soul, Rich Dennis. And he's actually with us today to share something quite personal,
01:47something that very few people know, and that is that he had his own battle with COVID-19.
01:52And we're going to get into that in great detail in just a moment. But first, let me set the stage
01:59and offer just a few statistics and some perspective. One of the things we know is that Black Americans
02:05have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. There are a number of reasons for that, including
02:11the fact that Black Americans have a higher incidence of comorbid conditions, such as diabetes,
02:17hypertension, heart disease, obesity, all of which we know put Black Americans at risk.
02:24We also know that historically, and this is well-documented research over the last 20 years or so,
02:30that Black Americans have had disproportionate access to healthcare. There are significant
02:36disparities in hospitalizations for Black Americans and the treatment rates for Black Americans,
02:42and all of those things actually affect the health outcomes for Black America. We noted that Dr. Lisa
02:47Cooper was here earlier, sharing what she knows as an expert in this field. One of the other things
02:54that's really important to remember is that 65% of Black Americans live in the upper Midwest,
03:01in the Northeast, and importantly, in the Southeast part of this country. Several of the Southern states,
03:06as we know, chose not to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act 10 years or so ago.
03:13But imagine, imagine the health outcomes and the improvement in health and health status for Black
03:19America if those Southern states had adopted and embraced an expansion of Medicaid in those regions.
03:27So we're here today to share a tale of inspiration, to talk a little bit about the context,
03:32and COVID has certainly presented us with an unusual opportunity. And I do choose the word
03:39opportunity carefully. We know that as of two weeks or so ago, that Black Americans, for instance,
03:44living in Michigan, were 14% of the population, but 50% of the deaths. In Chicago, we were 30% of the
03:52population, 50% of the cases, and 70% of the deaths. But Richard's story today is an unusual one,
04:01and it reminds us not just of the resilience, but of the hope that transformation can bring as a result
04:08of the exercise. So, Rich, let's dive in. Tell us a little bit about what happened, just out of,
04:16out of the blue, presumably. Tell us your story. Well, Tony, first of all, great, great to see you,
04:23and great to be doing this with you. And thank you for joining us. It's, as you said, brothers in every
04:29way. And, uh, it's, it's incredible to have the opportunity to do this together. Um, and for you
04:34to hold my hand with this, um, you know, it's, it's a story that I think is rather, um, not too
04:43different from what many people have experienced. Um, I, I started to feel ill. I went to the doctor,
04:52um, and they said I had asthma. Now, it was, it was rather strange to me because I hadn't had an
04:58asthma attack since I was probably 20 years old. Um, and so just, just hearing that was, uh, for me
05:07quite, um, uh, quite shocking. And this was in February. So this was before COVID had become
05:16sort of as known as it was and, and, and, and people weren't thinking about it. It was something
05:22that was happening somewhere else. It wasn't happening here. And, um, I, um, started to receive
05:28treatment for the asthma. Uh, a week later, um, I wasn't getting better. I went back to the doctor.
05:35Um, they changed the medication up a little bit. Um, and I was very fortunate because I got to meet a,
05:42uh, a doctor, a pulmonologist named, uh, Dr. Uh, Rohan Mankakar, um, who, as it turns out,
05:49actually, uh, went to medical school at Morehouse, which was, uh, quite comforting for me. Um, and,
05:56uh, and he took a particular interest in seeing that I got better. Um, and this was really, um,
06:04before anyone was really focused on, um, on COVID here. And so we kept, you know, taking different
06:11steps around the asthma and, you know, we dealt with the asthma for probably three weeks, but in
06:17the second week he'd said, look, you know, we really need to check on this, uh, and make sure
06:21it's not COVID. So we did a test, um, and it took about, uh, a little over a week for the test to come
06:29back. And by the time the test came back, my, uh, uh, it had, it had manifested into full-blown,
06:36uh, pneumonia, COVID pneumonia. Um, my, uh, blood oxygen level had, had dropped, uh, well below
06:45safe standards. Um, and at back then they wouldn't, and we're still having trouble getting people into
06:51hospital. Um, uh, but you know, he arranged for me to, to go to, um, not the hospital that was closest
06:59to me, but to, uh, when that was a bit further out where he could, uh, keep an eye on me. Um,
07:06and so I, you know, from the house to the hospital, uh, took about 20 minutes and it wasn't about,
07:13you know, 10, 15 minutes later after I got there, um, that they had, uh, you know, put me on,
07:19on oxygen. I think I was at a hundred percent. Um, and, um, my lungs were, were completely, uh,
07:27ravaged by the pneumonia and I spent, uh, uh, eight and a half days in the, um, in the ICU,
07:34uh, fighting what was an incredibly challenging fight. Um, and, um, but, uh, grateful to,
07:43grateful to have been able to fight that fight and to be here talking about it today.
07:49Well, it, it, it's really a remarkable story, uh, rich in so many ways that you and I were texting
07:54just a few days before this, uh, talking about what we wanted to watch during the, the shelter
07:59in place and the quarantine. But there are a couple of really truly remarkable things here.
08:05First of all, uh, you, you drove yourself to the hospital, uh, which, uh, I, I found, uh, amazing.
08:11So as ill as you were and something I found even, even more amazing, and that is, uh, and, and I don't
08:16think you mentioned it yet, but one of the medications you were put on for your asthma was a steroid
08:23that was used to try to control the asthma, which is commonly used, uh, uh, in, uh, severe cases,
08:29mild to severe cases of asthma. Um, I, I have a theory and I've shared this with you, but I want
08:36to share this with everyone. Those, that course of steroids may actually have helped to save your life.
08:42And the reason I say that is that one of the things we know about COVID pneumonia is that there's
08:47a severe inflammatory reaction and steroids are of course, a super charged anti-inflammatory
08:54of sorts. So I, I have to believe that that course of steroids really did actually play a role. We
08:59can't prove it, but I found that really remarkable, but those were, those were really trying days I'm
09:05sure for you. And did you ever have a sense that you might not make, make it out of the hospital?
09:13You know, I, I, to be completely transparent, I had a sense that I might not make it out of the
09:20house to get to the hospital because the pneumonia had gotten so, um, so bad at home. I could barely
09:27turn myself over. Um, and as I got sicker, we, um, um, sort of, uh, not sort of, I, I self isolated.
09:37And so what I didn't want to do at that point, um, was to compromise, um, my family, um, any further.
09:46Um, and, uh, so I made the decision that I would, I would, uh, drive myself. Um, and so I literally,
09:55uh, sort of snuck out, um, and, you know, took all the, I had, I had the nebulizer,
10:03I had all the asthma pumps, I had all the, uh, um, the, um, uh, steroids. And so I gave myself a,
10:12a dose of it and, um, you know, made my way to the car and, uh, drove to the hospital and couldn't
10:18take myself out of the car. Um, but fortunately the, um, the, uh, folks from the, the emergency
10:25room had been alerted by my doctor that I was on my way and, um, and they took me out of the car and,
10:31and, and, and took me in. So, you know, I, I believe, yes, I believe that those steroids help
10:37because I think, and I'm not sure of what the medical terms are, but I think because,
10:41um, I had taken them for such a period of time, um, my immune system was reacting probably
10:47differently than it would have had I not had, um, had I not taking the, uh, the steroids over
10:53that period of time. And, and that's the thing about, you know, about this disease and that I'm,
10:59you know, really the reason that I want to talk about this is because I really want people to
11:03understand that this disease reacts very differently in different people. So, you know,
11:11none of the symptoms that I was hearing about on the, on, on TV were really showing up for me,
11:18um, as I was getting sick. Um, so I, I wasn't getting headaches. I wasn't getting fevers. I wasn't
11:24getting, you know, any of those things at first. Um, and it wasn't until I really, you know, the pneumonia
11:30had really set in that I even started to get, um, some temperature. And so, um, or I would get
11:37temperature and it would be for, you know, 20, 30 minutes, and then it'll come back down to where
11:42it was never, uh, uh, so high. And so I think, um, I think the, the, the, the real sort of lesson
11:52here is that the disease reacts differently to different people. And so I, I call it a designer
11:58disease, you know, it, it sort of designs itself for where, for where it can attack. And then it
12:02attacks, and then you have to, you have to be in a position to respond to it. And so it's, it's,
12:08it's really one of those things of where there were a number of things that were done along the way
12:13that weren't either at the time, because it was so early, either weren't sort of the protocol for,
12:18for treating COVID or that one would not have done knowing that it was COVID at the time,
12:24um, that I think had, had some impact on my being here today.
12:30Well, it's, it, it is a, it is a designer disease. Some patients or some people who are affected have
12:36no symptoms or very few, and some only lose a sense of smell and taste, and that's their only symptom.
12:43And they obviously have a short course and, and going to do quite well, but not everyone is quite
12:48fortunate. And, and you weren't so ill that you required a ventilator, which is a whole different
12:54degree of magnitude, uh, uh, severity. Uh, so you, you manage, but in those, in those moments when you
13:00were on oxygen, when you were in the hospital, you know, I, I know you as, as a man and as a brother
13:08who is so deep of thought and reserve and resource. I, I want to hear what you were thinking at that
13:15moment. Uh, Nietzsche, the great philosopher, uh, says something, and I love this. He who has a why to
13:21live for can bear almost any how. And I, I love that expression, but how were you processing moment
13:31and what this would mean in terms of the rest of your life?
13:35Yeah. So, you know, it, it's interesting because I was, uh, maybe five minutes away from, from being,
13:45uh, intubated. Um, they brought, you know, they, they, they had made the calls to let my family know.
13:52Um, and they, um, you know, machine was in the room. Uh, they had, uh, begun to prep me. Um, and then,
14:01um, all of a sudden, well, I shouldn't say all of a sudden they had given me a drug called LASIK,
14:07uh, to clear the fluids out of my body. And that started to work as they were preparing me to,
14:14to be intubated. And so, um, it was at that moment that I really started to, um, to recognize
14:23just how, um, fortunate, um, I've been and just how, um,
14:30um, as much as I had felt that I had done in this world, um, felt all of a sudden a, um,
14:41a purpose. And I've been a person that's lived my life on purpose. Um, but out of that came a sense
14:48of purpose, came a sense of, uh, you know, God has me on this, on this planet to do more. Um, and God
14:56has me here for a reason. And clearly, um, I have not fulfilled that reason. Um, and so
15:03he took me that close and brought me back. And so as I sort of thought about it, I've thought
15:10about it from the perspective of, you know, we have been so fortunate to have a planet like this and,
15:21and how we've treated this planet, um, has been, um, has been atrocious. Um, we have been so fortunate
15:30to have humanity, um, and, and, and, and to enjoy humans, um, and how we've treated each other has
15:40been atrocious. Um, when you think of all the inequities, uh, that, that we, that we are now even
15:46more aware of, and this was something, you know, these inequities are something that have been
15:51troubling me since I was a child. Um, the economic disparities that, um, that we face as a people and
15:59as a community. And so my life's work has been about addressing that and, and working towards, um,
16:06towards that. And so what this has now given me is a renewed sense of purpose and a renewed sense of
16:12opportunity, as you said, um, to, to really go harder and, and do more, um, and, and create more,
16:21uh, more opportunities for, for, for, um, for our community. And so I just, I, I feel like, you know,
16:30not that I am, you know, all of a sudden coming to this realization, but certainly I am all of a sudden,
16:35um, seeing it with a whole new sense of urgency and a whole new sense of commitment, um, that is
16:45well beyond what I had thought was a high level of commitment already. And so, you know, I, I sit here
16:52today daily thinking about what that looks like and how, and how I manifest that. And, um, and lo and
17:00behold, it comes to me daily. Hmm. You know, it, um, it's, uh, what's striking about the story is you,
17:09you are a person that's already had a tremendous impact on society, on your family, on the families
17:15of others. You founded Sundial. You've, uh, created enormous opportunity for, for lots of individuals.
17:22You're involved now at Essence and Essence Ventures. Uh, and, and one might argue that, okay,
17:27you can sit down and rest. Now you've done a lot of it. Clearly that's not what the verse is calling
17:33for because there was something that you were snatched back from the brink of, uh, of death.
17:38I mean, just think about the statistics I talked about for certain parts of the country and the,
17:43and the disproportionate impact for black. And think about this, this wonderful opportunity
17:48that you've been given. I, I, for one, I'm really excited to see where this goes. Viktor Frankl,
17:54who's a famed, uh, Austrian psychiatrist and a Holocaust survivor, uh, wrote a treatise. Uh,
18:00and, uh, in his treatise, he talked a lot about finding the meaning in life. And he argues that
18:05there, there are three things that will help us derive meaning in life in the work that we do as
18:12what we do in the love of another or the care and the support of another. And finally,
18:17in the courage to withstand in a, a traumatic or very difficult situation, because he argues that
18:24it's in that standing in that, that as the courage emits, we actually find the redefined meaning for
18:31our life. And I love that way of thinking in that frame. And I thought about you the minute I put this
18:38together with his traumatic story. He's an Auschwitz survivor. And he, he survived because he said his
18:45sole purpose was to carry this thought forward and to have it published. And that's what kept him
18:50going. So I know that you've got a lot more to do and that the universe clearly is not done with,
18:58with you and what you can contribute. Um, I'm your partner. Uh, we are standing right here to watch the
19:05wonderful things and help you drive those forward, but leave us with, uh, leave us with a word, uh,
19:12something that we hadn't really thought about coming into this and, and your call to action for us.
19:19Yeah. You know, I, I, I'll start with my, my call to action for us. Um, we,
19:27we should use this. And I love the word that you used to describe this, uh, earlier, Tony is, is
19:33opportunity. So, you know, of the many things that ran through my, through my mind, um, the one thing
19:42that, or one of the things that was, that really stood out was, um, that because I had fought for
19:50things that I had believed in, whether it was, um, uh, dismantling the, the, the ethnic aisle from,
19:59from, from a place of, um, uh, segregation to a place of inclusion, uh, whether it was, uh, um,
20:07working with businesses to, to, uh, with black entrepreneurs to build their businesses, um,
20:13all of those things, um, we have to not be on the sidelines. We have to not, um, uh, wait, um,
20:25for anybody else to do it for us. We have to find ways to do it for ourselves, no matter how small,
20:31um, and we have to find ways to do it together. You know, uh, we, we, we, we, we oftentimes
20:39are lone rangers, right. Um, and we're out in the world and we're, and we're on our own,
20:44but we don't come from, we don't come from individualism. Uh, historically we are community
20:51focused. We, we come together and, and, and, and, and I think the word that I would leave is
20:55let's come together and figure out how to solve these issues for ourselves and let's get partners to
21:00help us, right. Let's get partners that, that can join us in the fight, but we have to take,
21:06we have to take this fight on ourselves and we have to do, whether it's health inequity,
21:10whether it's economic inequity, right. We have to take those fights on ourselves and we have to
21:14drive them and lead them. And that's what we're going to do. Uh, you know, that, that's why we, we,
21:20we love this platform that we're building. That's why we're so inclusive in bringing everybody into it.
21:25Um, because it's, it's not one person isn't going to do it. And one group isn't going to do
21:30it. It's going to take all of us to do it. And we have to start doing it now. We have to start
21:34doing it together. So that, that for me is the piece that I, that I would leave.
21:39Well, we've got to wrap it up, but for all the woke folks out there,
21:43we are right behind you and importantly, we're right beside you, my brother, much love.
21:48Thanks. We got to leave it there.
21:49Thank you, Tony. Appreciate you. Thanks everybody.
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