Many success story videos are short (1 min to 5 mins), so typically they don't have details and the overall story may be moving but may appear kinda 'magical' (too good to be true). But this 69-minute video is packed with technical details, personal life experiences, pitfalls & setbacks, the role of community support and many insights that the speaker got over time. It sounds much more real. I'd recommend it to anybody who would like to cure autoimmune via whole food, plant-based diet.
An hour long Podcast in which Joyce narrates her story.
I loved How Joyce Healed Her Lupus (69 min talk, 2018). Joyce is a great speaker: she's articulate and she's very comfortable sharing her personal story. Her video is information packed. For the first several minutes, the video recording device is hand-held; at some point of time, it becomes steady. Audio quality is great throughout.
Joyce had a severe case of lupus for almost 40 years. She describes her difficulties in great detail in the early part of the video (almost 20-25 minutes). And then, step by step, she describes how she tried 'superfoods' (juices and smoothies) and experienced positive changes within 4 days. Her boyfriend discovered Dr Esselstyn (a prominent WFPB doctor) but she ignored it. Then after several months of struggle, she sought a 'sign from the Universe' and within a day or two, 2-3 TV shows caught her attention: an interview with Dr Neal Barnard (another prominent WFPB advocate), a PBS show about WFPB (Dr Fuhrman, perhaps?), and so on. For Joyce, what was unique about these videos was the idea that the food we put into our bodies has a huge impact on our well being. So she started trying a WFPB diet and within days and weeks, she started feeling better. Having experienced some progress, she also refused a medical procedure; this put her at odds with her doctors and she was labeled a 'non-compliant patient'. Slowly but steadily, she reduced her medicines. Eventually, she came in touch with the Esselstyns too. A phone call from Dr Esselstyn was crucial — he motivated her to aim for 'strict compliance' for even greater benefits. Dr Esselstyn asked her to eliminate even the 'little bit of sugar' she was having, for example. She complied. Later, she started participating more in WFPB events and she realized that her compliance and the resulting recovery actually inspires many others, thereby improving their quality of life.
Looks like Joyce gave the talk at the 'Seventh Day Adventist Church in South Austin'. The Seventh Day Adventists happen to be one of the Blue Zones communities mentioned in Dan Buettner's books. The "Blue Zones" are communities with the highest fraction of centenarians (people who live up to age 100 or more).
Articles: Joyce's Personal Story at ForksOverKnives. An excerpt:
Misc: FaceBook page. I found Joyce's video through this FaceBook group: McDougall Success Stories.
Podcast interview: Interview with Joyce Hale (Podcast; 87 mins); interview conducted by Corinne Nijjer.