Session 4b

Fred Rutman was a business prof teaching Finance and Marketing until the summer of 2009 came crashing down on him, with a continuous stream of medical traumas, including his being clinically dead 20 times (There would be more to come). This left him with PTSD, Post-concussion syndrome and ongoing anxiety. This would have crushed most people. But Fred had another issue. All of this was layered onto his pre-existing medical issues. You see, Fred had a stroke at birth. And it went undiscovered until his mid-30s. That’s not to say he didn’t have an ABI and its accompanying issues. It’s just he didn’t know how to describe his world, and if he could figure that out, who would he tell. The result was being forced onto permanent medical leave.

Fred has since been hospitalized 22 times, undergoing 12 heart procedures. The short story is his heart was stopping. Each time it stopped, he collapsed, hit his head, sustaining multiple concussions. They finally figured out he needed a pacemaker. Which was great, until the pacemaker failed in 2013, requiring two emergency surgeries. And it failed again in 2018, with more surgery required. There were additional complications in 2019 and 2020.

In 2018, Fred learned about intermittent fasting. His life hasn’t been the same since. He attributes the large majority of his recovery to the healing powers of IF, including reversing his T2 diabetes. Fred spends much of his day talking to people about resiliency, overcoming adversity and living their best, healthy lives.

In summary, Fred shouldn’t even be alive. Nor should he be any level of functional. And yet, here he is trying to be a positive source for anyone who is going through their own trials and tribulations. It’s a power message from an incredibly resilient formerly dead person.