Latest / The iHeart SoCal Show / Join Us For the 3rd Annual Where Is EB To Help Those Suffering From PH & PAH

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Join Us For the 3rd Annual Where Is EB To Help Those Suffering From PH & PAH · The iHeart SoCal Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, Lisa Fox here. This is the I Heart
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: SoCal show. Back in 2020, my good friend, my now
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: good friend, I mean, we were just meeting each other
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: back then, but now we've become good friends. My friend
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Eric Burstein's life changed dramatically when he collapsed at home
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: from massive right heart failure and was diagnosed with pulmonary
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: arterial hypertension, PAH, a rare and life-threatening disease called with
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: no cure. He's grateful to be live and here to
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: share his story as we gear up for the third
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: annual Where Is EB? 5K fundraiser in Santa Monica on Sunday,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: September the 20th. And the details are all at whereiseb.org.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: But hello to my good friend, Eric Borstein. Hi, Eric.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Hi, how are you?
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: My gosh, all these years later. I mean, it seems
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: like when I first met you through a mutual friend, Alessandro, that, gosh,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I won't say it was more grim when we first met,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: but I mean... you've been through so much since you
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: first collapsed and found that you had this rare thing
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: going on inside your body and you are thriving thanks
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: to walking. And you've been doing so it's like your
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: full-time job now is to get healthy, stay alive, stay healthy,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: and to advocate for others who have this condition. So
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: let's go back to 2020 and talk about how your
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: life forever changed and you got diagnosed.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, uh, And thank you for having me again.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Of course. It's amazing to see you. And it's been
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: a whirlwind the last three years. So in 2020, September
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: of 2020, I collapsed and it was during COVID. And
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: And the only blessing was because it was COVID, your
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: kids were home, homeschooling. And they were there when it happened.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: And scary for your kids to be there when dad collapsed,
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: but they were there and be able to call. be
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: able to call?
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: I'm extremely lucky actually that it was during COVID. If
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: it wasn't, I would be dead. Um, it was about
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: seven 30 in the morning. Kids were home being homeschooled
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: and my, one of my daughters saw me collapse. And
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: you know, I, I tell everybody, you know, people ask me,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: do I have any regrets? Do I regret anything? And I,
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: I don't say I have any regrets, but I have
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: one wish and that's that I, that my daughter didn't
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: see me collapse. But So I was home, I collapsed,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: I was rushed to the hospital. I spent 16 days
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: in the ICU where I was diagnosed with an extremely
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: rare lung disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension. I'd actually collapsed
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: from severe right heart failure, which was a result of
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: the PAH. I was in the hospital. The news was
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: very grim. I didn't know, but they told my wife
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: that they didn't know if I was going to leave
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: the hospital. Then once I was stabilized, they sent me
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: home and I had supposedly two to four months to live.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I was put on a pump with life-saving medications. And
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: I went home and my life started over again. And
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: one of the medications that I went on had some
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: serious side effects. And I learned extremely early on that
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: walking helped mitigate those side effects. But then it started
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: to help very quickly with my mental health. And when
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: you're diagnosed with a disease that doesn't have a cure,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: it can take its toll mentally.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you're a happily married guy with a great wife.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: We love Val. And your three kids are so great.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: You're like, wait, I have a whole life in front
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: of me. I'm only my 50-something. I have a long
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: way to go. I've got to keep this going for
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: my family and my life and my world. And so
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: you're thinking of all these things. My story isn't finished.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: I have to keep fighting for myself and for my family.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: And yeah, so now you're on these meds that are just,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: it's a lot.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: The meds are a lot. And I had one thought
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: and that started in the ICU and that was, I
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: wasn't going to die. And I was going to do
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: anything I could to live. I didn't know how sick
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: I was. And I purposely probably didn't ask those questions
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: for about a year, but I just put blinders on
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: and I looked my doctors in the eyes and I
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: looked my wife in the eye and I looked my,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: I talked to my kids and I said, look, I'm
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: going to do everything I can to live. And that's
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: a decision that I made. And I haven't looked back since.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: And it's been six years.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: And before then, I mean, look, hardworking guy on the
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: West side, family business and seemingly healthy up until then.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: But we talked before, though, about how you were kind
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: of avoiding like men do. Sorry, it's a guy thing.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: avoiding going to the doctor. You know, I have the
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: folks from Movember, the Movember man movement that turns the
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: month of November into Movember where they grow mustaches. It's
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: a whole movement. Anyways, it's a thing about getting the
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: attention of men. to make sure that they go to
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: the doctor to get checked out for all your stuff
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: so that the crazy people that love you hopefully get
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: to have you here on this earth longer because you
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: are also taking charge of your own health and going
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: to get your stuff checked out. Movember.com for more on that,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: by the way. And men can be a little stubborn
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: about your stuff. And you had ignored some symptoms and
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Val was trying to get you to the doctor and ignored,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: ignored a little bit, but seemingly healthy. But what were
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: your issues before this collapse happened? I mean, this is
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: a wake up call for people listening that do not
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: ignore because do not ignore. You don't know what's going
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: on inside your body. You have to go to a
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: doctor and get, get your stuff checked. But how are
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: you feeling before this happened?
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: So it was, it was, it's a progressive disease. So
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I would say for probably two years leading up to collapsing,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: my health started to slowly deteriorate.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: And what were your symptoms?
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Uh, Swelling in the abdomen, swelling in the ankles, shortness
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: of breath. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was younger.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: And so you're thinking maybe it's asthma again, but I
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: knew it wasn't. I knew something was wrong. So one
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: of the things that I address today is my mental health.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: And I've spoken with a psychologist once a week ever
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: since I left the hospital. And one of the things
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: that I learned was that I was in avoidance. And
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: what I really was in avoidance of was hearing a
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: doctor telling me that I was really sick and that eventually,
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: you know, you could die. And it was scary and
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: I was scared. And, you know, one of the lessons
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: that has come out of this, that's one of the
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: most important lessons that I, that I really share. And I,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: and I want this message out to men is don't
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: avoid your health because that almost cost me my life. Yeah.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: And your family wants you here. Your family wants you here.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Your loved ones Your crazy friends and all the people
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: in your life want you here. So you better listen.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: I'm going to crack the whip and snap my fingers
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: and do all this stuff. For all men listening, it's
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: very important. And sadly, I mean, thank goodness you're here
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: to talk about it now. But if you were not here,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: they'd all be like, oh, why didn't he listen to us?
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Why didn't he listen? And he's not here anymore. And
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: they'd be mad, mad at you.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: They'd be mad and it would be a different lesson.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. So let's talk about what you have. Pulmonary
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: arterial hypertension, PAH. How rare is it? You know, you
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: do these walks now and we're on our third annual
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Where Is EB? We'll talk all about that. But you
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: do this because you walk for others who are suffering.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Talk about this disease. Who has it? Who can get it?
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Who's susceptible to this?
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: So pulmonary hypertension is high pressure in the lungs. And
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: that isn't uncommon. But pulmonary arterial hypertension is the rarest
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: form of the family of diseases under pulmonary hypertension. And
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: PAH is the high pressure between the heart and the
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: lungs in the pulmonary arteries. And so what happens is,
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: and the best way to describe it is it's like
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: water in a hose. And if you squeeze that hose tight,
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: the water can't get through the hose. So my pulmonary
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: arteries started to get constricted. And so the blood was
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: trying to, trying to get through my pulmonary arteries into
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: my lungs. It couldn't, it backed up. Eventually that led
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: to right heart failure. And what happens is because it
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: is a silent disease and unless you're acutely aware or,
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: you know, you, you would get to the doctor early,
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: you're already, you're already into heart failure by the time
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: the symptoms really show themselves. And so again, that's why
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: it's so dangerous. So when I went into the hospital,
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: the medications immediately started to relieve the pressure in my
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: lungs and allowed my heart to start to work again. Unfortunately,
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: your lungs don't regenerate those pulmonary arteries. So the damage
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: that's been done in my lungs is done. My heart
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: has made almost a complete recovery, which is almost a miracle.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: My lungs haven't. So I'm compromising with the medications that
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: I'm on today and exercise and a strict diet and
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: addressing mental health and then and my village, relying on
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: my friends, family, neighbors. And all of that together is
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: what I call pieces of my pie. And it's a
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: formula that I've adopted. It's a formula that works. And
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: it's a formula that saved my life and continues to
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: allow me to do the things I'm doing today.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Were you predisposed to this or who can get this?
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Who's more susceptible to getting this? Yeah.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: So you can be idiopathic, which means they don't know.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: It can be genetic. It can be environmental. It It
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: can be, you know, there's different reasons why it happens.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: I'm idiopathic. I did go through genetic testing. I'm adopted. So,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: you know, my medical history is very blurred. But we
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: went through genetic testing for the kids. And thank goodness,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: you know, I don't have the genetic marker. So it's idiopathic.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: And again, when I was younger, I was diagnosed with asthma.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: One of the biggest misdiagnoses for this disease is asthma.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: But it's also extremely rare in men. It's rare in everybody,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: but it's more common in younger and middle-aged women that
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: typically they're in their mid-20s, early 30s. They maybe had
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: just had a baby and a doctor would say, oh,
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: you're out of shape or you're a little overweight or
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: something like that. And again, unless you do a right
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: heart catheter or you do lung pressure testing, you can't
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: be diagnosed with it.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Now, and I'll say this to you is, I mean,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: how would we, if we want to kind of like
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: look ahead for people, you know, I have a heart
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: doctor and I go on the regular, I'm right in the,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: you know, over, well, I don't want to say my age, over. 30. Now,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: I'm in the age range where heart disease and stroke
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: are more prevalent in women. It's the number one killer
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: for women is heart disease and stroke. More than all
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: cancers combined. I have a heart doctor. He's amazing.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Dr.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Bhatia Beverly Hills. Um, but so I get the heart
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: all like for, you know, the EKG, I get an echo, echocardiogram, ultrasound,
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: stress test, all this stuff every year, all this stuff.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: They go deep into my business to make sure it's
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: all pumping and working and doing this thing. What can
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: people do that, you know, I mean, speaking on behalf
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: of those and helping those advocating for those with PAH
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: and PH, what can we do to look ahead and
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: help prevent it or help like kind of get a
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: jump on it to make sure it's not going to
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: stop us in our tracks and not have us collapsing
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: on the floor in our homes alone or with our kids?
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: I mean, the biggest advice that I can give to
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: people is go through your regular checkups. You know, when
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: you get to a certain age, you know, you have to,
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: I mean, at any age, you have to go through
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: your checkups. But the moment you feel like something is wrong,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: shortness of breath, you see some swelling, maybe your weight,
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: you know, you have swelling or your weight increases and
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: you're retaining fluids or something like that, go to the doctor.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: But the other bit of advice I give people is
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: if you don't get the answers you're looking for, you know,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: you know yourself the best. Yeah. Keep asking the questions. And,
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: you know, I tell people all the time, if you're
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: at the doctor and you're by yourself and you're not
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: getting the answers you want, bring somebody else to help
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: advocate for you or be your voice. You know, if you're,
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: if you're not, if you're, if you're too shy or
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: if you're not getting, or go to a different doctor.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: I've got an amazing cardiologist as well. Dr. Haj in
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Beverly Hills as well, who helped save my life. I mean,
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: he did save my life, but not everybody goes to
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: a cardiologist, but you do get your physical exams. And
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: when you get to a certain age, you know, you
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: do those stress tests and those EKGs and, but it's
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: really a matter of listening to your body. And the
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: moment something doesn't feel right, don't ignore it. Yeah. I
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: avoided it. I didn't ignore it because I was scared.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: I was really scared, but I was in avoidance. And again,
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: that avoidance almost cost me my life.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: And you got lucky. So men, I'm going to tap
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: this microphone. Men, listen up, listen up. Lisa Fox, you're
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: on with Eric Borstein. Where is he be? He walks
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: to stay alive. He walks to mitigate all the side
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: effects from all the medications that he has to take
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: by being a person who has PAH. He walks for
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: those with PAH, with pH, pulmonary arterial hypertension, walk to
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: raise awareness. to advocate for men's health. And our third
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: annual walk is coming up. Where is EB? Third annual 5K,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: the Where is EB walk, Annenberg in Santa Monica, Sunday,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: September the 20th. All the info at whereiseb.org. We want
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: people to join us out there for an incredible morning.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: But talk about the Where is EB thing that kind
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: of happened. I love this part of Eric's story is
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: that Because, like you mentioned, because of the medications that
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: he has to take now, because he has PAH, this
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: very rare disease with no cure, walking helps mitigate these
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: heavy side effects of these heavy medications that you have
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: to take. So he's out there walking. He's the guy
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: with the tan year-round walking on the west side, all
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: over the west side. He walks. He walks. This is crazy.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: You want to get your steps in. This man is
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: walking 15 miles a day, if not more. So talk
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: about the walking and where this whole moniker of where
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: is EB happened? Cause that's a really cute story.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So, um, I started doing, I started doing more
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: and more walking and eventually I was seen in and around.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Cause before you didn't really maybe walk that much in
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: the neighborhood. Like you're like, all right, I'm too busy.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: I'm a busy working guy. I'm busy dad.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Well, that and in those 18 months, two years leading
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: up to me collapsing, you know, going up any sort
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: of incline was painful and difficult.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: So you didn't want to exercise.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: I avoided exercise as well. And I tell people, you know,
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: I would go mountain bike riding because we have the
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Santa Monica Mountains right above us. But I'd be on
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: an e-bike or instead of playing tennis, I played paddle
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: tennis or, you know, everything kind of got smaller. But
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: it got to the point where, you know, I could
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: barely walk. I couldn't go upstairs. I was suffocating. I
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: would wait till people left. I'd go in the closet.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: It was awful. So I started walking and people would
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: start to see me multiple times throughout the day.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: This guy, there he is again.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: There he is again.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: There he is walking down PCH. There he is on Sepulveda.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: Everywhere.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: There is this guy.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: Everywhere. And so one day I'm walking or we're actually
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: we're traveling. and we're in Greece, and a mom and
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: a daughter walk by me. And the mom looks at
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: me and says, are you from Los Angeles? And this
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: is in Mykonos, Greece. And I said, I do live
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: in Los Angeles. And she said, do you live in Brentwood?
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: I said, I do. And she lifts the street. And
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, I live on that street. And she
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: grabs her daughter and she goes, oh my goodness, it's
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: the walking guy.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: That's the guy, the walking guy, always out walking.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Always out walking. And so right around that time, Val said,
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: you're like my wife, you know, you're you're like this
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: modern day, where's Waldo, except you're not Waldo, you're EB.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: And so where's EB was born. And so where's EB
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: is born. I'm walking. And so my daughters come to
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: me and say, dad, you know, we really want to
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: do a fundraiser to raise awareness for this very rare
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: disease that you live with. And I'd been thinking about
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: it and that was really the kick in the pants
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: that I needed. So, you know, we start, we start
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: brainstorming and we come up with a 5k and you know, wonderful.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: And then all of a sudden, you know, the wheels
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: start turning and I'm like, okay, I live with this
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: really rare disease. How can we really like make an impact?
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Kick it up a couple notches and really get some attention.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: This is how crazy this man is, y'all. I told
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: you he walks 15 miles a day at the least.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: But what we do every year now for the Where
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Is EB annual 5K is just like, oh, cute little 5K.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: That's for us, you know, rookies. But wait till you
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: hear what EB is going to do again this year. Yeah.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Say it.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: So, I then, after the 5K, I decided I was
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: going to walk 200 miles from LA to San Diego.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: To San Diego. He's walking to San Diego. You're crazy great,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: and I love it. It took like two weeks, right?
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: To and from San Diego to walk to San Diego
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: and back?
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: It was six and a half days. So I walk.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: He said he walks fast.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Jeez. LA to San Diego is only like 150 miles.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: So I had to figure out how am I going
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: to make this this big round number.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: And do a safe route and plan it where you
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: can like, you know, sleep and, you know, use the
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: restroom and eat and do all this stuff and yeah,
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: be comfortable.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: So I walk all the way into, you know, close
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: to the border and I come back up through Coronado
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: and I end in Del Mar and it ended up
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: being 202 miles the first year, 205 miles the second year.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: And I'm doing it again.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: Woo!
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Talk about crazy great motivation, this guy. I mean, we're doing, again,
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: we get the easy at 5K is what? 3.2 miles.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: We'll do that around Santa Monica, 3.1 miles. We're going
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: to start at Annenberg again this year. So this is Sunday,
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: September the 20th in Santa Monica. We encourage you to
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: join my team, the Lisa Foxers, at whereishebe.org. Please do.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: It costs like, I don't know, a couple bucks to
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: sign up. Join my team. And donate whatever you want.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: But just to, Eric's really inspirational and his stories are great.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: But what I love about the first year that we
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: came is that your friends, your family, like all of
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: your kids, high school coaches and friends. And I saw
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: so many people. And of course, my Eric grew up
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: in the Palisades. And so, you know, Vijay and so
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: many mutual friends. And they're all there. And all these
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: wonderful people came out in droves for the first one,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: bigger the second year. So this is our third annual.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: We're going to bring like even more people out there
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: to come and support this mission. And also your walking mission,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: your walk to advocate for your health, people with PAH,
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: people with PH, and also this walking journey. The guy,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, like crazy in the best way, was walking
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: to San Diego to raise money and awareness for this
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: rare disease. And also when you raise this money, talk
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: about where the money goes. So as we try to
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: rally more people to join us this year on September 20th,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: let's talk about where the money goes that we're going
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: to raise at whereishebe.org. Yep.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: So three years ago, I was introduced to a nonprofit.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: I'm getting pumped up.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: Sorry, I'm like, I'm getting like, I'm ready for it.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: I am so excited. And, you know, everybody, please come out.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: So three years ago, I was introduced to Dr. Patty George,
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: who's at National Jewish Health in Denver. And she had
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: started a nonprofit called Team Phenomenal Hope. And Team Phenomenal
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: Hope's mission is to help patients living with pulmonary hypertension
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: around the country who need it most. You know, there's
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: so much going on in this world. There's so much
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: going on in this country. for people to pay their
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: co-pays and then to worry about getting to the doctor
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: and then everything else that goes along with living with
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: pulmonary hypertension. But then you got to put food on
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: the table and you got to buy an iPad for
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: your children and you got to do all this stuff
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: that it's hard. You know, it's really hard. And one
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: of my messages is that I'm lucky. I'm extremely fortunate,
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: but I use that fortune to give back. And so
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: we raise all the money, 100% of the proceeds for
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: this event Go to Team Phenomenal Hope.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: And it's Team Phenomenal with the capital PH, so for PH,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: the disease. So Phenomenal Hope to help so many others
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: who are struggling, but also just monetarily how expensive it
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: is to go get this care, to help them live
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: and get through this.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: So they provide support. They have programs. They have online
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: support groups. And then they fund research. to hopefully find
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: new therapies and God willing, one day find a cure.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: There's no cure for this disease. So we do a
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: bunch of different things, but they're so important and they're
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: so critical. And it's something that's so near and dear
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: to my heart and our family's hearts. Literally, yeah.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Literally.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: And again, we do this because we want to do this.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: You need to do it. And we needed do it.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: And 100% of every dollar raised goes to the organization.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: And the more people that come out, it just brings
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: more awareness to where ZB and it brings more awareness
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: to the disease. And the more awareness we can bring
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: to this disease, the more attention we can bring to
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: this disease. Again, one day, there's no cure for it today,
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: but maybe there'll be a cure for it tomorrow. But
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: the better therapies we get, the more that extends people's lives.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: And so again, I'm so excited. And I could not
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: be more grateful that we've met and that I can
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: call you a friend. And it's going to be the
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: best event yet. And I can't wait.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Me too. And what I love too is
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: also that, look, you know, his disease, maybe you're like,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: I've never heard of this. I don't have it. I
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: don't know about it. But look, we're all about supporting
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: people coming together to help those who need it. And
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: for people, our community to come together, it's a big deal.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: And what I love is like our group grows bigger
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: and bigger every year. And we make it fun. We
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: also make it fun. Like, we're going to be at
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: the beach. Let's do a little 5K. Let's do a
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: little 3.1. Let's meet. Come meet Eric and his wonderful family.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: They're so sweet. And all these wonderful people that come
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: out and our listeners from iHeartRadio, our Lisa Foxter's team,
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: come join me. And then our friend Mario Lopez is
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: going to stop by this year, which we love. Mario Lopez.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: And then just, we do giveaways and we're doing a
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: raffle and some goodies. So talk about what's going to
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: be on site as well. Cause it's really, it's really
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: a fun atmosphere. I mean, you're hearing this guy talk.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: He's not a Debbie Downer. This guy almost died and
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: he is a light in this world and trying to
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: help others who are suffering from this, but also just
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: in general, trying to be a light and trying to
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: use your story to just fuel others to pay more
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: attention to their health and to be here for our
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: families and our loved ones. And let's make the magic
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: happen as best we can. And I love that about you.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: And I love that about your family and your team
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: and your, what do you call it, your tribe, your village,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: and all that love and positivity you will experience when
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: you come meet us there in person for the third
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: annual Where is EB 5K in Santa Monica at Annenberg, Sunday,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: September 20th. Yeah, just we make it a fun morning.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: It's not sad. It's very inspiring.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: It is, it is a blast. You know, we're at Annenberg,
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: we're in Santa Monica, we're on the beach, mid to
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: late September in LA at the beach is, is you couldn't,
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: it couldn't be better.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: It couldn't be any more hot than it has been.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: My gosh.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: It'll be cooler.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Hopefully cooler. I looked at the weather.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: It's going to be cooler.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: But it's a great morning. Again, Lisa Fox is going
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: to be there. Mario Lopez is going to be there
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: this year. We have amazing giveaways. We, we give away
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: Dodger tickets, Rams tickets, swag.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: We have the online auction is going on, right?
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: We have the online auction this year again.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: And that's at wherezebe.org?
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: Yes, wherezebe.org. And pulmonary hypertension, there's a lot of diseases
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: that fall under pulmonary hypertension. And believe it or not,
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: as people get older, by the time you're in your 80s,
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: late 80s, anybody that starts to get into any sort
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: of congenital heart failure, they have high pressure on the lungs.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: You've got different diseases that are a lot more common
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: that fall under pulmonary hypertension. So this organization- helps anybody
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: living with any disease that falls under the pulmonary hypertension umbrella.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: So yours is rare, but it's all grouped in with
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: so many things that people are experiencing, if not now,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: many levels of our life or our parents or grandparents.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's happening health-wise.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: 100%. So it affects a lot more people than you
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: would think. But again, it's an amazing morning. And my
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: positivity really comes out of, again, it was a decision
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: that I made in the hospital. And I go back
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: to my psychologist. My psychologist told me, you know, he goes, look,
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: you could easily be mad and, you know, you were
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: dealt a bad deck, but you're not. And, and the
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: way I look at it is, you know, everybody in life,
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: whether you've already, or you're going to, you know, you've,
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: you've been hit by that proverbial two by four and
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: you will face, or you faced adversity in life and
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: it's what you do with it. And, you know, I
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: decided that I had so much to live for. I
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: wasn't ready And now, you know, my health has made
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: this amazing, miraculous turnaround. And the reality is there's no cure. And,
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: you know, look, there are things that go with that,
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: but while I'm here and while I'm able to do it,
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: I'm going to help as many people as I can.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: And Where's EB is doing that. And, you know, one
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: of the most exciting things that's happened just in the
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: short three years that we've been doing this is Where's
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: EB is becoming synonymous with PAH and pulmonary hypertension. And
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: that's all around the country and it's starting to go global.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: And Again, the more people that can come out for
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: this event and just show enthusiasm and show support, it
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: helps so many people that the people that are there
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: will never meet. But the impact is tremendous. I can't equate.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: It's like people with PH have a voice. They have
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: a positive voice because you're still here. Thank God. You're thriving.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: You're surviving. Can you really give so much credit to
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: the walking, right? The 15 miles on average, right? It's
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: 15 miles a day you walk.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: 13 to 15 a day.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: 13 to 15 a day he walks. But the walking
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: is so powerful for your body. I can't imagine. I've survived.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: I've told you I've survived a couple of LA marathons
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: in full. May have took me a long time. But
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: I got through two fulls. And then many half marathons.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: But that's a lot to run. But the walking on
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: your body, I mean, you're in great shape. And how
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: healing this walking has been for you and really kind
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: of like a little note to sell for anyone, whether
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: you're sick or not, the walking is so healing, right?
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: It's healing physically and it's healing mentally. And for me
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: early on, the walking helped me increase the amount of
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: medication I was on. So that in hindsight saved my life.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: But as I go, you know, you have to learn
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: in life how to mitigate stress. You know, we all
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: have stress. You got to learn how to deal with things,
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: you know, when they come your way. And for me,
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: it's walking. But one of the other things that I've
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: learned is, you know, positive mental health is finding something
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: you love to do. And for me, it's walking. And
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: the walking, again, has helped physically and it's helped mentally.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, walking is something that I do
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: to make myself feel better. With the medications. But then
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: after that has subsided, it just makes me, it's an
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: amazing thing. And it's not as hard on my body
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: as running. You know, I ran some marathons too before,
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, years ago.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: And now, like when you walk, right? I remember you
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: were telling me in the early days, people, random strangers
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: would see you walking like, oh, hey, there's the walking guy.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: There's EB. Let me, can I join you? Can I
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: walk with you for a mile or two? People would
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: just jump in and join you.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: So people come join me, especially the LA to San Diego.
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: I have friends that come for segments of that walk.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Do you want to walk with them to San Diego?
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: You want to take some time off work? You want
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: to walk to San Diego with EB? It's a possibility.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Come join me along the way. If you're anywhere between
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: LA and San Diego and you want to come walk
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: a portion of it, you are more than welcome to.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: You can follow along at whereiseeb.org throughout the walk. But yeah,
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, but the funny thing is like, I now
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: get honks in the neighborhood. I get honks all throughout
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: West LA. I've met people because I'm known as the
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: walking guy. And yeah, I mean, it's amazing. but the
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: walking also is motivational for me. And again, I take,
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: I take the fact that I'm helping so many people
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: very seriously. And I, and I feel like I have
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: a responsibility to help others through where is EB. And, and, and,
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: and so when I walk, I feel like I'm carrying
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: so many people on my shoulders, but, and, but then
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: when I also walk, I sometimes look back and I,
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: you know, I look in, I look in a reflection,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: I look in the mirror and I see how I
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: look and, It's just a reminder of how far I've come.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: And I've really come this far in a really short
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: period of time. You know, six years this September is
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: not that long.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: And you're still, you're here.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: And I'm here and I feel amazing. Yeah.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: I love that. Do you pick walks that are more
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: scenic or, I love when we have time to walk,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: we love to walk, my Eric and I, when it's
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: early and it's quiet. I love to walk. I just
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: want to hear birds and squirrels, birds and squirrels, birds
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: and squirrels, no cars, no people are fine. People out
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: walking the dogs, but like, do you pick scenic routes
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: or is it like, you know, not noisy cars and
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: craziness per se, but what routes do you pick mostly
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: on the West side? It's all over the place, but.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: I've always had an affinity to the ocean and the beach.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: So I, I find myself without even thinking about a
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: lot of times I end up heading toward the beach.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: And so I end up down there a lot.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Got the sunscreen on.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: I got the sunscreen on. I always have a hat on. But,
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: you know, I've walked... to LAX and back. I've walked
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: to Dodger Stadium for games. Oh yeah.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: He's like, one time he told me, he was like,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: we're going to go to the game tonight. And I said, okay.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: He's like, you're going to walk to Dodger Stadium from
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: the West side? Are you insane? This is what this
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: guy does. He's crazy in the best way possible. But
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: I'm like, he did it.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: I've walked from Universal Studios home.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: But I walk any time of the day. I walk
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: day and night. I actually, I love the mornings, but
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: I love walking late at night because we're- Because that's safe. Easy.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Easy.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: But there's nobody around us. It's just, I mean, there's
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: some wildlife, but you know, and I take the dog.
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: I carry the bear spray. I also have the most
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: ferocious golden retriever ever.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, your dog, yeah.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: But you know, and it's just me and my thoughts
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: and it's quiet and, but I'll walk day and night.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: I agree, birds and squirrels.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so great. And so always great to have you
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: here in studio. I can't wait to support you. Where
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: is EB, Eric Borstein and his walk to walking helps
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: save his life and on behalf of saving the lives
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: of others who need it to raise awareness and money
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: for PH and PAH, his very rare disease of all
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: the heart conditions that are out there. He's got PAH,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: pulmonary arterial hypertension. Please meet us in Santa Monica and
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: walk with us in person. Meet this man. You've heard
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: his story. Give him a hug in person. See us
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: all out there. Join the Lisa Foxers on Sunday, September
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: the 20th at Annenberg in Santa Monica. All the info
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: is at whereiseb.org. Of course, in Santa Monica, it'd be
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: a beautiful morning. We'll all be out there. Fun, games, prizes,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: and just great people. Really great people. It's a big
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: group hug and a lot of love. And we're going
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: to do our walk And then we'll say goodbye. Have
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: fun walking to San Diego, you crazy man. And we'll
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: keep supporting and fundraising for you to do that big
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: walk to raise just even more money and awareness for
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: all that you do. So thank you for what you do.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: I'm so grateful you're here six years later and thriving
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: and doing well. And we'll see you on the 20th
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: in Santa Monica for Where Is He Be?
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: I can't wait. Really can't wait. Hope to see everybody
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: out there. And Lisa, thank you so much. Of course.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: WhereIsHeBe.org for more. We'll see you on the 20th in
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: Santa Monica.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: Woo!