Diane Shader Smith is the mother of Mallory Smith, an extraordinary young woman who lived a full life up until her death in November 2017 from pneumonia caused by the superbug Burkholderia cepacia (B. Cepacia).
Before undergoing a risky transplant, Mallory had given her mother the password to her journal, a precious gift that buoyed a mother drowning in grief. Honoring her daughter's request to share the message with those struggling with the conditions of cystic fibrosis, loss, chronic illness, body image issues or a transplant, Shader Smith pursued the March 2019 publication of Salt in My Soul, a written record of Mallory's life.
Yet, the story of the phage therapy that could have saved her life remains to be shared. Phages are naturally-occurring organisms; therefore they cannot be patented. Due to liability issues, the phage doses that could have saved Mallory could not be administered in time. After making the inaugural gift to the first center doing clinical trials via Mallory's Legacy Fund at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Shader Smith has been sharing Mallory's story in an effort to save others with the same condition.
Shader Smith has been a publicist, professional writer and speaker for 25 years, and has been interviewed by media outlets including The Today Show, The Los Angeles Times and NPR. She has written for Burbank Leader and Star Magazine, and was on the writing staff of the popular ABC-TV Show General Hospital. Shader Smith co-authored a chapter for the best-selling book Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy, and her own publications include Undressing Infidelity: Why More Wives are Unfaithful, Mallory's 65 Roses, Stevie's Secret, A Test of Will and an anthology, A Dialogue with Cancer.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx