Ep. 143: Evan Sisley - Personal Aide to President George H. W. Bush
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/evansisley?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evansisley/?hl=en
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Show Notes
[03:03] I was hired by Time magazine to cover the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. And after doing three days there, I just ended up walking into a bar, putting my cameras down, and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.
[03:20] I grew up in this area. A lot of friends of mine were at Virginia Tech at the time of the shooting. And I just had a very hard time with covering national tragedies of that nature.
[06:19] I saw polio [in the Middle East]. You see things that you would never see in the United States.
[08:49] She was your dad's primary caregiver her entire life. And I think when she started having these young men in the house who were helping provide medical care for your dad, I think that was a difficult thing at first of kind of accepting that.
[09:16] Your parents and I got along, I think, the most because I didn't necessarily always tell them what they wanted to hear, but I told them what they needed to hear at the time.
[09:28] When you're a former president, former first lady, it can be difficult for people to give you the tough news.
[10:47] Having the right level of respect for the office, but also treating them like normal human beings is very, very important.
[11:11] Nobody was there to tell George H.W. Bush what to do. We were always there to advise on his medical treatment him, and he was always capable of making his own decisions. And the same thing goes for your mother.
[13:14] Your parents did a beautiful job of making their diagnoses public. They did this on their own.
[13:56] I can only imagine how difficult it would be to be the most powerful person in the world, to then having to be in a wheelchair and have somebody push you where you want to go.
[15:12] Your dad never wanted to make anything about him. It was always about the other guy. It was always about helping somebody who was in need. It was always about lifting somebody up in the worst moment of their life.
[15:50] That was such an amazing, poignant example for people who are at the end of their life to not allow yourself to retreat back into the confines of your own home. But go forward, go live your life, do as much as you possibly can to the fullest. And he really did that.
[16:32] George H.W. Bush taught me the importance of the personal touch of going out there and reaching out to your friends when they're having a rough time and let them know that you care, that you love them.
[16:56] This is a man who lived every aspect of his life for the entirety of his life from when he was eighteen years old on out was about public service and how to help others who didn't have as much as he did.
[24:52] With your father, he always did really well when he had a mission, and he had a cause, something to look forward to.
[25:02] If he had a service dog or adopted a service dog, then it would end up bringing a lot of publicity to the issue and to the organization who provided the dog and showed and leading by example that it's OK to ask for help for veterans who have disabilities on the side.
Thank you for joining us on Health Gig. We loved having you with us. We hope you'll tune in again next week. In the meantime, be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast, and follow us on healthgigpod.com.
Quotes:
“Your parents and I got along because I didn't necessarily always tell them what they wanted to hear, but I told them what they needed to hear... And I think there was a lot of respect for that, especially when you're a former president or a former first lady. It can be difficult for people to give you the tough news.” - Evan Sisely
“George H.W. Bush taught me the importance of the personal touch... Of going out there and reaching out to your friends when they're having a rough time and letting them know that you care, that you love them.” - Evan Sisely
“George H.W. Bush would never allow anything to stop him, and that was such an amazing, poignant example for people who are at the end of their life; to not allow yourself to retreat back into the confines of your own home, but go forward, go live your life, do as much as you possibly can to the fullest. And he really did that.” - Evan Sisely
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