Elizabeth Edwards' Refuge is a Passion for Health Care Reform

As noted on the sidebar, Elizabeth Edwards was interviewed at one of multiple events at the New Yorker Festival. She was asked how she manages to "keep going" amidst her personal travails with JRE. Elizabeth answered the question this way:

"Partly by plowing through, like I intend to do with your question, as well," she said, to laughter and applause from the audience.

"The ability to speak out doesn't require a particular skill. It requires one thing — passion about what you believe in. And that passion has been a really great refuge for me," she said.

(photo credit: Bill Divalia)

Concerning her current health, she said that her cancer hasn't spread to her liver or lungs. She added:

It hasn't really changed since March 2007," she said of her condition. "Then they gave me five years, so if I had five years then, I have five years now, and if I can just keep that up ..." The crowd interrupted her with laughter.

In talking about non-related health problems that occur when she had to cancel an appearance, Elizabeth said that when she checked a Google alert she has set up for her name, she read that she had been sick when she had an unrelated stomach flu.

(Note to BW readers, something that I didn't report on this week: she was supposed to have spoken at the Governor's Women's Conference on Thursday, but it was reported she was too ill to fly, but briefly participated via phonelink).

And of course, Elizabeth, in explaining she still is trying to maintain some privacy, sprinkled some humor about about that alert:

"It would really be nice to be able to throw up without having it appear in the Google alerts," she joked.

You can read more about the New Yorker event here.

(I admit I'm one of those guilty ones who wondered what had happened in reading that initial report, until it was clarified she had a stomach bug.)

Elizabeth earlier in the week had spoken at a roundtable at a Piedmont Health clinic near her home, and the day before, held a telephone conference about how the economy's woes were tied to the problems with the health care system as well. She continued to attack McCain's plan, citing it as "radical."

Elizabeth is on the road next week to Richmond, Columbus, OH, and Seattle. Livestrong, Elizabeth!