Because of a bogus experiment in a test tube that claimed milk thistle inhibited the absorption of other meds, Lisa was afraid to take milk thistle, even though her mother and I both tried to get her to take it. I did not know about Nigella until much later. She was on interferon and the hep went into remission but when she stopped, it came back worse than before. Her health had deteriorated by then and she could not handle the side effects of interferon when she tried to resume it.
Her bones were extremely fragile. Her doctor broke three ribs just examining her. She told me she had the bones of an 80 year old woman.
Lisa's dad had the same combination that Lisa had, Hb Lepore beta thal. His was a milder phenotype and in his teens, he went 5 years without transfusing. Most likely, the beta thal gene he carried was not as severe a deletion/mutation as Lisa's. Even though he was born in the 1950's, long before any chelator was available, he still lived into his late 40's. I met him when Lisa was fairly young and he brought her into my store. I never knew him, but Lisa told me about coming in as a teen. It was many years later when we became friends. His name was Bart. In one of those "coincidental" moments in life, during the funeral procession for Lisa, a truck pulled across an intersection right in front of us. In large font on the side of the truck was one word. Bart.