Woman’s mysterious disease to be featured on Discovery Health Channel

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By Patrick Ball
GateHouse News Service
Posted Mar 26, 2008 @ 12:32 PM

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Maynard —
At a glance, Jenifer Gershman is a typical suburban dweller: She lives in Maynard with her husband of 10 years, Steve. Trips to the Thoreau Club in Concord are a daily detour on her way home from dropping off her son Jason, who is nearly 5, at his preschool in Acton. She enjoys playing mahjong.

Looks, of course, can be deceiving, and Gershman is anything but typical. In September 2006, she began to suffer a series of maladies, from abnormal water retention, swollen legs, high cholesterol and protein in her blood. It took months, but the doctors finally found the answer: Primary Amyloidosis, a potentially deadly bone marrow disorder caused by faulty plasma cells. Treatment required high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. They were performed in June 2007.

“It was really a scary diagnosis,” said Gershman, who is 39. “I was thinking: ‘I have a four-year-old at home. I don’t have time for this.’”

And that’s where her family and friends came in.
Because high-dosage chemo would render her unable to fend off infection, the family’s Maynard residence was considered too far from the hospital and the Gershmans had to rent an apartment in Back Bay. So, her parents pitched in financially and Steve’s mother flew up from Florida to watch Jason, who is now nearly 5, and bring him to the Thoreau Club. Gershman’s girlfriends attended to miscellaneous details and accompanied her to the city for the three required stem cell collections.

“You cannot get through this without that support,” Gershman said. “My friends cooked. My friends planned play dates. The fact that they took on that job; not just the cooking but also the ‘We’ll take care of it.’ People took care of Jason as if he were their own.”

Sharing her story
On April 7, Gershman will share her story with a wider audience when the Discovery Health Channel airs her case on the program “Mystery Diagnosis.”

“It’s important for me to share my story. Even if only one person says, ‘That sounds like

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In many ways the diagnosis of Primary Amyloidosis is a medical mystery which is why this email broadcast in the Yahoo Amyloidosis Support Groups is especially interesting ….

Hello Everyone!

I just found out that our Mystery Diagnosis episode on amyloidosis will air on Monday, April 7 at 10:00 p.m., EST! The program is shown on the Discovery Health Channel (not to be confused with the Discovery Channel). The episode will describe my personal experience with the disease, from diagnosis to treatment.

Hopefully this program will serve two purposes. First, we hope to educate those in the medical community less familiar with this rare and serious disease, and enable them to correctly diagnose their patients more quickly, so that optimal treatment can be provided. And most importantly, we hope that viewers experiencing unresolved organ impairment will have the information they need to obtain a correct diagnosis and proper treatment.

So spread the word to everyone you know, including your medical teams. I hope the show meets our high expectations!

Jenifer Gershman

Mystery Diagnosis

Irene woke up with a smile this morning and aggressively pursued the day.  Shirley Churchill worked with her this afternoon for 2+ on physiology techniques designed to wake up the kidneys.  Irene prepared a delicious salmon dinner and worked in the yard afterward.  The nausea remained at a low roar throughout most of the day.  Despite yesterday’s development, her trust and confidence in God remains at an all time high!!  Thank you for the many expressions of care and prayer support!!

Small bowel duodenum with amyloid deposition congo red 10X

Mark your calendar for the Discovery Health Channel on Monday, April 7, 10 pm EST (that’s 7 pm CA time) for the Mystery Diagnosis Amyloidosis episode.

Perhaps it will shed some light on this medical mystery.

Caminando con Fé

Dave

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