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Author Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080331/298826
An inspiring summer read, it tells the poignant story of a young Canadianmother who made medical history as the first person to live decades onintravenous feeding without eating any food and who shared her joy of lifewith everyone she met.
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With about 40,000 patients in the US using TPN (Total ParenteralNutrition) every year, the book has widespread medical interest. Manypatients with cancer and AIDS ultimately die of malnutrition, yet goodnutrition leads to more effective medication therapy. American studies showthat cancer is the largest growing component of existing Home TPN programs,comprising up to 40 per cent of new admissions per year.
The book has scooped awards in the US for Editor's Choice and Publisher'sChoice and won Best Biography in the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award.
Judy Taylor's doctor was the author's father, Dr Khursheed Jeejeebhoy;his groundbreaking research on artificial feeding and nutrition helped formthe medical foundation of TPN. These two pioneers brought TPN out of therealm of science fiction and into reality, allowing more patients, whetherthey have bowel disease, cancer, or AIDS, to live longer, fulfilled lives.
Besides its medical story, "Lifeliner" is also winning accolades for itspowerful inspirational story telling:
Because of her illness, Judy volunteered wherever needed, even travellingto New York state to encourage others. Shireen met Judy one summer while ayoung girl and wanted to bring Judy's brand of inspiration to those facingcrises of their own. As one woman wrote: "Judy saved my spirit."
"Lifeliner," available online, is a book written for the lay audience.Besides detailing the evolution of TPN, it is gripping readers everywherewith its fascinating story of a brave woman, who, together with her inventivedoctor, made medical history.
"When they sent her home on TPN, no one knew how long she would live orwhat her quality of life would be like," Shireen says. "As far as Judy wasconcerned, life itself was good enough and she had no intention of lying onthe couch all day. She had been given a second chance and she was runningwith it." Read more at http://jeejeebhoy.ca/lifeliner. Photos and video athttp://jeejeebhoy.ca/lifeliner/photo-gallery.
About the Author
Shireen Jeejeebhoy resides in Toronto, Canada. She holds a B.Sc. inpsychology from the University of Toronto. She is an accomplished writer.- "Jeejeebhoy's style of writing sets the right pace as we follow Judy's medical difficulties." Gloria Oren, Writer and Editor - "Shireen Jeejeebhoy has written an extraordinary account of Judy Taylor and her fight for life." Carol Hoyer, Ph.D. Family Psychology - "Shireen's pen has all the force of a great storyteller and the artistic skills of reviving a past scene in its most original form. She shows us the situation, taking us to the time and place of the event without throwing in a single unnecessary word." Ernest Dempsey, Reviewer and Author
SOURCE Shireen Jeejeebhoy
