Everyone who knows me... knows of my love and obsession with the news. Put Tom Cruise infront of me.. or the Eyewitness News Van and I will take pictures of the news van...so when I had the opportunity to meet with one of the most highly esteemed medical correspondants on the local news channels (ABC)....who also happens to be a rheumatologist in NYC...I was instantly hopeful that this doctor would have answers for me. If he couldn't help me, I was sure he would know someone who could. And I was right :)...
Words cannot describe how nervous and anxious I was going into todays appointment. Mostly because of the false hope I received from the Dr. I saw at John's Hopkins but I was so worried that Dr. Jay Adlersberg from ABC's Channel 7 Eyewitness News would tell me he couldn't help me and then where do I go from there?
Thankfully, my fears were quickly eliminated as his cool, calm, bedside manner put me at ease and he took my full detailed history. He could not believe all of my medical problems and that I still walk around with a smile. He told me, "I thought I had seen it all...."
And then... I told him I was a twin. A twin! An identical twin?? Who's "normal.."?? "I know just the people to call", he said..and within minutes 3 doctors (two geneticists and one gastroenterologist from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NYC) were on the phone.. "Hi this is Dr. Jay Adlersberg.... no not for a news story.. I have a patient I know you will be interested in.." is what we heard him say on the phone. Hope has been restored!!
Dr. Jay Adlersberg told me that he does not believe that my problems are rheumatological (his specialty) but will be sending me for a lot of blood tests to make sure that's true. I will be seeing a team at Mt. Sinai who specialize in genetic issues (which my problems should be) and they also specialize in researching twins!!
And the best part..... He told me he'd like to use my story on the news... ."Identical twins who are genetically different!" Sooooo exciting!!!
It was an amazing day for me..in so many ways!
Stacy
