Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story
15/03/2008
Awarded Editors Choice and Publishers Choice.
Finalist in Reader Views Award Program.
Available from iUniverse, Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon, and Chapters
About the Book
Judy Taylor was the first “lifeliner” who survived over twenty years living with a permanent indwelling catheter, in which she received total parenteral nutrition (TPN), thanks to a radical young immigrant doctor. Due to the success of groundbreaking research on artificial feeding methods for humans, Dr. Khursheed Jeejeebjoy has been called “the father of long-term parenteral nutrition in man.” Shireen Jeejeebhoy, daughter of Dr. Jeejeebhoy, was inspired to share Judy Taylor’s story in her book Lifeliner to offer hope for other TPN patients.
Research medicine often has its critics, but the combination of hope, desire to live, and a doctor willing to experiment with innovative medical procedures, opens doors for many patients whose lives are on the line. After Taylor’s intestinal blood clots annihilated her digestive system, her only choice was starving to death until Dr. Jeejeebhoy agreed to take her on as a human test subject. Twenty years followed, while Judy managed to live as normal a life as possible, raising her children and loving her husband. During those twenty years, she never ate a meal, having to rely on intravenous feeding. Yet she was able to participate in a fulfilling life thanks to TPN.
According to the Oley Foundation in the US, cited by the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders extrapolating from 1985-1992 statistics, the number of people on tube feedings/enteral nutrition today are currently estimated to be 176,000 and the number on TPN or parenteral nutrition to be 46,000 in the US. Judy Taylor, along with her determined doctor, helped bring TPN out of the realm of science fiction and into reality, allowing more patients to live longer, fulfilled lives
About the Author
Shireen Jeejeebhoy is the daughter of Dr. Khursheed Jeejeebhoy. She first met Judy Taylor while still a young girl. She holds a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Toronto. She is available for phone interviews.
Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story
by Shireen Jeejeebhoy
iUniverse
October 2007 · 186 pages
ISBN: 978-0-595-44544-8 · Trade Paper · $16.95
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