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+--- Thread: Mystery illness robbing 4 siblings of ability to walk (/showthread.php?tid=368)
Mystery illness robbing 4 siblings of ability to walk - IceWizard - 07-10-2015
In elementary school, Rivka Herzfeld usually
placed last during races in gym class, but
she never thought much about her physical
ability until her senior year of high school,
when she was at a dance and fell while
wearing high heels.
“When I tried to get myself up, I had trouble,
and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh. Whatever is
ailing my siblings is ailing me too,’†Rivka
Herzfeld, 23, told FoxNews.com.
Rivka is one of four siblings in the Teaneck,
N.J. family who is battling a mystery illness
that causes muscle deterioration and is
progressively robbing her of the ability to
walk. First was Rivka’s 22-year-old sister,
Tziporah, then her 18-year-old brother, Tzvi, next herself, and finally her 15-year-old
sister, Racheli. While the Herzfeld
daughters walk cautiously, struggling with
everyday tasks and not venturing far from
home without assistance, Tzvi’s condition
has progressed the most rapidly, preventing him from walking entirely.
Multiple surgeries, genetic tests and
renovations to make their home more
handicap-accessible have left the family
with at least $100,000 of debt, said Esther
Herzfeld, the matriarch of the Herzfeld
family. While neurodegenerative diseases can be genetic and affect multiple siblings in
a given family, numerous tests conducted
over the past 10 years haven’t shed light on
what the disease is— but only what it isn’t—
making the Herzfelds’ case remarkable,
experts say.
Until this year, the Herzfelds have kept their
family’s medical struggles private, finding
solidarity among the congregation at their
synagogue and not filing for state aid. But
their story inadvertently became national
news after Esther entered a contest to win a handicap-accessible van in May and told
colleagues at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High
School for Girls, where she teaches English. The effort ended up going viral on her students’ social media accounts, prompting a handful of them to jump-start online campaigns to help fund the family’s continuous medical expenses. “Teaneck is a small town, and our rabbi called to tell us his phone was ringing off the hook— people were calling to ask how they can help,†Esther Herzfeld told FoxNews.com.
“They were all seemingly healthy.â€
The Herzfeld siblings each stayed in the
NICU after birth, but they were
developmentally normal and healthy. Before
each child developed his or her condition,
Rivka and Tziporah were second-degree
black belts, Tzvi and Rivka were proficient climbers, and they all enjoyed swimming
and diving.
“They were all just fine, and normal and
fine, and seemingly healthy,†Esther said. At age 11, Tziporah was the first sibling to
present symptoms. Esther and her husband,
Arthur, who is on disability for an undisclosed reason, always thought their daughter was a little clumsy, but they knew something was amiss after they found out she had been tripping and falling during gym class.
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