Biography of Courage and Medical Innovation Top Choice of Readers, Editors and Publishers

TORONTO, Canada, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The book Lifeliner by Shireen Jeejeebhoy has just scooped awards for Editors Choice and Publishers Choice as well as winning first place in the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award for biographies.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080331/298826 )

The book, available from iUniverse, Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon and Chapters, tells the story of the first 'lifeliner' Judy Taylor. She survived over 20 years living with a permanent catheter, in which she received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) thanks to a radical young doctor Dr Khursheed Jeejeebhoy.

Due to the success of his groundbreaking research on artificial feeding for humans, Dr Jeejeebhoy has been called "the father of long-term parenteral nutrition in man." His daughter Shireen met Judy while a young girl, and was inspired to share Judy Taylor's story in her book Lifeliner to offer hope for other TPN patients.

Shireen says: "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 Judy 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 during which Judy enjoyed life, 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, the number of people on tube feedings/enteral nutrition today is currently estimated to be 176,000, and the number on parenteral nutrition is estimated at 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.

Notes to Editors:

About the Author

Shireen Jeejeebhoy was born in London and lives in Toronto, Canada.

She holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Toronto. She is available for phone interviews. To arrange please contact +1-416-838-8297.

    
    Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story
    by Shireen Jeejeebhoy
    iUniverse
    October 2007 / 186 pages
    ISBN: 978-0-595-44544-8  Trade Paper  US$16.95

    
    Contact details:
    
    Shireen Jeejeebhoy,
    shireen@jeejeebhoy.ca;
    
    http://jeejeebhoy.ca.