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Patient confronts FSGS head-on in her sassy new blog

PhotoComing across Jenn Trunk on the street, you would meet a run of the mill, outgoing 36 year old woman, with a loving family, a successful career, and an unexplained obsession with the Skyline Chili restaurant down the street.

If you were to stop and speak with her for a couple of minutes, you would most likely find her to be witty, vivacious, and completely normal.

One thing you would not realize however, is that her life is drastically different than that of most other young mothers, because along with the time she spends at work and with her family, Jenn spends an equal amount of time bouncing around from doctor’s office to doctor’s office, and participating in a clinical trial for a sickness most people have never heard of.

Jenn, of Indianapolis, IN, suffers from a disease called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease that effects the kidney’s filter system causing protein to escape from the body. Every day of Jenn’s life is a battle against the disease, leaving her to deal with the constant effects that the disease has on her everyday routine.  Still, this spirited mother refuses to let her illness stand in the way of anything.

“Knowing that I'm most likely headed for renal failure and a kidney transplant is a difficult thing to wrap my head around, but I cannot change the course I'm on,” said Trunk. “I will, however, do whatever I can for those that still have a chance.”  

Jenn had found that venting on NephSpace