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Merideth McGinley

Type of Porphyria

Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP)

Merideth McGinley

Merideth McGinley From the beginning of her diagnosis to now, Merideth McGinley, was not going to sit around and let porphyria attack her without attacking AIP right back. She had a plan that included doing her best to identify what triggers her attacks and also doing her best to enhance awareness and help the APF with its mission to educate doctors and patients, train future experts and support research. Long ago for an Awareness Week activity , she did the Warrior Dash, a 3½ mile obstacle race that she completed in 45 minutes with her then boyfriend, Mark Reggiero, by her side. As you can see by the photo, this was no easy race and involved lots of MUD!!!

Merideth was diagnosed with AIP at age 19 by her pediatrician, Dr. Helio Pedro, who she says was determined to find out what was causing her severe abdominal pain, nausea, muscle weakness, etc. He diagnosed her with AIP within only a few days and gave her impeccable care to get her through attacks. When she entered the ER with her next attack, she said it opened her eyes to what many patients endure from some physicians and nurses, namely disbelief, thinking patients are drug seeking, lack of understanding of porphyria, etc. She immediately wanted to participate in changing that scenario by running races and finding other hands in the future as we are training future experts and have young people like Merideth, who have taken on the charge of physician awareness and education. Now Merideth has discovered that overdoing and menses causes attacks, so she avoids all triggers, like unsafe drugs and alcohol and immediately gets plenty of rest, Panhematin and other techniques to halt the attack. Merideth is blessed to have wonderful parents, Karen and Tom, who helped her recover and stay well and Mark to stand by her side in the hard times and the fun races. Since Merideth lives in New Jersey near the Mount Sinai Medical School, she is volunteering to participate in their research project. What a warrior she is!!!!