According to a story from The Times of Israel, Jenni Kleinman Berebitsky died the past August at age 43 due to complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The woman was diagnosed with the illness more than a decade earlier, defying predictions from her doctors, who gave her two years of life at the most following the diagnosis. Before she passed, Jenni’s life was celebrated in a documentary called “Grateful: The Jenni Berebitsky Story.”
About Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neurone disease, is a rare, degenerative disease that causes the death of nerve cells associated with the voluntary muscles. Little is known about the origins of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with no definitive cause in about 95 percent of cases. The remaining five percent appear to inherit the disease from their parents. Symptoms initially include loss of coordination, muscle weakness and atrophy, muscle stiffness and cramping, and trouble speaking, breathing, or swallowing. These symptoms worsen steadily over time; most patients die because of respiratory complications. Treatment is mostly symptomatic and the medication riluzole can prolong life. Life expectancy after diagnosis ranges from two to four years, but some patients can survive for substantially longer. To learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, click here.
Honoring a Well-Lived Life
The documentary first began production in October of 2017 and Jenni was able to see the final project herself when it was first shown in July of this year. The documentary received positive reviews and earned several awards. Originally from Indianapolis, Jenni died just three days after the film was shown at the Indianapolis Jewish & Israeli Film Festival. The documentary continues to be screened regularly since its initial release.
The 17 minute doc follows Jenni as she faces her diagnosis over the years. The news was particularly dire because she was diagnosed while pregnant. Jenni had begun to notice symptoms earlier, however, and thought they were early signs of multiple sclerosis.
Jenni’s response was to live her life as fully as possible and ignore the dire predictions of her physicians. During her time as a patient, Jenni didn’t slow down. She was part of two sprint triathlons (with the support of her family), traveled as much as possible, wrote a book, and studied naturopathic medicine.
Only a small percentage of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients live as long as Jenni did, and scientists still aren’t sure why some patients live longer. However, there is no doubt why Jenni experienced good quality of life—because of her commitment to living it.
Check out a trailer for the documentary here.
