Living with sarcoidosis: Sarcoidosis costs Jackson man nearly everything ...
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories about sarcoidosis during Sarcoidosis Awareness Month.
By Letitia Fowler
JACKSON, MI – Sarcoidosis has cost Jeffrey Henry plenty over the years.
He lost his job and his entire life savings trying to keep up with the cost of insurance premiums and medication.
He loses days at a time dealing with the pain and discomfort associated with the disease.
But there are at least two things it has not taken: his marriage and his faith.
“I didn’t want to marry her because of my sickness. I didn’t want her to settle.” said Henry, 48, of Jackson, who was officially diagnosed with sarcoidosis 12 years ago but may have had it years earlier.
He and his wife, Kendra, 39, married 18 months ago, despite Henry’s hesitation to bring his sarcoidosis into a committed relationship.
According to the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, sarcoidosis is a disease that leads to inflammation and affects a body’s organs. It can attack any organ in the body.
