NGF Mentor: Wayne D. Rosenfield PhD

Wayne D. Rosenfield PhD
Connecticut
Adult with Gaucher advocate/speaker
Email: drwayne@snet.net

I had several symptoms of Gaucher Disease as a child, such as an enlarged spleen, frequent nosebleeds, and a major bone crisis. Not until age 15, following a femoral necrosis, was the diagnosis made. I contracted mononucleosis about ten years later, which resulted in the need for an emergency splenectomy. I completed a Ph.D. at age 27, and received my license as a psychologist a year later, in 1981. I had a total hip replacement in 1986, which is still working just fine. In 1992 a rare, but very malignant, cancer was diagnosed in my left tibia, which apparently began in a Gaucher-related bone infarction. I had a bone transplant, along with skin and muscle grafting. But a post-operative infection and poor healing of the wound made an amputation the best alternative.

I am a psychologist for an extremely challenging population at the largest psychiatric hospital in Connecticut, and I also work in a busy emergency department. I volunteer on a disaster response team for the American Red Cross. I am a ham radio operator and I recently passed my examination for the Amateur Extra license. As a ham radio operator I am also a Skywarn spotter for the National Weather Service. I have a wife of 27 years, and two sons in college. I don’t have time to be disabled, and frankly, that would be boring. Fortunately, Cerezyme® infusions every two weeks make me sit still for a while.

The essence of my message is that Gaucher Disease is inconvenient, but it doesn’t define my life for me.