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Jensen’s NF1 story

13 September 2023

Stuart: 'My son Jensen was born in January this year and he is such a happy, smiley boy. However, his entry to the world wasn't straight-forward.

Jensen was born 3 weeks early via a planned C-section but unfortunately wasn't breathing very well on his own so had to be taken away to the special care unit. After several hours, his breathing improved and thankfully he was allowed on to the ward later in the day. However, Jensen found it very difficult to feed and was extremely sleepy all of the time and whenever he would eat he would just bring it back up again.

After a couple of days of round the clock monitoring, the doctors decided that Jensen would need specialist care and that he would need to be transferred to the neonatal unit.

After several examinations and countless blood tests it appeared that Jensen was absolutely full of mucus. Because of this he had to be tube fed in the neonatal unit for 2 weeks. It was heartbreaking watching other parents take their new babies home, while we sat in neonatal day after day hoping for good news. Thankfully, over time the mucus cleared, Jensen became more alert and his condition improved. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime we were able to take him home.

Jensen was born via C-section as my wife Claire has a very complicated hip issue. As a baby, Claire was diagnosed with NF1, when her mum (who also has NF1) noticed that Claire's right leg was bowing when she walked. At first, the doctors put it down to baby bow leg, but her mum, not happy with this diagnosis, took Claire to a different doctor for a second opinion. Luckily, this doctor was very familiar with NF1 and its complications so arranged for a scan to be carried out on Claire's right leg. The scan confirmed that Claire had pseudarthrosis of the right tibia, an extremely rare complication of NF1. This was an incredibly difficult time for Claire's parents, as at that time there wasn't much in the way of support for NF1 patients.

Claire endured years of various surgeries on her leg and as a result she was left with numerous bone and joint issues which made it too dangerous for her to give birth naturally.

Due to Jensen having a troubled start to life, he is regularly monitored by a pediatric consultant. It became apparent very early on that Jensen's head was consistently measuring big in comparison to his body which we knew was a symptom of NF1. The consultant arranged for Jensen to be seen by a geneticist (something that we had always planned on doing anyway) so that we could know for sure if Jensen had NF1. In the weeks leading up to Jensen's appointment, we noticed café au lait marks appearing on his skin. When we saw the geneticist, she confirmed that he had NF1 and would run blood tests as a formality.

Claire and I always knew there was a 50/50 chance that Jensen would be born with NF1 and it's something we talked about in depth, before deciding to have a child. But having it confirmed was still at first upsetting to hear, as we know that Jensen's future may not be straightforward. We felt guilty that we'd had a child, knowing that he could potentially have challenging health problems throughout his life.

 It wasn't until Jensen was diagnosed, that we found Nerve Tumours UK while looking for charities and support groups online. We are so grateful for the incredible work that the charity does and it only seemed right that I did my bit to raise funds for them.

On the 13th September I will be taking on an all day fitness challenge: Rowing 10 miles, Cycling 100 miles and contributing to a 10,000 reps challenge that I've organised as part of a bootcamp class that I run for my business, Banstead Fitness.

Not only has my fundraising raised money for Nerve Tumours UK but it has also helped raise awareness of the condition.

"Jensen is only just beginning his NF1 journey but myself, Claire and everyone around him will support him every step of the way. Having Nerve Tumours UK in the background is such a relief, as we now don't feel like we are facing this alone. The charity were so quick to reach out and offer support. We are extremely pleased to have found them!"

– Stuart, Jensen's dad

Masterclasses in NF: Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome - Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer

Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome

Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer, Medical University of Innsbruck

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults

Eric Legius, MD, PhD, University Hospital Leuven

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital Leuven

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Simon Freeman

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

Simon Freeman, MPhil FRCS, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Hospital

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations - Pierre Wolkenstein, Laura Fertitta & Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD, Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France

Laura Fertitta, MD, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor

Sirkku Peltonen, MD, PhD, University of Gothenberg, Sweden

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1 - Gareth Evans

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1

Gareth Evans, MD, University of Manchester, UK

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - David Pang

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

David Pang, MD, ChB. Guys and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches - Said Farschtschi

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches

Said Farschtschi, MD, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis

Eric Legius, MD, PHD, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

NF2 Working Together: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 2: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 1: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding  the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2 - Michel Kalamarides & Andrew King

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2

Michel Kalamarides, MD, PhD, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

Prof Andrew King, MBBS FRCS FRCS(SN), Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches - Shruti Garg, Andre Rietman

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches

Dr Shruti Garg, MBBS, MRCPsych, MMedSci, PhD, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Andre Rietman, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis - Susie Henley, Thomas Pletschko & Verena Rosenmayr

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis

Susie Henley, DClinPsy, PhD, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London UK

Thomas Pletschko, PhD, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Verena Rosenmayr, Clinical Psychologist, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management - Rianne Oostenbrink

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management

Rianne Oostenbrink, MD, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond - Amedeo Azizi

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond

Amedeo Azizi, MD, PhD, Head of the Paediatric Neurofibromatosis Program and Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations - Eric Legius and Christophe Glorion

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations

Eric Legius, MD, PhD. Head of Clinical Genetics Department of the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium

Christophe Glorion, MD, PhD, Department of Paediatric Orthopedic and Traumatologic Surgery, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France. 

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours - Rosalie Ferner and Viktor-Felix Mautner

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK

Viktor-Felix Mautner, MD, PhD. University Medical Centre in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Head of NF Outpatient Department

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas - Pierre Wolkenstein and Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD. Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France. Head of the Department of Dermatology

Sirkku Peltonen MD, PhD. University of Gothenberg, Sweden. Professor of Dermatology

INFER (International NF Educational Resources) is a series of online educational lectures for medical professionals by leading neurofibromatosis experts. The Masterclasses take place online approximately once a month, each on a different topic, and include real-time interaction between the expert presenter and the participants. The presentations are conducted in English, with real-time audio interpretation available in 6 additional languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. A recording of each INFER masterclass is then be made available online in each language for those who could not attend an event. INFER is an initiative of Children’s Tumor Foundation Europe, supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca. https://ctfeurope.org/research/masterclasses-in-nf

BPNA Keynote Lecture - Prof Rosalie Ferner - Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century

‘Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century’

Keynote Lecture at the 48th British Paediatric Neurology Association Annual Scientific Meeting on 21st January 2022

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK