Hendersonville woman profiled by CNN’s Gupta after suffering mysterious muscle disorder

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The full CNN story is here.

As a wife and mother to five children, Sally Massagee had always led an active lifestyle. She ran her own successful CPA firm in her hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and loved to cook and play tennis with friends.

But in her late 40s, that all changed. Massagee’s muscles began growing out of control.
“Everyone assumed that I spent a whole lot of time in the gym,” she says. “One doctor said how many hours a day do you spend in the gym?”

But Massagee didn’t work out at the gym, nor was she taking steroids. As her muscles continued to grow, they also started to harden like rocks underneath her skin, causing excruciating pain. Long gone were the days of running and playing tennis. Even basic activities like walking and standing soon became unbearable.

“I couldn’t reach up to fold over the turtleneck on my sweater,” she says. “I couldn’t reach my ears to put on earrings.”

Thanks to loyal reader M for pointing me to this amazing story.