Sherrone Moore’s affair with Paige Shiver didn’t just cost him his job — it also led to a pregnancy, and now Shiver is opening up about the painful decision to abort the baby.
The 32-year-old former assistant to the disgraced ex-University of Michigan football coach, 40, said in a Friday interview that she initially wanted to keep the baby, but doctors advised against it, citing her prior diagnosis of Pompe disease.
“Multiple doctors and experts told me that it wouldn’t be right or healthy for me to keep the baby,” Shiver said on “Good Morning America” while wiping away tears.
Michigan fired Moore last year after learning of his relationship with Shiver, whom he met when she was an intern in 2022.
Their relationship later turned volatile and came to a dramatic end in December, when he broke into her home and threatened to kill himself after she reported the affair to university officials.
Moore — who Shiver said was aware of the pregnancy — was sentenced last week to 18 months probation and fined just over $1,000 for two misdemeanors tied to the incident.
When Shiver approached him about the pregnancy, she said he told her, “You have to do what’s right for your body,” she told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.
Shiver was diagnosed with Pompe disease midway through her junior year of college. Here’s everything you need to know about the rare medical condition.
What is Pompe disease?
It’s an inherited disease that causes muscle weakness that gets worse over time, according to Rady’s Children’s Health.
It happens because of a genetic mutation that prevents the body from properly making an enzyme called acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). That enzyme’s job is to break down glycogen — a stored form of sugar the body uses for energy.
When the enzyme doesn’t work the way it should, glycogen starts to build up inside cells instead of being broken down.
Over time, that buildup interferes with how cells function — especially in the heart and skeletal muscles— causing them to break down.
How many people have Pompe disease?
It’s considered rare, and doctors believe the condition affects more people than previously thought, thanks to improved newborn screenings.
Estimates suggest Pompe disease occurs in about 1 in 18,000 to 23,000 babies born worldwide.
What are the symptoms of Pompe disease?
There are two main forms of the condition, and the symptoms — and how quickly they progress — depend on when they appear.
The most severe type is infantile-onset Pompe disease, caused by a near-total or complete lack of the enzyme GAA.
Babies may appear healthy at birth, as symptoms typically show up within the first year of life and progress rapidly. These can include severe muscle weakness, trouble breathing, difficulty feeding, poor weight gain and an enlarged heart and liver.
A 2024 analysis of global newborn screening data found that nearly 15% of identified Pompe cases were classified as infantile-onset.
The far more common form is late-onset Pompe disease, which accounts for about 85% of cases. In these patients, the body still produces some of the enzyme and the disease tends to progress more slowly.
People with this version have a lower amount of acid alpha-glucosidase, and the progression usually happens at a slower pace.
Symptoms can appear in childhood, the teen years or even adulthood and often include muscle weakness that worsens over time and can eventually lead to breathing problems.
“I would go for a run and couldn’t run for more than five minutes because my lungs started getting affected,” Shiver told the Chicago Bears back in 2016, after being diagnosed.
“It was really hard to catch my breath and my legs felt really heavy, like I could barely lift them up,” she added, noting that she experiences “a lot of pain” throughout her body and that “every day is a battle.”
How does Pompe disease affect pregnancy?
Pompe disease doesn’t usually prevent a woman from becoming pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term, but it does place her in a high-risk category.
That’s because pregnancy can add extra physical strain on the body, which may worsen muscle weakness and breathing problems. In some cases, those effects may not fully improve after delivery.
In general, research on pregnancy outcomes in women with Pompe disease is limited. One study found no clear increase in pregnancy or delivery complications compared with the general population, while other studies have suggested a possible slight rise in stillbirth rates.
How is Pompe disease treated?
There isn’t a cure, but it can be treated, per the Cleveland Clinic.
The main treatment is enzyme replacement therapy, which helps make up for the missing or defective GAA enzyme. It’s given through regular intravenous infusions and can help reduce muscle damage, improve mobility and support heart function.
These infusions have been shown to extend life expectancy in infantile and late-onset Pompe disease, while also slowing the progression of the condition.
Patients may also benefit from supportive care, including respiratory therapy to help with breathing, as well as physical and occupational therapy to improve strength, mobility and overall quality of life.
What is the life expectancy for Pompe disease?
Infantile-onset Pompe disease, if untreated, is typically fatal in early childhood — with most babies dying before their second birthday from heart or respiratory failure.
The late-onset form progresses more slowly and is generally less severe. Many people with this type can live late into adulthood with proper management.
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