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Patrice King Brown Opens Up About Husband's Battle With MDS

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The blue skies, the roar of the ocean and scenic views of southern California are the place that former KDKA-TV anchor Patrice King Brown and her husband, Dr. Paul Nemiroff, now call home.

When Patrice signed off the air a few years ago, she never revealed her husband, and best friend, Dr. Paul was facing a life-threatening illness and he could no longer handle Pittsburgh's winter weather.

"You do have choices that you make in one's life," Patrice said. "If the man you love is not well and this might extend things, you pack and say, 'Hey, it's an adventure.'"

The popular evening news anchor and the California surgeon, who came to Pittsburgh and swept Patrice off her feet, built a friendship that blossomed into a romance.

All the while, he had a secret he needed to share with Patrice.

One day, while on an evening break from the station, Paul told her his secret.

"There's something I need to talk with you about. For this to go any further, you need to know who I am."

Patrice had no idea what to expect. But, when Dr. Paul revealed he had MDS or Myelodysplasia Syndrome, she had no idea what it was, or what it meant.

Dr. Paul presented Patrice with a letter that explained MDS is a blood cancer and that he had been diagnosed in 1999.

The best line of defense to fight the disease is a bone marrow transplant, but he had not been able to find a suitable match.

Dr. Paul had been living and working with this disease and Patrice was determined not to let his diagnosis get in the way of their relationship.

Her reaction to him was simply, "If we don't know how long we have, let's enjoy what we have. This is a wonderful relationship. Let's just take the time we have and spend the time together."

That is exactly what they have done since their marriage and retirement to California, which she refers to as "Patrice and Paul's Great Adventure."

His original diagnosis of only 18 months to live has now stretched into 15 years. But, it hasn't come without setbacks.

There are night sweats, fatigue, general malaise and a feeling like, "Your skin hurts and a flu that lasts for days," according to Dr. Paul.

Without a donor, he was faced with two options: give in to his disease or fight back.

Now, he had a partner to lean on, in Patrice.

Using his medical background, Dr. Paul has come up with his own combination of supplements and drugs to fight his disease.

He takes up to 60 pills a day, mostly over-the-counter supplements, and uses what he describes as safe levels of human growth hormones and a chemo drug.

He has also written about his journey in a book entitled "Nine Lives."

The book, which is available online, gives all of the proceeds to the MDS Foundation.

Dr. Paul acknowledges, he has good days and bad, in fighting this disease. The bad days can by frightening, especially for Patrice.

"I try not to let him know those days scare me. Fortunately, we don't have a lot of them. But, every once in a while, I do think, that wasn't so good."

Even now, the medical future for Dr. Paul remains uncertain.

He hopes to get more testing for the protocol he's been using in the hopes that it might help others fighting MDS without bone marrow donors.

They hope the book will raise awareness about blood cancers as well.

In the meantime they say they will just continue on "Patrice and Paul's Great Adventure," wherever that leads.

Patrice Opens Up About Her Life In California


When Patrice King Brown signed off on her final broadcast at KDKA-TV after 33 years, it was tearful, but full of possibilities.

She was heading into retirement, and a new chapter in her life. She didn't know then, how quickly that chapter would involve moving across country to the blue skies and scenic views of the ocean and southern California for good.

But it did because her husband, Dr. Paul Nemiroff was facing a life threatening illness and needed a warmer climate. That doesn't change Patrice's perspective though.

"I miss Pittsburgh," she said. "Pittsburgh is, I still think of it as home. There is no question about that. It's the 'Burgh girl transplanted and I'm still trying to find my total role here. It may not be as easily defined as 33 years at KDKA."

Her new life however is taking some getting used to.

The day starts with a cup of coffee, looking out over the side yard and saying thank you. Then trying to figure out what the day is going to bring.

She and Paul spend a lot of time together - walking daily. He just finished writing about about his battle with MDS.

She helped him with the book, and now the way to educate people about MDS and how it affects families. Dr. Paul has more symptoms now, then he did when he worked at KDKA-TV.

"I am having more and more symptoms," he said. "No longer can I run a marathon or run a mile without being out of breath," said Dr. Paul.

That means Patrice spends more time as a caregiver of sorts and only going to a studio occasionally. But not a traditional caregiver, she supports Paul emotionally.

"It's not a constant worry," she said. "We have a life. It's not that every day I feel like I have to get up and take care of -- there may come a day when I have to do that, and I'm ready for that."

Her son and daughter are now grown. Her son lives about an hour away in California, as well as her mother.

Her daughter and her new husband live in New York City.

She is physically closer to her family, with two brothers living in California, but Patrice admits she misses her TV family, like Stacy Smith and Jon Burnett, to name a few.

The other adjustment to retirementis getting used to people not knowing her as a TV personality. No one recognizes her on the streets of California - which has as many advantages as disadvantages.

"I loved being in Pittsburgh and having people calling my name all of the time," she said. "But there is also something nice about going into a store and not having people say, Patrice you don't want that."

But she says, people do know the call letters, KDKA. At the end of the day, retirement means a different pace.

And Patrice recognizes, "we all need to come from a place of gratitude. Our lives can change with every breath we take."

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