Woman’s muscles began to grow out of control

MaryAnne Fox
AC360° Producer

(CNN) - 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, then in her late forties, that all changed. Massagee’s muscles began growing out of control.

“Everyone assumed that I spent a whole lot of time in the gym,” says Massagee. “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,” recalls Massagee. “I couldn’t reach my ears to put on earrings.”

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Related: Elite medical unit is last hope for patients with mystery illnesses

Programming note: This week, you will see an elite team of doctors, specialists and researchers at the UDP come together and try to solve the mystery and save Sally’s life. Tune into “Doctor Detectives” on AC360° at 10 p.m. EST.