Pembroke's Christine McSherry is an 'Inspirational Woman'

On the Tuesday before Christmas, Jarrett “Jett” McSherry, 16, traded a few friendly barbs with his older sister, played Modern Warfare 3 on his Xbox, and watched some of his favorite shows on Comedy Central.

Christine McSherry of Pembroke, Jett’s mother, is determined to make sure her son can enjoy these lighthearted moments for years to come. Christine and her husband, Stephen, started the Jett Foundation in 2001 after Jett was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a common and lethal genetic disorder.

DMD, for which there is no known cure, progressively destroys a person’s muscle tissue. It affects one in every 3,500 males. Most children with the disease are confined to a wheelchair by age 12 and don’t live past their late teens.

Christine has her own page in the new book “Boston, Inspirational Women,” which highlights some of the Bay State’s most recognizable and influential women. McSherry sees this as another networking tool to raise the Jett Foundation’s profile.

“This is a vehicle to save my son’s life, so I’m pulling out all the stops,” said McSherry, who has helped raise more than $2 million to fund DMD research and increase awareness of the disease.

The foundation helped launch the Jett Program for Pediatric Neuromuscular Disorders at and Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. Christine also came up with the idea for the Duchenne Alliance, a Web-based portal connecting DMD-specific organizations throughout the world.

Photojournalist Bill Brett of Hingham, who, along with his daughter Kerry, came up with the idea for “Boston, Most Inspirational Women”, said he knew he had to get McSherry in the book after he heard her story.

“I was just moved by her story,” Brett said. “She’s really working for a cure.”

The book, which features 126 black-and-white portraits with bios written by journalist Carol Beggy, was released in November. Arianna Brown, the daughter of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, graces the cover.

Some of the other notable women in the book include The Food Network’s Rachael Ray, actress Maura Tierney, Attorney General Martha Coakley and longtime Boston TV news anchor and reporter Mary Richardson.

McSherry has attended various book-signing events in the past two months. She said these gatherings have helped her publicize the Jett Foundation and recruit new donors.

“It’s almost like a sisterhood,” McSherry said.

McSherry said her full-time work with the Jett Foundation, which has an office in Kingston, can sometimes be all-consuming, and that can cause her to spend less time with her other four children: Jordan, 18, Stephanie, 17, Jackson, 14, and Tabor, 13.

But the McSherry children said their mother doesn’t have to be home in order to teach them valuable life lessons.

“She has shown us that anything can be done if you try hard enough,” Jordan said. “She started this over 10 years ago, and this has become a part of our lives.”

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Pembroke's Christine McSherry is an 'Inspirational Woman'