MARATHON GINSENG GARDENS | BLOG SERIES | ARTICLE 3 OF 6
The Story of Anja Alvord and Her Godfather, Dr. Jiang
By Dr. Ming Tao Jiang, MD, PhD | Founder, Marathon Ginseng Gardens | Marathon County, Wisconsin
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“On July 15, 2022, I received a call from Anja’s mother, if I could attend Anja's funeral as doctors planned to remove her from the ventilator. I immediately recommended strong doses of Do-Shang Ginseng soup. Within two weeks, her condition stabilized. By Sept 13, she was out of the ICU. By the end of November, she was singing “Happy Thanksgiving” at home.” — Dr. Ming Tao Jiang |
There are moments in a physician’s life that transcend medicine. Moments where science, hope, and sheer human will converge in ways no textbook can explain. For me, Anja Alvord is one of those moments.
Anja is a young woman from Minnesota who should not, by any conventional medical reckoning, be alive today. Her doctors — skilled, experienced, dedicated physicians — told her family she was terminal. They said it in 2015. They said it again in 2018. And they said it once more in July 2022, when they began preparing the family to remove her from the ventilator.
Each time, she came back.
Each time, American Ginseng played a role in her return.
And somewhere along the way, this young woman who was supposed to die three times became my goddaughter. That is not a word I use lightly. It is the most profound honor of my life outside of medicine itself.
A Childhood Interrupted: Leukemia and the First Crisis
Anja Alvord was diagnosed with leukemia at 8 years old in 2014. Her family entered the devastating world of hospital protocols, chemotherapy cycles, and conversations no parent should ever be forced to have. She fought. She endured. She underwent a stem cell transplant that pushed her body to its limits.
Then, in early 2018, something went terribly wrong.
During a chemotherapy cycle, Anja suffered an overdose. Her brain was affected. Her doctors declared her brain dead.
Her family received the news that most families never recover from. There was, they were told, nothing more to do.
It was through mutual connections that word reached me. As a cardiologist who had spent over twenty years studying cellular physiology — and who had witnessed firsthand what concentrated American Ginseng could do for the human body — I offered a recommendation.
I suggested ginseng flowers — concentrated, carefully prepared — administered as a supplemental support alongside whatever medical care remained available.
By June 2018, Anja was back in school.
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WHAT THE SCIENCE SUGGESTS Ginsenosides — the active compounds in American Ginseng — have shown neuroprotective properties in multiple research studies, including protection against neuronal damage from ischemia. Additionally, polysaccharide compounds in American Ginseng are known to modulate immune response and reduce systemic inflammation. Dr. Jiang’s research, cited over 1,200 times, includes foundational work on cellular protection mechanisms in cardiac and physiological stress. These properties informed his approach to supporting Anja’s recovery. |
2022: The Call No Godfather Wants to Receive
Four years passed. Anja continued her recovery. She resumed her studies. She went shopping for clothes she loved. She visited animal exhibits. She was living.
Then, in July 2022, I received a phone call that stopped me cold.
It was Anja’s mother. Her voice was the voice of a parent at the absolute end of hope. Anja’s condition had deteriorated catastrophically. She was on a ventilator. Her organs were in crisis. Multiple organ failure had set in. Her doctors, doing everything medicine could offer, had concluded there was nothing left to try. They were planning to withdraw life support.
Her mother was calling to say goodbye.
I did not tell her to say goodbye.
Instead, I recommended something that Western medicine had not tried: strong, concentrated doses of Do-Shang soup — a preparation of Marathon County American Ginseng brewed using a traditional method that I had developed over years of combining my medical training with my deep knowledge of ginseng’s bioactive compounds. Administered through nasal feeding.
Within two weeks, Anja’s condition stabilized.
Her heart function improved. Her lung function improved. The physicians attending her described it as astonishing.
Two months later, she was out of the ICU.
Four months later, she was discharged from the hospital.
By Thanksgiving 2022, Anja Alvord was home.
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“The reception, held on December 13, 2023, in Minneapolis, was not just a celebration of Anja’s recovery but also a testament to Dr. Jiang’s dedication and the potential of alternative healing methods.” — Marathon Ginseng LinkedIn, December 2023 |
A Celebration in Minneapolis
On December 13, 2023, the Alvord family hosted a reception at their home in Minneapolis. About twenty close friends gathered to honor the recovery of 17-year-old Anja — and to celebrate the man they credited as central to that recovery.
They invited me.
I sat in that room surrounded by the warmth of a family that had stared into the deepest possible loss and found their way back. Anja was there — alive, present, herself. Her parents embraced me. Her friends were there, laughing.
I have attended many events in my career. Scientific conferences. Award ceremonies. Diplomatic receptions where I have presented wild ginseng roots to Presidents and Vice Presidents. None of them have moved me the way that evening in Minneapolis did.
At some point during the celebration, Anja’s parents asked if I would be her godfather. I said yes without hesitation. It is a role I take more seriously than any title my academic career has given me.
What the Ginseng Did — A Physician’s Perspective
I want to be precise here, because I am a scientist and I do not make claims I cannot support.
I cannot tell you that American Ginseng did not cure Anja’s leukemia. Leukemia is a complex, brutal disease that requires rigorous medical treatment. Anja received that treatment. Her medical team worked tirelessly on her behalf. The CAR-T cell therapy (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy) she underwent was a critical intervention.
What I can tell you is this:
In each of her three critical episodes — 2015, 2018, and 2022 — American Ginseng was introduced when conventional medicine had reached its limits in coping with its serious complications, from Osteomyelitis in 2016, brain damage due to chemotherapy overdose in 2018 to sepsis and multiorgan failure due to pneumonia in 2022. And in each case, something shifted.
As a cardiologist who spent twenty years studying how the body protects itself at the cellular level, I believe what we observed is consistent with what the science of ginsenosides and polysaccharides telllus. American Ginseng’s active compounds have demonstrated:
Immune modulation — supporting the body’s own defense and repair mechanisms.
Anti-inflammatory action — reducing the systemic inflammation that can overwhelm organs under extreme stress.
Neuroprotective effects — relevant to the neurological trauma Anja experienced in 2018.
Cardiopulmonary support — the heart and lung function improvements observed in 2022 are consistent with ginseng’s known effects on nitric oxide production and vascular health.
Anti-fatigue properties — helping the body sustain the enormous energetic cost of fighting for its life.
These are not magical claims. They are the conclusions of peer-reviewed research — including, in part, research I myself conducted over twenty years and which has been cited more than 1,200 times by scientists around the world.
Anja’s story does not show that ginseng can cure cancer. But it does suggest that when the human body is fighting for its life, American Ginseng may offer exactly the kind of support that can tip the balance.
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A NOTE ON MEDICAL DISCLAIMER Marathon Ginseng products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Anja’s experience represents an individual case and should not be taken as a guarantee of results. Anyone with a serious medical condition should work closely with their healthcare team. Dr. Jiang’s recommendations were provided as supplemental support alongside conventional medical care, not as a replacement for it. |
Why This Story Belongs in This Blog Series
I debated whether to share Anja’s story publicly. It is deeply personal. It belongs first to her and to her family.
But Anja’s mother asked me to share it. Her father asked me to share it. Anja herself has consented. They want people to know what American Ginseng made possible for their family. They want other families in impossible situations to know that there may be options they have not yet explored.
That is why I am sharing it here.
Marathon Ginseng Gardens was not built as a supplement company. It was built as a mission. My mission, from the day ginseng healed my own failing body in 2009, has been to help make America — and the world — healthier. Every root we grow in the glacial soil of Marathon County, Wisconsin is grown with that purpose.
Anja is not a marketing story. She is the reason I come to work.
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“Miraculous Recovery of Anja Alvord Celebrated at Minneapolis Reception. The guest of honor, Dr. Ming Tao Jiang, is known for his extraordinary contribution to Anja’s recovery.” — Marathon Ginseng LinkedIn, December 13, 2023 |
What You Can Do
I am not asking you to believe that ginseng is a miracle drug. I am asking you to consider what the evidence — both scientific and human — is pointing toward.
American Ginseng, grown in the glacial soil of Marathon County, Wisconsin, is one of the most studied and powerful adaptogenic plants on Earth. It supports immune function, cardiovascular health, cognitive clarity, energy, and blood sugar balance. My own research, over two decades, demonstrates the molecular mechanisms behind these effects.
More than any research paper, Anja’s story demonstrates what ginseng can mean at the level of a human life.
If you are facing a health challenge — whether chronic fatigue, immune vulnerability, cardiovascular stress, or something more acute — I encourage you to explore what American Ginseng might offer. Not as a replacement for medical care. As a complement to it. As the kind of deep, ancient, well-researched support that has been healing human bodies for centuries.
The ginseng I recommended to Anja is grown right here, on our farm in Marathon County. It is the same ginseng that healed my own body in 2009. It is the same ginseng that our team tends with the patience and care that only those who understand its power truly appreciate. Roots that are three, five, seven, ten years in the growing.
It is available to you.
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Ready to Experience Marathon Ginseng? Use code ANJA15 for 15% off your first order Visit: https://3Mginseng.com | Grown in Marathon County, Wisconsin |
NEXT IN THE SERIES:
Article 4: Why Marathon County Ginseng Is the World's Gold Standard — And What to Look for on Every Label
Questions about ginseng? Contact Dr. Jiang directly: DrGinseng@MarathonGinseng.com
Marathon Ginseng Gardens | Maine, Wisconsin | Est. 2010
Disclaimer: Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.