Posted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Voices of NMO
I am no stranger to rare diseases. At 17, I was diagnosed with Toxoplasmosis. At 22, Phyllodes tumors. Chiari Malformation I at 26. It was not until 2017, when I received the diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica that my life was changed… In early 2014, I moved into a new desk at work. This new desk […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Voices of NMO
The first time NMO hit me was on the evening before Thanksgiving in 2010… I clearly remember it because my wife and I were on holiday in the United States. While standing in the brightly lit Times Square in New York City with flashing lights coming from every angle, I had to cover my left […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Patient.e, Voices of NMO
The differential diagnosis: It is a skill we learn early in medical school and it is designed to guide the clinician on considering the possible underlying causes of a patient’s symptoms. A good differential diagnosis includes possibilities of each category: neurologic, cardiac, hematologic, infectious, etc. We are taught that the best physicians approach a patient’s […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Voices of NMO
My name is Allison and I am a married, busy mom of three children (17, 12 & 12 years old). My NMO journey started approximately seven years ago, when I was dealing with my husband’sunexpected open heart surgery and the passing of my mother… My body just wasn’t right; everything was off and out of […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Voices of NMO
Nicole was a first-grade teacher and chorus director in a Title 1, low-income school district, where she was a beloved, appreciated, and award-winning professional… In May of 2017, Nicole thought she had pink eye, got antibiotics, and went to school. On a Friday, she taught, directed a chorus concert, and saw her mother later in […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, Voices of NMO
My name is Ryan. Three years ago, I was living the dream. I was happily married to my best friend, and we have three beautiful and perfectly healthy children. We all lived together in our new home in Westwood. For the past seventeen years I worked for what is now called Eversource Electric, the largest […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in MOG, Voices of NMO
It was the Friday before Halloween in 2018. Anthy was on her way home from work when she called her husband to see if she needed to pick up anything on the way home. She heard him crying, telling her that his mother, in Greece, had just been diagnosed with cancer. Instantly, she felt a […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in MOG, Proche-aidant.e, Voices of NMO
When your daughter suddenly goes blind in one eyes, you feel helpless. When the doctors don’t know what it is or why it happens, you feel frustrated. When this happens in the midst of your divorce, you wonder if the stress of the situation caused the problem. So you do your best. You encourage your […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, ON, Patient.e, Voices of NMO
My name is AnneMarie and my journey with NMO began in 2002 when I was just 16 years old… One April morning, I woke up with a stabbing pain in my lumbar spine which was getting progressively worse. My mom rushed me to the local emergency room where they had taken x-rays and done bloodwork. […]
Read MorePosted by: The Sumaira Foundation in NMO, ON, Patient.e, Voices of NMO
My name is Jaime. I live in the small town of Exeter, Pennsylvania. I am a wife and a mother to a beautiful and healthy 15 year-old daughter. And I have NMO. I’ve been paralyzed from my waist down three times. I’ve lost my eyesight due to multiple bouts of optic neuritis attacks that have […]
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