paralyzed

Columns

My First NMO Symptoms Appeared Years Before My Diagnosis

It didn’t start as a windy day. The sun beaming down on my face felt oh so good. Spending time on the water with my family was one of my favorite activities. At first, I thought Dad’s 28-foot boat purchase felt excessive, but when we piled our entire family onto…

Columns

My Tattoo Reminds Me to Put My Right Foot Forward and Keep Moving

Tattoos have always been a form of expression. Throughout history, tattoos have been used to convey love and grief, depict religious symbols, and even serve as a form of punishment. The oldest known tattoo was found on “Iceman,” a mummified corpse who lived 5,200 years ago. The art of…

Columns

Turn Up the Volume, but Only Until It Hurts: My NMOSD Diagnosis Story

I will always love the feeling of a good bass line, the way the sound escapes concert speakers and vibrates through my entire body. It’s poetic justice that this feeling can now trigger painful spasms, a symptom of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). My husband (then fiancé) and I had…

Columns

When I Was Paralyzed, Envisioning My Future Helped Me Hold On to Hope

This column is a message to all of the patients currently undergoing an extended hospital stay. I know it is easy for people to share encouraging words when they aren’t the ones in a difficult situation. But let me just say that I know what you are going through. Unfortunately,…