Dear 14-Year-Old Me
1 year ago, I was in the midst of my journey through Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO): a rare autoimmune disease, where your antibodies attack your central nerve system of your spine and eyes. To cope with this, I wrote about my journey and how I feel on a health blog, which you can find here (this opens a new window). One of the pieces I wrote is called "Dear 14-Year-Old-Me". I hope you enjoy :)
Dear 14-year-old me,
Congrats on getting your permit! Don't drive without your parents, you are going to get caught while pulling onto your friends' driveway. Dear 14-year-old me, this summer will be your last summer that you will be able to drink camp water, so enjoy every drop even if it does taste like iodine. Dear 14-year-old me, your 15th birthday will be one of the happiest days you will have when you are 15. You are going to have a surprise birthday party... well I guess it's not a surprise anymore (oops). 6 months after you turn 15, you are going to get sick again. Dear 14-year-old me, at first, you are going to have a headache and fuzzy vision, but you are going to have great friends who visit you every day for a week when you are in the hospital. Don't be scared, 14-year-old me, but 2 weeks after your hospital stay, you are going to be 100% blind in your right eye and 20/400 in your left. You will also shake, lose your strength in your legs, and lose the ability to pee. Dear 14-year-old me, you might feel like this is the end, but you are strong. You will have a tube in your neck, have 7 rounds of plasmapheresis, plan a Pesach seder for the PEDS floor, learn to re-walk with a walker, have 43 tubes of blood taken, and learn all about the human anatomy while you spend 2 weeks back in the hospital. You will also travel out of state to get medical attention and get a diagnosis. Dear 14-year-old me, you are going to be diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease called NMO. Although you will be shocked at first, you will find the positives in it. You are going to be apart of the 500,000 people world-wide who have this NMO. Dear 14-year-old me, miracles are going to happen, and you are going to astound your doctors. Your vision will come back to 20/20 in your left eye and 20/30 in your right. You won't have to use a walker anymore, and will go to camp for the summer. You will have a totally new mindset about everything, but you will have friends helping you and teaching you everything you wish to learn.
With much love,
15-year-old Me
