Brief summary
My name is Bryanna Collins (or just Bree like the cheese!) At 16 or 17 I was diagnosed with NMO (neuromyelitis optica) which is an autoimmune disease that has no cure. It was a very scary time in my life because I couldn't figure out why I would just go blind driving my car. I blamed it on anxiety attacks because that's what my doctors told me it was caused by. I remember going on a field trip for some kind of nature science class, and after walking for a bit, my body felt heavy, I was blind again (when I say blind I mean like everything went blurry and light made everything sparkle like traffic lights at night) The teacher at the time had another student carry me to the bus where I sat out the rest of the trip. I lost my prescription glasses that day. Nobody could tell me what was wrong. In my weights and aerobics class, during the running portion, my legs would lock up and I would fall, but the teacher told me to just push through. In my finance class, my heart rate spiked from walking up the stairs and from trying to hurry to class, it spiked at 160 bpm. The teacher and a friend in that class carried me to the nurse's office where my mom picked me up and took me to the hospital. They told me nothing was wrong, I was just having a panic attack. I didn't have any blood clots. The doctors got REALLY offended when my mom asked if it could be cancer. I made an eye appointment to get new glasses because I had lost my old ones. I finally decided to be honest with my eyes cause I was one of those kids, guilty I know. But the results came back 20/20 R 140/20 L. I was virtually blind in my left eye.. there was nothing wrong that they could tell, my eye was completely healthy, just not seeing. So they sent me to a neurologist. I remember another time while waiting for this neuro appointment, I was shadowing at a pet hospital. I had walked from the pet hospital in our town back to the high school. My poor CAD teacher was so concerned for me because I was walking like I was drunk. Hip checking desks, and tripping over everything. I remember him asking if I was okay, I remember saying "I'm just tired." I say that a lot now. Fast forward to my appointment, after talking about my symptoms, they sent me in for an MRI which is the 2nd pic when they found lesions on my spine. After that, they sent me into a spinal tap, which was the worst thing I have done. After that, they diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis. I turned 18 and moved in with my current boyfriend and we both go to OHSU. I'm not walking anymore, and I'm in a chair constantly. That's when they diagnosed me with NMO (neuromyelitis optica) Currently I'm being treated for both because they don't know which I have. I'm now 20 turning 21 on July 11th. I've been constantly in the wheelchair for about 3 years with some days where I take a few steps. I am living paycheck to paycheck because I wasn't born disabled so I don't qualify for disability income. They put me on SSI (supplemental security income) Because of my symptoms I can't get a job. SSI pays me $649 a month. My rent is $650. I hope to one day share my story with the world, with my ambassador programs, with modeling. I'm trying my hardest to earn income through these brands because that's all I’ve got 😅😅 My left hand quit working so it's really hard to type. I don't post much because I constantly feel like garbage. I'm always in pain, and I lack the confidence to take good pictures
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