Jazzmin Peluchette

Have you ever heard of Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO)? I never had until shortly after July 10, 2013 –my day of infamy. Around 5 PM I was driving to Florida International University with my best friend for my accounting class. Before I left my house, I took aspirin since I was feeling some back pain, which I associated with my early morning workout. I figured that an awkward movement during my workout was causing the pain. About 25 minutes into the drive, a car on the highway caught on fire, and I immediately stopped my car so that the firemen and police could do their jobs. While waiting in the car, my pain became unbearable and I had to ask my friend to drive me home immediately. Even though I became sick during the drive home, I did make it home and my Mom took me to Urgent Care, where I was given two shots of morphine to help with the pain. Later, an ambulance from Joe DiMaggio Children Hospital came to pick me up around midnight — that was my last memory for a week!

I was later told that I had had an extremely crippling seizure, which left me paralyzed from the waist down. Since it shut down internal bodily functions, I was intubated. The paralysis spread up to my neck and I became blind in both eyes. I have faint memories from this time. I remember the agonizing, burning, needle-like pain that wouldn’t go away even with many pain killers. I couldn’t sleep for the first month I was in the hospital because I had a breathing aid (bi-pap) that covered most of my face. It also hid the fact that I was blind because I thought it was just the position of the mask over my eye. I was unable to eat, drink water, or leave my little room in the pediatric ICU for three weeks for fear of a lung collapse – my diagnosis — Neuromyelitis Optica!

After two months in the hospital, I met with Dr. Sheremata from the University of Miami Health Systems who is an expert on my disease! He immediately re-admitted me to the hospital for a week of very high-dose steroid therapy to help with the inflammation in my spine; this treatment was followed by five weeks in spinal rehab at Jackson Memorial. I have continued with these medical professionals since that time –they feel like family. I am so grateful for all of the people who have helped me on my journey. For now, I will continue therapy and every six months, I will receive a dose of Rituximab chemotherapy to keep the disease at bay.

Even with insurance, I still have many uninsured, illness related expenses such as: co-pays and deductibles, doctor visits, rehabilitation therapy and expensive medications that I will need to take for the rest of my life.

To help offset such expenses, a fundraising campaign in my honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southeast Catastrophic Illness Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for illness-related expenses only. If you would like to make a contribution today, simply click the DONATE NOW button.

Thank you kindly for your support and assistance during this troubling time.

Jazzmin Peluchette and Family