Avery Allmond

Before neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), my whole life I was an athlete. When I got to high school, I decided I was going to play basketball since the basketball...

Living with a rare disease like neuromyelitis optica (NMO) has put me in a position to feel alone. When I was first diagnosed with a rare disease, I never knew...

I record everything. Since the day I was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), I have always felt the need to record and take pictures of my journey. From the symptoms...

The first year of my diagnosis was rough. I’ve never felt so alone, so unwanted and so broken in my life. The friends that I had were slowly burning out...

You’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it. You’re so young to be dealing with this. You’re too young to be doing this. With a rare disease diagnosis...

The joys of chronic fatigue, the battle that even caffeine can’t win. When I was first diagnosed I would sleep 16 to 20 hours a day, I would fall asleep...

For most of my rare disease journey I was a sick and unemployed college dropout with minimal work history. The first three years of my diagnosis I applied for disability...

Sometimes, it’s like my brain is in a revolving door. The thoughts spin fast, sometimes slow or not at all. My brain’s exhaustion is from my thoughts constantly dancing pirouettes...

You constantly hear the phrase that you need to advocate for yourself with doctors and in appointments you hear how you need to stand up for yourself. And, if you...

At just 19, I was diagnosed with NMO, which as I’m sure many of us know are the prime party years. These are the years where you go to college...

Public speaking is one of the most feared things in the human race. We are so fearful of the judgment of other people that speaking to large groups of people...

Being diagnosed at 19, I didn’t have much of a voice. Let’s be honest–I was still coming into adulthood, figuring out who I was, and my place in this world...

I scroll through this website every day, seeing pain in different types and forms. People will talk about life before their NMO took over. Something that we don't talk enough...

For my whole life, I have been an athlete. I have always been active and tried my best to stay in shape. I also never really paid attention to a...

From the beginning of my NMO diagnosis until now, I’ve recorded every major portion of my rare disease health journey - from the doctors telling me I have an NMOSD...

Being diagnosed with NMO, I’m sure we've all felt and heard from our peers that what was happening to us wasn’t real. For lack of a better phrase, everyone thinks...

I watched the YouTube makeup artist Tallia through her entire journey from the minute she posted her first video to the very last. I watched her whole story unfold right...

Something never felt quite right when I was diagnosed with NMO at 19. This was before I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder. Part of the NMO diagnosis process meant...

Prior to being diagnosed with NMO, I didn’t have many artistic hobbies. Meaning when I tried to do anything in art class - like paint, draw, pottery, or anything else...