For my sister Tracy and baby Aubrey

Hi everyone. I know it is a hard time of year but any amount will help! Here is her story: 7 weeks ago Tracy's life changed forever. On October 17 Aubrey came in the world 12 weeks early. Aubrey has been in the NICU since. Overall, Aubrey has held her own- making positive strides. She is now in the feed and grow section of the NICU where she is learning how to suck, swallow and breathe. She is doing well and should be home within the next few weeks. Two weeks after having Aubrey, Tracy began having blurry vision in her right eye. She ignored it at first and assumed that she was just tired and run down from just having a baby. Over the next few days, she began having increased blurriness and pain. After several days like this, Tracy woke up to a complete loss of vision to her right eye on November 11. She immediately went to Mass Eye and Ear and had several tests done. The results came back that it was optic neuritis and the beginning stages of Multiple Sclerosis. She was referred to a neurologist at Mass General. It took weeks to get an appointment and it was scheduled for November 24th. Tracy was adapting with using only her left eye and even went to her baby shower with limited vision. On November 23 the day before her neurologist appointment, Tracy woke up to blurry painful vision starting in her left eye. She called the neurologist who she was scheduled to see the next day and he told her to immediately go to Mass General emergency room. Her mother took her and she was admitted and additional testing on her brain and spine were done. Results came back that she had optic neuritis in her left eye as well which is not something seen in multiple sclerosis. Mass General began treating her with 5 doses of Prednisone to help bring down the inflammation on her optic nerves. By this time, Tracy was now completely blind and sat in darkness 24/7. It was soon then decided that because Aubrey was at the Brigham that it made more sense to transfer Tracy there to be near Aubrey. On Thanksgiving Tracy was transferred to the Brigham to continue her treatment. The next day the Brigham wanted to do intense treatment and immediately put in a port into Tracys chest to start Plasmapheresis. This is a process in which the liquid in the blood, or plasma, is separated from the cells. In sick people, plasma can contain antibodies that attack the immune system. A machine removes the affected plasma and replaces it with good plasma, or a plasma substitute. In addition to the 5 doses of steroids , she also went and had 5 treatments of the Plasmapheresis. These treatments left Tracy very sick and drained. During that time, a blood sample was sent to the Mayo Clinic. The results came back positive for a condition called NMO Neuromyelitis Optica. This is a condition consisting of the simultaneous inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve (optic neuritis) and the spinal cord. The doctors said she was born with this and that the pregnancy flared it up. This is a rare condition and not many people in the world have it. Her doctor only has 10 patients with it. Tracy has since been started on IV medication Rituxin. She has received the first dose and will receive a second dose in 2 weeks. After that she will have it every 6 months for the rest of her life. The future of the disease is unknown. The hope is that the Rituxin will prevent future flare ups. Tracy can have flare ups and go through this over and over again. And doctors can not say if Tracy will have her complete vision back. She currently can not drive and is out of work indefinitely while continuing her treatments and giving her optic nerves time to heal. Let's help Tracy get back on her feet and help her be prepared to bring her little girl home in the next few weeks. She needs all the help she can get!! If anyone could help donate it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Happy Holidays!