Hello to all who read this. My name is Aubrie and I am reaching out asking for help for my brother. My siblings and I grew up on military bases all over the world. My younger brother was loud, sweet, kind, and very active, always pushing himself physically, and was an avid soccer player his entire life. He went off to Northern Arizona University for college and soon after graduation he joined the United States Border Patrol stationed in Arizona. My brother loved the job and loved helping people. In 2011 he was selected for Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue BORSTAR. During a five-week training period, he suffered a horrible medical emergency. His body had shut down and began to attack itself. 2013 he was no longer able to work, at the age of 31 he was medically discharged and permanently disabled. In 2015 was diagnosed with NMO, and has had multiple attacks resulting in permanent damage and disability. This has left him with a pacemaker in his heart and bladder, daily medications, monthly treatments that leave him exhausted, sick, and two children who have never known a healthy father. My brother's health has declined so significantly he now is bound to a wheelchair. My father has added a wheelchair ramp, and his wife and children are now able to administer his fluids through IV, give medications, and offer daily living assistance. Recently they purchased a wheelchair-accessible van, this van has given him greater independence and allows him to receive his medical treatment when away from home.

What is NMO? Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is a rare autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that predominantly affects the brain and spinal cord. In NMO, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and proteins in the body, most often those in the spinal cord and eyes, causing inflammation and damage to these cells. This results in the loss of myelin, the fatty substance that acts as insulation around nerve fibers and helps nerve signals move from cell to cell. The loss of myelin causes progressive, severe weakness or paralysis of arms and legs, numbness, and loss of bladder and bowel control. Individuals with NMO can also develop optic neuritis, which causes eye pain and vision loss.

NMO is an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis (MS) but is different because attacks are usually more severe in NMO and the treatments are different.

There is no cure for NMO although there are a few treatments that attempt to make NMO relapses and attacks less severe. Disability is cumulative, the result of each attack damaging new areas of the central nervous system. Pain, muscle weakness and stiffness, and bladder and bowel control problems occur, culminating in major disability and ultimately death from infection due to immunosuppression, respiratory muscle weakness causing breathing difficulties, or choking caused by aspiration (breathing foreign objects such as food, saliva, or stomach contents into the airway).

Thirty-two percent of patients die within 5 years of diagnosis and the median duration of survival is 17.5 years despite aggressive treatment.

My brother is terminal, and to help add some relief to his life and his family a wheelchair lift means less stress and more independence for my brother. Any amount will help, please help my brother and his family.