CHARLESTON, S.C. — Just last year, 15-year-old Maleeah Wilson was like any other teen — a freshman at Lancaster High School and an athlete who loved spending time with family and friends. Now, her days look a lot different.
“It’s hard,” she said. “I try not to think about it.”
After months of appointments and testing, doctors diagnosed her with an extremely rare disease known as Anti-NF155.
“It is rare, so there’s a lot of unknowns still,” Dr. Kate Taylor, a pediatric neurologist, told Channel 9’s Miana Massey.
Neurologists say it causes the body to attack itself, causing weakness, tremors and numbness.
“When the immune system attacks this protein, it can unravel that signal and that’s why you get these type of symptoms from it,” Taylor said.
Initially, Maleeah was given the wrong diagnosis, which only worsened her condition. Her mother, Morgan Wilson, hopes other families never stop asking questions.
“It’s ok to go to a second or third doctor,” she said. “That’s your right to find out what’s wrong. If I had never made that switch, I don’t know where we would be.”
Now, Maleeah is being treated in Charleston. She’s undergone rounds of chemotherapy and intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy. The teen is having to relearn how to do everything from brushing her teeth to writing and showering.
“It’s hard,” she said. “I miss being social and being out to go and do things. I’m just praying things get better.”
Conditions like Anti-NF155 are extremely uncommon, making them difficult to recognize. However, doctors say awareness matters.
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