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Kelly Haughey
An Early Jolt into Adulthood
Kelly’s accomplishments are many, in both her personal and
professional life. And she has done it all while battling MG. Looking
back at early pictures of herself, she thinks she had MG as early
as 4 years of age. She didn’t get a diagnosis until the age
of 16. Since that time she has endured both physical and mental
pain, but with an astonishing will to attain her goals and assist
others with MG.
A Difficult Diagnosis
With evidence of MG at the early age of 4, Kelly thinks the disease
went into remission until the age of 14. At that time symptoms
came on randomly to different parts of her body. She started having
trouble with sports. Her knees would give out, she had a drastic
reduction in stamina with a loss of strength – along with
double vision and slurred words. She sought many doctors for the
individual symptoms without success. MG is relatively rare and
it is common for doctors to miss the diagnosis. It wasn’t
until she reached the age of 16 that she got a definitive diagnosis.
She had suffered physical pain, visits to the ER and emotional
distress from isolation from so much missed school. When she was
finally diagnosed with MG it was a relief. Now she could focus
on treatment.
Difficult Treatments
As anxious as Kelly was to begin the battle against MG, her struggle
intensified with many complications. She had side effects from
medications and many complications from surgery. She was placed
on a ventilator many times due to breathing problems. At one point
she spent a full two months in the hospital. That was part of a
two year period of visits in and out of the hospital.
Emotional Pain
Kelly lived through a difficult time of trying to get a diagnosis,
then getting treatment, while enduring the emotional pain of classmates
and teachers not understanding how she was being affected by the
disease. For this reason she has a driving need to increase public
awareness of MG. She wants to help those with MG by giving them
hope and encouragement. Her best weapon is information. The more
information patients have the faster they will be correctly diagnosed.
She aims to educate not only the public but doctors as well.
A Positive Attitude
After 13 years of treatment her disease is now more under control
than in earlier years. She is managing MG and has fewer “emergencies” than
when she was first diagnosed. She knows that medical treatments
played a big role in her progress so far, but also feels a positive
attitude has played a huge part. She decided not to let MG rule
her life and has developed a determination to go forward, be active
and be open about her disease.
Her Work With the Foundation
Kelly started first with volunteer work and then shifted to full-time
work with her local chapter of the MG Foundation. She organized
walk-a-thons, raised money and continued to increase awareness
of the disease. She eventually took over the position of Executive
Director. She continues in this role, guiding newly diagnosed patients,
getting them information and working towards getting an eventual
cure for this dreadful disease.
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"A Key
in the Battle Against Autoimmune Diseases"
Dr. Ronald E. Henderson, M.D .
Buy This Book Online! Click Here! |
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