HSCT Warriors

Warrior: Karin Snowflake: Systemic Lupus HSCT: December 10, 2015, Northwestern Memorial Superpower: Empathy Do you tend to put yourself last on your to-do list? Have you ever been at the point in your life when you realize, “This is for the birds!” or feel ready to get on with it [life] already? Karin’s experience with Systemic Lupus left her bandaged and barely recognizable. Failed medication aft...

As a young warrior with brilliant energy, Julie shines her light on the importance of managing stress in order to negotiate the realities of unpredictability. She very quickly realized the reality that as a progressive disease, MS created daily fear that “the next day could have been the day when I woke up and couldn’t walk again.” Within two short years of diagnosis in 2016, Julie felt completely...

Warrior: Dave Snowflake: Multiple Sclerosis HSCT: 09/11/17 Superpower: Perspective What is your potential for recovery? Do you have strategies to support your self in recovery? What mindset keeps you engaged? Join us in this last episode of Season 2 and catch up with Dave, learn strategies for recovery, and hear exciting updates! As his positive outlook on HSCT has carried forward to influence his...

When you need a different course of action, how long will you bide your time? How confident are you among judgement, shock and awe? What will be your mindset at rock bottom? Having so many family members plagued with autoimmune disease, Bethany had just run out of options to treat her MS when her mom happened to watch an interview with Dr. Burt. With a ‘must do’ attitude, Bethany confronted HSCT a...

Snowflake: Multiple Sclerosis HSCT: 07-08/18/16 Superpower: Knowing you have the rest of your life to look forward to What does normal feel like? How much patience do you have when facing another diagnosis? How do you adjust on a roller coaster? After suffering years of misdiagnoses despite pain and debilitating fatigue, Eileen had a suspicion that someday, stem cells would help alleviate her pain...

Snowflake: Multiple Sclerosis HSCT: May, 2013 in Moscow, Russia Superpower: Patience and surrender How do you navigate your diagnosis? Would you describe your perspective as positive or negative? How do you normalize your disease? After years of experiencing symptoms, Brooke was diagnosed with RRMS in 2006 and cycled through various disease modifying therapies, participated in a clinical trial, an...

Snowflake: Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis HSCT: 07-08/18 Superpower: Support from husband and friends How affiliated are you with your autoimmune disease? How connected are you with your community? After living with MS for nearly 40 years, when Leta first heard of HSCT while watching the BBC on vacation, she researched it and considered the chance that HSCT could possibly halt her progre...

Snowflake: Multiple Sclerosis and Lyme Disease HSCT: anticipated by June, 2019 Superpower: hope How does one come to terms with the brutality of multiple sclerosis? How many disease modifying drugs have caused you significant complications? Do you know what it feels like to live a life without a chronic disease? After seeing too many doctors that wouldn’t listen, receiving a diagnosis at 13 years...

Snowflake: Multiple Sclerosis HSCT: 7.10.18 Superpower: divine positivity How thick is the fog on your brain? How clearly are you able to think and plan? When gearing up for a significant medical procedure, how well do you prepare for recovery? After years of experiencing symptoms without answers until finally receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2016, Bonnie experienced heart complicati...

Snowflake: MS Caregiver HSCT: March 18, 2018 Superpower: “Knowledge we could not do it alone” How do you shift focus from self to other when faced with taking on the role of caregiver? When you ask your neurologist about HSCT as an option for treatment, what is their reaction? Do you have what it takes to construct space for success? Meet Jay, a proactive planner who made a conscious decision to m...

Snowflake: CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) HSCT: August 14, 2018 Superpower: ability to walk again Have you ever lingered on the brink of life? Or wondered why diagnosis by exclusion takes so long? How much energy would you have to spin your wheels? Meet Chris, a physical therapist familiar with physical movement, injury, and the understanding that when numbness, tingling,...

Snowflake: AIMS Charity HSCT: Caregiver Superpower: Dedication Have you considered the possibilities of traveling abroad to pursue HSCT to halt your autoimmune disease? Are you striving to overcome obstacles like funding or researching HSCT? Meet Alison, a caregiver for her warrior husband who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010 and experienced significant declines in a short time. Once...

Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: Chicago, scheduled in March 2019 Superpower: walk with God Where do you find confidence to move forward? How do you take the reins and find the right mindset? Who do you consider to be family? Join us along Katie’s Hope Journey and learn from this interview with our first HSCT Hopeful. After spending 9 years battling multiple sclerosis, Katie found the mindset and the communa...

Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: 11/6/17 Superpower: Gratitude Where do you find gratitude in life? Are you just surviving in life, or are you thriving? Tune in for updates from AliStrong and find out what our first HSCT Warrior has been up to since her first interview. Find out more about the healing that Ali has experienced, her training and research to grow her #alistrong business, and get inspired to shi...

Warrior: Kevin Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: February 23, 2017, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Superpower: Novena to St. Jude When facing the unknown, are you curious about possibilities or do you fear uncertainties? What is the part of your journey that has become too familiar? How can we support each other to mobilize for different outcomes? If you’ve ever been curious to know more about potential compl...

Warriors 11: “Zen” Jen & Sara Leah Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: October 18, 2017, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Superpower: Zen Do you embrace life’s challenges with open arms? One step at a time? As you find your way along your journey, do you pause to reflect in the moment and express gratitude for those who are along with you? Learn more about the journey of our very own “Zen” Jen, as she shares the...

Warrior 10: Cecilia Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: February 2018, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Superpower: Connections How positive is your outlook? How empowered do you feel by your faith and innate resilience? When life seems scattered like a puzzle, how do your pieces fit together? Tune in to learn more about how Cecilia embraces a positive mindset, regular mantras, and her lens of love to face any ch...

Warrior 9: Anna Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: February 23, 2017, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Superpower: Running How bright is the light you shine on your present situation? What are you committed to, without any doubts or hesitation, to achieve your “next best life”? After hearing a “no” from her first attempt at HSCT, Anna remained open to try anything (including experimenting with mesenchymal stem c...

Have you suddenly found yourself transformed, yet distracted by old habits or routines that don’t align with your transformation? Are you striving to find the mindset for self-care or compassion for yourself and empathy for others? Do you find anxiety when you consider caregiving to support yourself or a loved one through the HSCT journey? Have you found yourself transformed by HSCT, yet not quite...

Warrior 8: Karin Snowflake: Systemic Lupus HSCT: December 10, 2015, Northwestern Memorial Superpower: Empathy Do you tend to put yourself last on your to-do list? Have you ever been at the point in your life when you realize, “This is for the birds!” or feel ready to get on with it [life] already? Karin’s experience with Systemic Lupus left her bandaged and barely recognizable. One failed medicati...

Warrior: Julie Snowflake: RRMS HSCT: February 19, 2018, Northwestern Memorial Superpowers: Empathy and ability to “not sweat the small stuff” Are you a goal-oriented person who likes to create plans and back-up plans to the plans for every aspect of life? Have your plans been significantly detoured by your experience with autoimmune disease? As a young warrior with brilliant energy, Julie shines h...

Have you ever learned something that left you at a loss for words? Found yourself tied to the railroad tracks looking for a way to stop the oncoming train? Meet Ron, a warrior who invested in the “short term pain for long term gain” of HSCT and found courage to face his fears, doubts, and misconceptions in order to commit to Clinica Ruiz in Puebla Mexico. As an American citizen residing in Canada,...

Warrior 5: Denise Snowflake: Stiff Person Syndrome HSCT: 9/12/17, Chicago Superpower: Increased empathy Have you ever found yourself distracted by concern for the people in your life that are stressed about your condition? Do you question whether the resources you find when researching your condition are of comparable quality to the resources your doctors can access? Have you learned how to embrac...

When you pause to reflect about what has changed during a year, what do you see or feel? If you take time to recognize your own personal successes, have you ever hesitated to share what you find with others? Meet Dave, a warrior who tried nearly every treatment available to treat his multiple sclerosis before finally receiving HSCT November 11, 2017 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dave used a c...

Do you know the importance of truly understanding your body? Can you get comfortable with letting go of expectations? Meet Ellie, a warrior diagnosed with multiple sclerosis who received HSCT at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in June, 2016. Ellie initially found HSCT in 2003 but didn’t find herself ready for the procedure until 2015 after a relapse forced her to stop working. Determined to “stay t...