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Psychologist Dr. Sally Shaw tackles the challenges of being diagnosed with a complex condition such as NMOSD and discusses how we can learn to navigate difficult conversations with loved ones, family or friends.

Dr. Shaw explains that sometimes when a loved one just acknowledges the difficulty in managing a condition like NMOSD, rather than trying to offer up solutions and trying to fix things, that can be empowering.

Dr. Shaw says educating family and friends about the invisible symptoms of NMOSD and having conversations early on about what kind of support you may need is key to maintaining healthy long-term relationships that...

Cat Anderson, Spiritual Director and End of Life Doula at REACH Trauma Response consulting, joins host Lelainia Lloyd to talk about how we can build and strengthen our self-esteem when living with a condition such as NMOSD. Cat emphasises the importance of learning to have self-compassion and of staying connected.

Cat helps us understand how negative messages begin in our own mind and that we have the power to decide what we're going to believe and what we're not going to believe. It is up to us to decide how much room we are going to allow NMOSD to take...

Neuro-immunology nurse specialist, Dr. Therese Burke discusses the importance of understanding your symptoms so that you know where to go and what to do to get support in order to find different ways of managing your NMOSD.

Dr. Burke describes the different types of pain, including primary pain, known as neurogenic pain which is caused directly by the nerve damage from NMOSD and pain that comes from a secondary cause, known as nociceptive pain.

Dr. Burke discusses the importance of understanding these two functions in order to be able to get to the root cause of what might be causing symptoms. She...

NMOSD impacts every patient differently; in this episode, patients Lynda and Erica discuss their very personal journeys to diagnosis, including their early symptoms and their first NMOSD attacks.
Together with host Debbie Leticq, Lynda and Erica discuss the emotional and physical challenges they have faced, and the importance of pushing yourself both mentally and physically in 
your recovery.
Debbie reflects on the importance of sharing these unique and very personal stories in order to help others understand a bit more about NMOSD and to remind ourselves that we are not alone.

The development of this podcast was sponsored by Alexion...

Andrea, a patient advocate and James, her husband and caregiver speak candidly about the challenges of adjusting to life after Andrea’s diagnosis and subsequent vision loss. They share how they've worked together to restore Andrea’s independence.

James discusses the importance of having a plan of action for all future eventualities and discussing those plans with your support network. James also shares his motto “keep your heart soft and your skin thick” for how he manages with the uncertainty and the changes
that come with NMOSD.

The development of this podcast was sponsored by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The viewpoints expressed are...

In our final episode, we interview patient ambassador and host Lelainia Lloyd. We also discuss how Lelainia became involved in advocacy, the opportunities and challenges she has faced, and resources and tips for others thinking of becoming an advocate in
the area of rare diseases.
We get to know more about how Lelainia began her advocacy work and how she decides on how much time she devotes to specific endeavours. She describes her approach to patient advocacy and how she always put NMOSD at the centre of everything she does.
Lelainia discusses her own support network and how important those...