Warrior: Ovi James
AI: Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
HSCT: February 2021
Superpower: Strength, Bravery, Grit, Courage

When faced with adversity, are you able to advocate for yourself? Are you someone who can find gratitude often? What gifts can you share with the world?

After years of terrible headaches and issues with standing and walking, Ovi ended up losing her job and her home which caused significant relapses that rendered her disabled. As a single mother, Ovi’s goal was to focus on the positive and help her son “see the light at the end of the tunnel” even though she struggled to understand everything that was going on as her family chose not to support her. With the support of various shelters and physical, occupational, and mental health therapies, Ovi was able to focus on healing and learning how to better advocate for herself. She eventually found a rheumatologist who was able to see she was struggling with more than fibromyalgia and scheduled the MRI that led to her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

Although this interview occurred the weekend that Ovi was preparing to head to Clinica Ruiz in Mexico, it is airing while she is currently undergoing treatment and could use continued support from our HSCT community. Tune in and learn more about Ovi’s journey and how she found strength in being properly diagnosed, and keep such a positive outlook on life and how she turned inward to focus on her gifts in order to actualize the possibilities of pursuing HSCT.

Be sure to visit our website, HSCTWarriorsPodcast.com where you can find notes from today’s episode, submit ideas or feedback, or connect with HSCT Warriors, Inc. and schedule time to “Talk with a Warrior”, find the latest research and resources, or explore the world map. Special thanks to musical genius Billy Alletzhauser for sharing his superpowers to produce the soundtrack, and engineer the audio to make this podcast possible. You can find us both when you subscribe on SoundCloud, iTunes or wherever you find your podcasts.

It has been great to connect with Warriors worldwide, so please reach out if you’re interested in sharing your story. We would love to learn how the podcast has helped your journey with autoimmune disease so if you could take a moment, leave us a comment on instagram or share feedback on our website. We hope you’ll tune in next Wednesday for another episode, highlighting another HSCT Warrior. Until then, be a snowflake and embrace your superpowers. Be kind. Be well.

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Jen Stansbury Koenig and the producers disclaim medical influence and responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained herein. If you think you have a medical problem, please contact a licensed physician.

Resources:
Social media YouTube: @ovijames and Instagram: @itsovijames
Clinica Ruiz: https://hsctmexico.com
HSCT Warriors: https://HSCTWarriors.org