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Hi,

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My name is Brandi Alden,

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and here's my story on how I went from being bedridden to advocating on Capitol Hill

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about the very neuroimmune condition that changed the trajectory of my life.

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I grew up as a very ambitious kid with big dreams of being a performing artist.

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Unfortunately,

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during my early childhood,

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teen years,

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and early adulthood,

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I started dealing with debilitating and progressive symptoms.

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It started with mental health symptoms such as OCD,

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depression,

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anxiety,

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panic attacks,

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disassociation,

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and memory loss.

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To then progressing to physical symptoms such as non-epileptic seizures,

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dizziness,

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fatigue,

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chronic pain,

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trouble walking,

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and trouble speaking.

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This was devastating

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as it took away my opportunity of attending my

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dream performing arts college in New York City,

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despite being accepted in with a generous scholarship.

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But at age 21,

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I was properly diagnosed with the condition PANS or PANDAS,

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and

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treatment changed my life.

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Within 6 months,

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I was a totally different person,

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and now 4 years later,

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I'm working multiple jobs.

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I'm auditioning as a performer again,

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and I'm advocating

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about these conditions.

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And that led me to become a board member for the National PANDA Pans Youth Alliance,

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where I now help with their legislative efforts to

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bring better awareness to these conditions,

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help legislate to

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make sure that

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uh

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insurance covers the treatments for these conditions so that families

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have access to affordable care and help educate medical professionals

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and different community members,

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so that

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patients don't have to struggle for as long as I did

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to get the answers and the treatment that they need.

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Alongside that,

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our organization helps unite

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people across the United States who are struggling with these conditions,

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so that they don't feel alone.

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If you would have asked me 4 years ago if

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I saw my life panning out this way,

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I would have told you no.

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I didn't see any hope of me getting better,

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and I certainly did not see any future where I would be

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openly talking about my story and the challenges that I've faced.

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But now that I'm here

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and I am doing that,

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and I'm surrounded by a community of people who are supporting me

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along the way to do so, and showing me that change is possible.

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I have never felt more motivated in my life

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to

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share the things

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that are challenging for me to express.

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So if you are going through something challenging,

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I encourage you to find a community out there that you can volunteer with,

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you can make a difference with,

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because not only has it helped me as a person,

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but now I see the effect that it has had on my community.

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So

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speak out

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about the things that inspire you, because you just don't know

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the people that you're going to reach by doing so.