Case #24: Sumaira

Murder in Illinois

iHeartPodcasts

True Crime, Society & Culture

3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Sumaira was 24, what seemed like a routine wisdom teeth extraction quickly set off a series of unexpected health issues. Soon after, her vision in her right eye began to fade—a small nuisance she tried to ignore. But as her eyesight continued deteriorating, it became clear this wasn’t a passing problem. Eventually, doctors uncovered a deeper issue, revealing a diagnosis that would change everything she thought she knew about her health.

****** SPOILER ALERT BELOW ******

To find out more about NMOSD and Sumaira’s amazing advocacy and foundation at SumairaFoundation.org.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Ruby.
0:04.0	I went from being fine to walked into a wall, collapsed in my office, lost vision in both of my eyes, and couldn't feel half of my body.
0:18.0	That's when we all decided, I need to go to the hospital right now.
0:22.6	It's not something that's outwardly visible, and so they'll end up often in the emergency
0:27.2	room because the symptoms are severe.
0:30.0	My older sister asked the doctor, is she going to be okay?
0:34.6	And the doctor had no response.
0:37.0	I felt like I was going to die. And all I could
0:40.5	think about was like, I don't want my mom to lose another kid. How terrifying would it be to fight an unknown enemy, one you didn't recognize and didn't see coming?
1:00.2	What if that enemy was coming from within, a disease that even doctors couldn't identify?
1:07.7	Nearly half of all Americans suffer from some chronic illness and many struggle for an accurate diagnosis.
1:16.2	These are their stories.
1:20.5	I'm Lauren Bright-Pacheco, and this is symptomatic.
1:38.5	Thank you. is symptomatic. Meeting Samira Ahmed, you're immediately struck by her radiant smile and the passion that fuels it.
1:45.9	I did go down the rabbit hole. Sumaira is a beautiful name. Thank you. But it has a very
1:51.8	fitting meaning as well for you. It translates as a famous woman, a woman who entertains, a
2:00.2	successful woman. And so I thought, how did your parents know
2:04.4	to name you Samira? Oh my God, I am shook because my entire 35 years of existence, I was sort of
2:14.1	under the impression that Samira stems from the Arabic word samara, which means
2:21.8	brown skin. That did come up, but it's a successful celebrated, famous woman, a woman who
2:29.3	entertains. I have the chills. I have the chills. So you'll have to check in with your parents and see if they knew that when they named you. For people who don't know you, how would you describe yourself? Passionate? I do think I'm sort of a natural born leader. I always have been since I was a kid. Advocacy has always been a part of my life in different forms. So I believe in
2:54.9	community. I'm a very community-oriented person. I would describe myself as kind of a citizen of the
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