Maoloude Fall Toure:
I’ve always been a person that wants to serve. I’ve been working with the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation for over two years. We have no barrier. We have no limit. So we go anywhere in the world, no matter what politics. What we care is curing patients and talking to patients.
Dr. Michael Yeaman:
We believe that NMO can be ended. We’re continuing to work on that mission.
Maoloude Fall Toure:
When there is a rare disease, everybody just wants to work on their own. But the foundation brings everybody together. I was honored to represent the foundation in many countries, Germany, Russia, Rome and in Mali. Over the next two days, we hope you will learn and share the latest information and build new ideas in the highest spirit of our mission together. We met with a lot of doctors from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria. But they didn’t know much about this disease. So now they learn about it. The outcome was that all the doctors can communicate. If one needs something, they have this network that they can work together.
Dr. Lya Ayzenberg:
We are very delighted for the opportunity to host a symposium about NMO, the first symposium in Moscow.
Maoloude Fall Toure:
We were expecting less than 20 people and we ended up having more than 170. The room was packed to the hallway. Students, doctors and scientists. Everybody wanted to hear what this disease and why are we here?
Dr. Brian Weinshenker:
Why has it become complex? And why is it sometimes difficult to diagnose Neuromyelitis Optica?
Dr. Alex Brandt:
what do you do when you see a patient with a suspected NMO attack?
Maoloude Fall Toure:
I saw one patient and her mom in Berlin, Susanne.
Susanne Mayer:
I have every day pain in my head. I don’t see anything, I’m blind.
Maoloude Fall Toure:
How far do you travel to see your doctor for treatment of NMO?
Susanne Mayer:
300 kilometers?
Maoloude Fall Toure:
They were really happy to find out that there’s a foundation that’s out there for them.
Narrator:
We honor Victoria Jackson with the 2018 Pontifical Key Advocacy Award.
Maoloude Fall Toure:
It meant a lot because the POPE recognized this foundation as something that’s helping a lot of people.
Victoria Jackson:
Curing diseases is not for wimps. There are no wimps in this room. There are very strong, loving, dedicated, smart people and I am so grateful and I truly am blessed.
Maoloude Fall Toure:
Ten years ago, little was known about Neuromyelitis Optica. Today, thanks to all of you, the foundation has forged a community of doctors, scientists, patients and industry partners to improve NMO patient lives. We have seen incredible progress in just a short time. Still, we have more to do to achieve our goal to cure Neuromyelitis Optica. We want to go more global. It is a lot of patients out there. For NMO, beyond an autoimmune disease.