Karina Rodini is a 28-year-old woman from Brazil whose life was completely derailed by the condition she was diagnosed with when she was just 2 years old: neurofibromatosis.
Discover our latest podcast
Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system and causes, among other symptoms, an abnormal growth of neuron cell tissues. In the first stage, these just look like darker patches of skin but they then develop into tumours that can grow so big that they can really make the patient’s life quite difficult.
In Karina’s case, she has had to have surgery 7 times and during one of these operations, they removed a cyst weighing 9kg from her uterus.
Over the past few years, the series of enormous tumours in her leg have changed her life. The size of her leg has doubled and walked around with this extra weight has become very difficult. As a consequence, she has had to give up her job and has also said that the changes to how her body looks have prevented her from finding love.
She is now looking for a treatment that will put an end to this condition once and for all.
Source: The Sun