DESPITE undergoing surgery and taking medication to help manage her condition, life for Hannah Dixon, a 36-year-old diagnosed with polymyositis, has not changed.

She was diagnosed with the inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness on both sides of the body at just 16 years old.

The recipient of $250,000 through Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’s Positive Jamaica Foundation in 2020, she used the funds to undergo a successful surgery to remove a blocked stent and draining tube from her body.

Now, she is experiencing a flare-up that doctors say requires two doses of a medication valued at approximately $200,000 per dose. However, Dixon said her medical condition has created an employment challenge for her, so she again finds herself in need of assistance.

Her medical doctor, who did not wish to be identified, explained to the Jamaica Observer that Dixon’s condition causes her immune system to attack her muscles, affecting her ability to walk and raise her hand above her head. With recent tests revealing that she is experiencing a flare-up, she was admitted to the hospital for monitoring with a prescription written for two doses of 1 gram Rituximab — a medication Dixon said she won’t be able to afford even though her life depends on it.

“Every three weeks I would go to the doctor and get it, and I would stay in the hospital for three days and see how it operates in the body to see if it helps the muscle to gain more strength, but they say that it’s not everybody it works with. This is the last option I have. If it can’t help me they tell me I’m gonna turn into a vegetable. I don’t believe that, because man can say anything and God says another thing, so I have my faith and I still trust God and put it before him,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Dixon shared that life after her last surgery in 2021 has not been easy. She said five years ago she lost her father, who was her main financial source, and has since been relying on strangers she met in the hospital who kept their vow to assist her when she was discharged. She added that she is also battling other illnesses, such as diabetes, and is prone to seizures.

The 36-year-old said her dream of becoming a lawyer is now a distant memory, and while having polymyositis has led her to consider a career in nursing, the condition does not make her a prime candidate for employers who often turn her away when she tries to seek employment. However, she would still love the opportunity to work and become more independent.

While she understands the position of some employers, she demanded fair treatment and opportunities for people with medical illnesses and disabilities in the workplace, arguing that while she is limited in what she can do, she is not completely helpless.

“Don’t underestimate people, don’t look down on them [because] of what they are going through and their challenges,” she said in a message to employers, calling for stricter enforcement of laws that protect the vulnerable.

“We are one. We are slightly different, but the same blood that runs in me runs in you too. So, not because I have a disability you’re going to discriminate against me, and you’re going to say I’m less than. I’m not less, I’m still more. I think people with disability need to get more help. Put more help out there for us, more work out there for us, and more respect out there for us, because it can happen to anybody…We need to get more help and assistance,” she told the Sunday Observer.

As she appealed for assistance she said both the medication and an employment opportunity could completely change her life. She also appealed for a new wheelchair to help her move around, noting that her previous wheelchair is now old and non-functional.

“I just want to try it [the medication]; nothing tried, nothing done. I don’t know if it’s going to work with me, because everybody’s body is different, but I just trust God. I want to put it before God and make him do His work. At least it will help me with the weakness, because sometimes when the weakness hits me if I ever lose my balance I fall, and when I fall I can’t get up because my muscles can’t ease up my body,” said Dixon.

She stressed that, “We are one people and we have one life, and it’s to share and help each other and make other people’s dreams come true. Just a little help and a little love will make the world a better place.”