When Nya was diagnosed with Lupus at just 12 years old, her world came to a sudden, painful halt. While her peers were attending football games and school dances, Nya was spending her weekends in hospital beds, traveling four hours each way from Tifton to Augusta for life-saving appointments. Forced to grow up in a world of medications and frequent hospitalizations, she often felt isolated, watching life pass her by through a screen.
Nya’s journey has been marked by both medical and systemic challenges. During a severe flare in 2025, she experienced the trauma of medical gaslighting when a doctor dismissed her inability to speak and ignored her detailed symptom notes, opting to sedate her rather than treat her pain. Beyond the clinic walls, she has battled Step Therapy and Site-of-Care restrictions. Even after participating in a pediatric clinical trial to help get a specific infusion medication approved, her insurance later forced her to switch to self-injections—a move that led to severe injection site reactions and months of worsened health before her team could fight for her re-approval.
Today, Nya is a force for change. Having navigated the terrifying transition from Medicaid to private insurance as a young adult from a low-income family, she understands the high stakes of healthcare access. She is now preparing to graduate from medical school to become a pediatric rheumatologist, dedicated to ensuring no other child feels invisible or unheard. Supported by her husband, who also battles a chronic illness, Nya works with the Infusion Access Foundation to advocate for affordable coverage and compassionate care, proving that while Lupus may be invisible, her voice—and her future impact—is anything but.