The Neff Family Story

October, born 2010

Cierra Neff shares the story of her daughter, October Childress:

My pregnancy with October was uneventful up until the end. I was having a lot of pain and discomfort. I had to do stress tests daily and they decided to induce me a week early. The doctor thought October was underweight. 

October was born with no complications and we left the hospital with ease. She was two months of age when nystagmus appeared. That is when our journey began. 

We had many different rare diseases thrown at us and they all came back negative. Doctors even told us that October was blind. It wasn't until we were at a hematology appointment that someone really took an interest in her and referred us to a resident in neurology. This was after three different hospitals and I don't know how many doctors. 

Finally, at age three, we had our diagnosis of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-Like Disease (PMLD). 

It has been a roller coaster over the last 12 years of disease progression and lost abilities. October has been in speech, occupational and physical therapy since she was nine months old. She has been wheelchair-bound since she was six years old and tube-fed since six years old. 

But October has joy and happiness in her heart. October has five siblings, none of whom have PMLD. However, only one of those siblings has the same father! 

God blessed me to be October’s mother. She brings so much joy into our lives!