Advocate Profile, Isabel Friedlander

Isabel was on her way to work one day in February 2015 when her foot started hurting. At the time, she didn’t think anything of it. When she later developed what felt like a migraine, however, she knew something was wrong. She called her mother to come pick her up. After trying to sleep it off, she woke covered in a purplish rash unable to move. After getting to the hospital, doctors rushed to determine what was wrong with Isabel, eventually diagnosing her with bacterial meningitis. Isabel recovered after several days in the ICU followed by time at a pediatric hospital. Isabel lives with long-term effects from meningococcal disease, including immune disorders and damage to nerves in her extremities. Now she works to raise awareness of this disease because she feels no parent or child should ever have to go through that pain.