2017 Dragon Magazine Winter

ALUMNI Sp
CHRISTINA
FISHER ’85
Advocates for
Awareness of
Rare Disease
Christina Fisher ’85 center holding trophy. Contributed photo.
Growing up, Christina Fisher thought of herself as a
klutz. She had poor reflexes, and her foot slapped the
floor as she walked. Her doctor was dismissive of her
symptoms, telling Fisher and her mother that there
was nothing wrong with her. But her condition worsened
and Fisher routinely suffered falls that required
surgery to repair worn out joints and broken bones.
It wasn’t until Fisher was in her early forties, and had
a particularly bad fall in which she broke her fibula
and ankle, that she was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Disease (CMT) - a group of disorders that
affect the peripheral nerves, which are the nerves
outside the brain and spinal cord. There are 90 kinds
of CMT, says Fisher, and the most common forms are
passed down from generation to generation. However,
there are some that are recessive and even caused
by a mutation.
CMT affects about 2.8 million people worldwide, of
all races and ethnic groups. Statistics show that 1 in
2,500 are impacted by some type of CMT.
42 // Dragon