1206. Community Spotlight - Voices of SRNA Volunteers | Part 2

The “Community Spotlight” edition of the “Ask the Expert” podcast
series shares the stories of our community members. In this
episode, titled, “Voices of SRNA Volunteers, Part 2,” Minaal
Zahid and Doug Kirby joined Lydia Dubose of SRNA. Doug shared his
journey with NMOSD, emphasizing the role of volunteers in
providing support and education [00:01:49]. Minaal discussed her
motivation to volunteer stemming from her brother’s diagnosis of
NMOSD [00:02:42]. Minaal and Doug delved into their volunteer
activities, including organizing events and contributing to
educational resources, highlighting the impact of volunteering on
both personal growth and community support [00:07:13].





Minaal Zahid is an incoming neurodevelopmental disabilities
resident physician whose journey in medicine was shaped by her
family's history of autism and NMOSD. She witnessed firsthand the
challenges her family faced in obtaining a diagnosis for her
younger brother, who struggled with NMOSD symptoms for nearly a
year before diagnosis, resulting in the unfortunate loss of
vision in his left eye. Assuming the role of caretaker as the
eldest daughter, Minaal was inspired to pursue a career in
neurology to assist families facing similar struggles with
neurological disorders. This pursuit led her to SRNA where she is
excited to educate the general public and her colleagues about
rare neuroimmune disorders and help enact policy changes to
better serve patients with neurological disabilities.





Doug Kirby has lived most of his life in Utah. After earning a
degree in microbiology from BYU, he went to the University of
Washington to gain his master's degree in environmental health
science. Doug also spent two years in South Korea as a church
missionary. He has been married to his wife Holly for 39 years,
and they have 5 kids, all boys but the first four, and eight
grandchildren. Doug spent the first ten years of his career in
the environmental field working at two different hazardous waste
disposal sites and then switched to information technology.
During his career, Doug has been a developer and manager. He
currently lives in Herriman, Utah where he and Holly are looking
forward to retirement in a little over three years. Doug was
diagnosed with NMOSD when he was 56 in 2017. His vision is fine,
but he has some physical difficulties including numbness and
trouble walking that he has learned to live with. Doug enjoys
meeting with and learning from others who are going through
similar challenges.