By Brett White@brettwhite
Published Aug. 19, 2019, 11:30 a.m. ET
Photo: Netflix
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If you love shows about medical mysteries, then you no doubt spent the weekend bingeing Netflix’s new docu-series Diagnosis. The show comes from The New York Times and Dr. Lisa Sanders, the physician whose newspaper column inspired the Hugh Laurie medical drama House. In it, Sanders speaks to people with mysterious, sometimes life-threatening illnesses and puts their symptoms out to a massive audience in the hopes of finding a diagnosis.
This being a show built around changing lives, viewers will no doubt want to know what’s happened to these ailing people since they taped their episode of Diagnosis. Fortunately, the show knows that and gives its audience what it needs: updates. Every episode of the seven-episode Season 1 ends with an update on where the subject is now, whether or not they’ve sought treatment, and if their condition has improved if they have gotten help.
Every update is different, as every patient’s journey is different. If you’re curious about to know where the eight subjects featured in Diagnosis are now, here’s what we know from the episodes.
1
Angel Parker (Las Vegas, NV)
Symptoms: Angel suffers from severe muscle pain leaves her doubled over, and it can strike at any moment.
Diagnosis: CPT2
Where is Angel now? Since filming, Angel changed up her diet as recommended and is getting better. Even better, her dream of becoming a nurse has come true.
2
Sadie Gonzalez (Queens, NY)
Symptoms:A seven-year-old girl suffers from seizures so bad that doctors are recommending that half of her brain be cut off.
Treatment: Sadie gets a device implanted in her skull to stop her seizures before they start.
Where is Sadie now?Since having surgery, Sadie’s gone back to school. Results have been positive, but doctors won’t know for sure until after six to twelve months have passed.
3
Willie Reyes (Vado, NM)
Symptoms:Veteran Willie suffers from worsening memory accompanied by mood swings and a brain lesion.
Diagnosis: Gulf War syndrome
Where is Willie now? After the diagnosis, Willie applied for service-related benefits, and he’s waiting to hear back
4
Kamiyah Morgan (Vermillion, SD)
Symptoms: Kamiyah is a six-year-old who suffers from dozens or hundreds of sporadic seizures a day that can strike at any time and cause her to fall over limp.
Diagnosis:Kamiyah has a rare pathogenic variant in a gene called KCNMA1.
Where is Kamiyah now?Dr. Andrea Meredith, a doctor who studies KCNMA1, has created a group of test mice that have Kamiyah’s gene variant and is starting to test drugs on them now. On top of that, the biotech company Q-State contacted Kamiyah’s mother to help come up with a drug treatment for her daughter free of charge.
5
Lashay Hamblin (South Jordan, UT)
Symptoms:High school student Lashay can’t keep down any food or fluids, and hasn’t since a run-in with a raccoon in Costa Rica two years ago.
Diagnosis:Rumination syndrome
Where is Lashay now?It took Lashay and her family a long time to come to terms with having a chronic illness like rumination. Lashay turned 18 and graduated high school, but has still not sought treatment.
6
Matt Lee (Mt. Airy, MD)
Symptoms:Matt experiences feelings of deja vu before a fainting spell hits, sometimes causing his heart to completely stop.
Diagnosis:Dr. Sanders believes it’s most likely temporal lobe epilepsy, spurred on by stress.
Where is Matt now?After starting therapy to deal with his stress and issues from his childhood, Matt’s health improved dramatically. He was even well enough to get a job at a pizza place.
7
Joe and Ann (Wallingford, CT)
Symptoms:Both Joe and Ann, two strangers, suffer from mysterious paralysis. Joe was suddenly stricken with paralysis below his waist, leaving him a paraplegic. Ann’s paralysis occurs intermittently along her right side, affecting various part of her body.
Diagnosis:Joe’s paralysis was possibly a side effect of ibrutinib, the medicine he was taking for his cancer. He’s been off the drug for months and remains paralyzed, but it can take a year for the drug to get out of his system. The crowd thought Ann may have a functional neurological disorder, since the test for Lyme disease came back negative.
Where are Joe and Ann now?Joe is still undergoing treatment at Yale Hospital and remains optimistic about his chances of walking again. Ann has not yet reached out to Dr. Schneider, the doctor she video-chatted with about her having a functional neurological disorder. Instead, she’s working to find a diagnosis and cure on her own.
- Diagnosis
- Lisa Sanders
- Netflix
