90 Day Fiancé: Stephanie Matto’s Illness Aplastic Anemia Explained

Stephanie Matto from 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days has dealt with adversity in her personal life. Stephanie suffers from aplastic anemia which is a rare bone marrow disorder.

She claims that this disorder is so rare that when she found out about it two years ago she was told it was one and a million. The disease affects much of her personal life, as she’s talked about extensively on the show. She requires doctor approvals for travel which seeing that she formulated a long-distance relationship with Australian Erika Owens, which ertainly complicated things. She said that even a common cold could be disastrous to her health.

In an interview with Fox News, Stephanie stated:

One of the really big things about my journey this season on ‘Before the 90 Days’ is the fact that I suffer from a really rare bone marrow failure disorder. And it’s one in a million. When I found out two years ago, it was quite a shock for me and my family. And it definitely puts limitations on my life, on my ability to travel. I always need permission and clearance from my doctors to go anywhere. So, you know, meeting somebody in Australia wasn’t the easiest thing for me. I probably would have been much better off falling in love with somebody here, somebody local.

Being the first same-sex couple featured on the show Stephanie certainly has had to overcome a lot. Considering that Stephanie grew up a closeted gay person in the United States, one can imagine the type of struggles she’s had to face. Additionally, she’s had to add her newfound illness to this list. But that doesn’t stop the 90 Day Fiancé star. In fact, Stephanie owns up to her significance on the show. She comments “I hope that the network [TLC] continues to feature more LGBT couples in future seasons. We see so much of the same stuff on dating shows and on reality shows. It’s time to mix it up a little bit and bring in people from really all different walks of life, from all sexualities, all different genders.” It’s always good to bring new perspectives and diversity to show’s like this which challenge and hopefully change viewer’s sense of cultural norms.

In terms of understanding the symptoms of her illness, people who suffer from aplastic anemia often have trouble breathing. This can lead to stress and fatigue. Patients also suffer from random bodily bruising. Moreover, excessive bleeding is often the worst result of aplastic anemia. Consequently, this can lead to a feeling of malaise and even result in death. Aplastic anemia occurs from a lack of stem cells in the blood. When this happens to your body it inhibits the ability of blood functionality. This is what results in the above symptoms.

While fans may not agree with her choices on the show, her being open about her rare disease has been helpful for other people fighting similar battles with autoimmune disorders. Even though it looks as though she and her girlfriend Erika are no longer an item, fans will have to keep watching 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days to find out the true status of their relationship.

Source: Fox News

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