Riley patient makes remarkable recovery from rare autoimmune disorder

It's been quite a year for 10-year-old Evelynn Coble as she fought back against polymyositis, an autoimmune disorder Dr. Stacey Tarvin said is extremely rare. Evelynn's family started noticing fatigue and weakening strength last year and by May, Evelynn weighed half her normal weight.

Ultimately, doctors at Riley Children's Health admitted Evelynn in May, discovered her diagnosis, and collaborated with doctors all over the world to prescribe the best treatment.

Now, Evelynn comes to Riley each month for iron infusions and continues physical therapy.

"She's immunocompromised now because every six months she has to take a medication that will keep her white blood cells from flaring up and trying to attack her body," Jessica Coble, Evelynn's mother, said.

Dr. Tarvin said Evelynn will continue to recover and move closer to living her normal life.

"The goal is remission on medicine," Dr. Tarvin said. "What that means for her is living a normal life, doing normal kid things, but having some medicine in the background to control that muscle inflammation and that disease."