Woman diagnosed with rare disease plans celebration of life
By Luana Munoz
Click here for updates on this story
DELTONA, Florida (WESH) — Sharon Wyker is a 77-year-old woman in Deltona battling a rare infectious disease called Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC) and doctors have only given her three months to live. With the help of her family, she’s now on a mission to plan an elaborate and very detailed celebration of life for herself.
“A flash mob. A video of me talking to them. One thousand people. I’m going to count,” Sharon said.
Her appetite for life has not slowed down.
Despite her diagnosis in 2014, Sharon was able to overcome the infection with antibiotics. However, the infection returned in 2021 and again this year.
This time, her body can’t handle the antibiotics.
“I’ve traveled to 22 countries, 20 states. I’m an adventurer. I’m a wonderer,” Wyker said.
Under the microscope, MAC looks like tuberculosis. However, it is slow moving and non-contagious. The disease is more common in people with underlying health conditions.
Dr. Jason Sniffen, an infectious disease specialist, says the bacteria lurks in everyday places including soil and water.
“They are waterborne, so exposure to things like a shower head, spas, hot tubs, even if these facilities are properly maintained,” Dr. Sniffen said.
Sharon worked in the mortgage industry and later as a toll collector, but her real passion is art.
“Then I went to college and learned in order to be famous, you have to be dead. All famous artists are dead. I was like, ‘Oh no, no, no,’” she said.
Sharon has hundreds of paintings and shares them with her followers.
While she may not be famous for now, she hopes people will remember her words of wisdom.
“If you are a dreamer of something that you are trying to get to, you have to believe your miracle and have no doubts and just keep going until you get there,” she said.
Like the stroke of her brush, she says the key to life is to, “go with the flow.”
Sharon says at the end of the video played during her funeral, she wants to sing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.