genevieve millau darling.

Genevieve Millau Darling was born into an affluent family in the suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine in France on April 1, 1989. Her early life was enriched by the acclaim and splendor of her parents' names and their reputations: Julien Darling, was an accomplished screen writer, and his wife, Brigitte, was a descendant of a popular winery.

Growing up, Genevieve and her older sister, Madelyn, spent a significant amount of time in the hands of others. There seemed to be a revolving door of au pairs, nannies and tutors left to care for the girls. While their parents only made cameo appearances in their lives neither of them, harbored any disaffection toward them. At the tender age of four, she had come to understand and rationalize that her life was very different from those around her. She grew up visiting sets and watching movies being made. She felt grateful for the life she had been blessed with and in return gave her parents exactly what they expected: the model daughter. She was polite and well-spoken, athletic; yet, smart. In grade school, she was the first amongst her peers to demonstrate proficiency across all subjects; however, was never boastful. Genevieve genuinely loved learning and being around people.

When it was time for the littlest Darling daughter, Eisley, to enroll in school, her teachers sang a different tune. After months of disobedience and rebellion, the family sought answers. After a comprehensive neuropsych evaluation, the family learned that Eisley, who was four at the time, was on the autism spectrum. Feelings of neglect rippled through the Darling household in the aftermath of her diagnosis. How could we not know… Her mother kept saying, but the truth was Eisley had not presented typical behaviors associated with children on the autism spectrum. Well, at least none that they were exposed to among their circuit of friends. Yes, she was quiet and preferred to play alone and had a narrow scope of interests, but none of this stood out to them as autism spectrum disorder, more specifically Asperger syndrome.

In light of this discovery, Brigitte Darling came down hard on the family and put some radical plans in motion. First, she sought out a team of professionals that could help the family, manage and best support Eisley with her disability. Unfortunately, at the time of Eisley diagnosis, there was very little being offered in their home country. So, Brigitte packed up the family and everyone temporarily relocated to England. However, the commute from London to Paris was not sustainable for Julien and his work. Therefore, a noticeable strain was put on their marriage and felt by all the Darling daughters.

As her parents attempted to figure everything out, Genevieve and Madelyn bounced between tutors. Eventually, they decided that the girls would be enrolled in a boarding school, providing them an escape from their chaotic home life, and an attempt at normalcy. However, life at Woldingham, an all-girls Catholic school, was far from normal. Having grown up without significant parental influence, Genevieve was not ready for the road ahead.

Navigating the strict routine lifestyle of a Catholic was not something either of them was accustomed to. Their family, while conservative, was still very liberal in their approach. On top of that, the girls had to battle the ever-changing tide of the tween social constructs. Woldingham was built on the grounds of competition and social rule. It was all about academics, net worth, social prominence, and privilege. None of which either Darling daughter cared about, but now eclipsed their world.

Fortunately, Genevieve's awkwardness and general disinterest in the whole charade scored her permanent seat on the loser bench, but Madelyn… Things were very different for Madelyn. Her disinterest only seemed to entice and fascinate her peers more. They girls worshiped her and competed for attention. It seemed the harder she fought to get away from the tide the stronger the waves became.

Genevieve distanced herself from her only friend and took refuge in the library where she read without interruption and accessed the world wide web (heavily monitored by nuns). The internet was her gateway to the world beyond Woldingham. She made friends with people who shared similar interests thousands of miles away. It was how she learned about music, movies, and books that were most often inaccessible to her on campus. She also learned about the injustices and social issues that plagued the world around her.

Following her graduation in 2007, Genevieve enrolled as a freshman at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Her growing interest in politics and social issues aided in the decision to move to a political hotbed. Miles from home, she was able to step beneath the veil of her parent's name and create her own identity. It was there that she first established several deeply rooted friendships with people who cared not about where you came from, but where you were headed. The four years she spent as an undergrad were some of the best years of her life. She was heavily involved in advocating and educating people on marriage equality, an equitable education for people with disabilities (and persons of color) and the opportunity for women to make decisions about their bodies. She was at the head of her class and flourishing. Hell, she even got a job (a crappy one that paid nothing) for a well-known senator.

In the spring of 2011, she graduated with the highest of honors and a wealth of prominent recommendations. But instead of taking a job on the hill, she worked in various cities around the world as a translator for the French consulate. This experience was invaluable to her and helped shape her personal philosophy, as well as, help her define what was important to her. After two years of working, she returned to the United States and accepted a seat at the University of Chicago school of law class of 2016.

Life in Chicago progressed as expected. With Genevieve being too absorbed in her coursework to commit to a life outside of studying. She had made a few friends between classes and even a few around the city but for the most part she was there to learn. Just as she was getting back into the swing of things she began experiencing sporadic numbness in her left arm, light sensitivity, increased paranoia and anxiousness. Her doctors attributed it to stress but after a series of seizures and decrease in her overall ability to take care of herself, she was hospitalized.

For the first 3-months of her hospitalization, her condition baffled doctors. She was medical anomaly. No one could understand how this perfectly healthy woman could present so inept. At the height of her illness, she experienced range of psychotic symptoms followed by more severe fluctuations in consciousness with neurologic involvement, and ultimately cognitive and behavioral deficits. She lost her ability to construct coherent sentences and manipulate anything with her hands. She experienced violent hallucinations and would scream until sedated. Specialists were called in from the top hospitals all across the country to poke and prod her but no one was able to diagnosis her.

By the fourth month her parents had grown frustrated with their daughter's medical team and were trying to decide how to proceed. They already had one child completely dependent on them, what was two?

Fortunately, Dr. Rumska arrived just in time. Through a series of in-depth questions, most of which Genevieve could not answer at the time, and an in depth analysis of her cerebral spinal fluid; Genevieve's condition had a name. Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis, a rare autoimmune disease. Essentially, the antibodies her immune system produced attacked the NMDA receptors in her brain. Now, equipped with this knowledge her team was able to appropriately treat her.

Over the course of the next few months, Genevieve participated in a variety of intensive therapies (occupational, speech, physical and mental counseling) and took several rounds of steroids. She did very little outside of reading, watching tv and spending time with her family. But as she began to regain her strength and awareness of the world around her Genevieve made steady strides to reclaim a hold on her independence.

While in the hospital, Genevieve was granted a medical leave of absence for the remainder of her second semester. In July of 2014, she met with the board of the university to discuss her fate. She was not naive enough to think that they would just let her pick up from where she left off, given all that had happened. Several professors, both current and previous, testified on Genevieve's behalf. Her grades from term 1 were exactly what the needed to be, but it still was not enough. The board understood that Genevieve's condition did not significantly impact her mental capabilities; however, they were weary of admitting her given how she presented then compared to when she was initially accepted.

One of the areas she had not made significant progress in at was her articulation. Her expressive language was dramatically impacted by her illness. Her speech was sometimes unclear and disjointed, however, mentally she was still sharp. Still, the university was weary and wanted proof that she could keep up with the demands of the curriculum. It was decided that she would retake the LSAT in October to secure her place.

For the next three months, Genevieve studied 7 days a week for 8 hours or more a day and in October of 2014 she sat for the exam. Several weeks later she received news of her score. She learned that not only received a passing score but jumped up to the 95%; a significant improvement from her initial assessment. However, instead of resuming her studies at school that made her jump through hoops for re-entry, she accepted a seat and scholarship to Columbia University's School of Law. Which was Dr. Hajissa's home base and alma mater.

She survived reentry into the field of academic and in December of 2017 she graduated seizure-free at the top of her class once again.