CLEVELAND — Emma Operacz is the kind of person who brings light into every room . Close with her family and friends, she was living independently at Eastern Michigan University, enjoying campus life and her sorority house.

But what began as what Emma thought was a simple infection quickly became a fight for her life.

"I just wasn't feeling right," she recalled. "I thought I had a UTI and was just medicating through, like, over-the-counter stuff that usually does the trick."

A month of urgent care visits and antibiotics did nothing, and the pain worsened. It got so bad that Emma wasn't able to work.

In June 2024, a doctor finally sent her to the emergency room, where she received shocking news.

"'Your lymph nodes are swollen in your groin,'" Emma recalled being told. "So what my urin

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