Michaela was born in Rome, New York. No one in her family had NF and it was only discovered during a routine wellness exam at the airforce base that her dad was stationed at in Texas. The doctor looked at her skin and asked her if she knew she had it. She did not.

Growing up, Michaela enjoyed learning German and enjoying those traditions as her father met her mother when he was stationed in Germany. She has two younger brothers. One is now a dentist and the other a real estate broker. She has lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico and has lived in South Carolina since 1995. She has one son who does not have NF and will be graduating soon from Winthrop University.

Michaela has had to have some of her NF tumors removed and more recently has battled both stage 4 breast cancer and brain cancer during her adult life all within the span of less than two years. While NF doesn't necessarily cause breast cancer, those with NF have a five times greater chance of having it compared to the unaffected population (per information from the National Institute of Health). Michaela just recently finished her last round of radiation for breast cancer which was #53. Earlier in the year she had to have gamma knife surgery for her brain cancer. She receives her care at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to battling cancer, Michaela worked as an elderly caretaker and loved it. The constant toll of being on chemo and radiation leaves her feeling fatigued quite often. Michaela loves kayaking, yoga, movies, music, travel including cruises, swimming, drawing, reading and going to the beach along with tai chi gi gong meditation.