People suffering from undiagnosed NTM lung disease aren’t being heard by their doctors. Their complaints about painful and disruptive symptoms are getting misinterpreted, leaving them misdiagnosed for years. To finally get doctors’ attention, we paired real NTM patients with animators from around the world to create original films that communicate how hard it is for NTM patients to live without a diagnosis.

“Trapped” is the reimagining of Beth’s story using stop motion animation. Prior to being diagnosed, Beth’s NTM trapped her in an endless cycle that took a toll on her personal and professional life. She felt like she couldn’t break free from the disease’s devastating symptoms.

“Unbreakable” tells the story of Barbara, characterized as a bunny in a CGI world. Barbara’s tale illustrates how she went from doctor to doctor, with no one having the right expertise to help. The film chronicles Barbara’s worsening condition and loss of hope, until she finally finds the answer she needs.

“Contagious” was inspired by Debbie’s misdiagnosis journey, brought to life through traditional cel animation and an original song. Unbeknownst to her, NTM was causing Debbie’s repetitive symptoms, which drove away her family and friends because they thought she was contagious.

With physicians ignoring their patients’ complaints for years, we knew that using a patient simply telling her story wasn’t going to make an impact. Instead, we employed the art of storytelling to deliver a breakthrough campaign that got doctors’ attention. The animations demand that doctors identify, diagnose, and treat NTM before their patients pay the price.

We were able to deliver our message to our key physician segments—pulmonologists and infectious disease specialists—and urge them to recognize the symptoms of undiagnosed NTM so they could start testing and treating their at-risk patients for this odious disease.