At the welcoming party, another lady says "my aunt had multiple sclerosis..." and from Anya's reaction, it seemed to strike close to home. It's supposed to be a degenerative condition, according to a blurb on http://www.answers.com/topic/the-outer-limits-worlds-within-tv-episode . Degenerative would seem to point to it being autoimmune at least, but perhaps it's ALS (the condition Stephen Hawking has, often called "Lou Gehrig's Disease in the US). ALS is considered terminal, though if she's only a year away from her projected demise, she seems to be in pretty good condition, only needing a cane. Maybr it's Lupus, who knows... I just identified with her at the mention of MS and other clues, but then they said she was terminal... it is possible with MS, or at least with certain progression patterns that are currently classed as MS but may be redefined as a seperate condition later.   See 2 other replies