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My MS Journey

2011 was a year of a new me. Not only did I become a Registered Nurse, but I also got diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. My success and heartache summed up in one year.

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What year did you get diagnosed with MS?

2011.

How supportive is your family?

My family has been supportive and helpful from day one, and continue to be. I would not be where I am today without them.

How do manage flare-ups?

It depends. On semi-bad days, I choose to stay in bed and rest. If I get a bad flare, I usually get steroid infusions.

What do you do to stay on top of your health?

I try to eat healthy, get regular exercise, stretch daily, and listen to my body.

  • Intermittently Interrupted 

    My life was interrupted the day I got diagnosed with MS.  I had plans… big plans… and they didn’t include a debilitating disease! 

    I was in my last semester of nursing school.  At age 38, that was a huge accomplishment. I worked full-time, overnights in a busy emergency department.  My kids were still young, and though my husband was amazing, they still needed mommy. 

    The symptoms were intermittent…. A few drops of some glasses, some numbness, tingling here and there.  My balance was off now and then.  I chucked most of it up to stress.  I mean… how many middle-aged women with two children, a husband, a full-time job, and a full-time student would not have stress? I had MRI’s, as I have suffered most of my life since my teen years with migraines.  But after a few times of odd things, my neurologist sent me for another one. 

    The one that came back abnormal…….lesions? What are they?

    When I followed up with him, he stated that it looked like MS, but that he was not a specialist for that, so he suggested I see someone who was.  Of course, I was in denial. I thought he didn’t know what he was talking about.  But after a few more symptoms, I did go to a “specialist”.  She came highly recommended and did not have the best bedside manner. But she did say the same…. Looked like MS.  Needed more tests to confirm.  I was not ready for that answer, so I chose to go on with my daily living and pretend that MRI never took place. 

    Then one night, it happened…. My left leg was numb.  I couldn’t walk. I had no feeling, not just the usual tingling, falling asleep feeling. To the ER I went… with hopes it was just a pinched nerve, or something that could be fixed with a shot.  Well…. Another MRI and more lesions…and another doctor saying the thing I did not want to hear.  

    I found, yet another doctor who specializes in this new thing they are saying I have.  He was kind, explained everything, and told me this was not the end of my plans….just an intermittent interruption. Denial was hard after all this, so I came to terms with my new way of life. New plans, new things ahead.  And the story continues……