Read about my HSCT Journey on my facebook page! Pictures, video, blogging, progress, etc!
October 15, 2018 - November 9, 2018
MY JOURNEY with Multiple Sclerosis
My journey with the MonSter:
First of all... I must say that MS has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life and furthermore, making my story so public in this way han been a difficult and even more humbling decision...thank you for taking the time to read this page. This page is NOT meant to make you feel sorry for me. Please don’t ... I just want to create awareness and request your help
I am not unhappy with life, because through all of this I have learned what the source of JOY is and where it comes from. I can honestly say I know what true JOY is despite MS.
I was diagnosed in 2001 with Multiple Sclerosis. Life seemed to be going perfectly according to plan... and then MS (Multiple Sclerosis) happened!
... in all actuality, MS had been happening for much longer before it was diagnosed, but it had not knocked me down until the winter of 2001, when it became evident that something was not right.
I remember having bouts of exhaustion since I was 15 years old, then when I was 19 I had my first episode of flare up, but my doctor tested me for everything possible... anemia, mononucleosis, and who knows what else. All I remember is that I had to drop out of my second semester of college, because I could not get up to go to school; I fell asleep while eating a meal, I felt miserable and just slept my life away for about 2 months, then suddenly one day I was fine... no diagnosis.. life seemed “back to normal” or so I thought. I continued to feel constantly tired but thought... maybe if I workout and take vitamins and eat healthy that would change.
In 1999, I got married. We went on our honeymoon and felt completely exhausted after laying out in the sun all day... again, I thought it must be from exposure to the sun too long... not knowing that indeed the sun and heat were my worst enemy.
In my first year of married life, I grew increasingly more tired. No amount of sleep was enough. Back spasms became unbearable. I began to lose friends because I would let the phone ring or tell my husband to tell them I was sleeping; which I was... I began to cancel plans... I was just too tired. I started going to the doctor looking for answers and again... no diagnosis. Same recommendations... workout, eat healthy, take vitamins, go to bed early... I was so frustrated, because I had been doing this things already and nothing worked.
I began to trip and fall in the middle of nowhere, the floors were even, it was not the shoes. Falls became frequent... dangerously frequent. I was walking out of the grocery store and fell in front of a car, who thankfully had good brakes and the driver had good enough reflexes to slam the brakes and stop before running me over. He got out of the car, helped me up and helped me pick up my groceries that went flying all over. Needless to say, I felt like the clumsiest person ever... I was so embarrassed but my defense mechanism kicked in... I learned how to laugh at myself to make my embarrassment seem less evident.
Then a few weeks before my second wedding anniversary, I got the flu... it became the never ending flu... i missed so much work due to that flu. My boss even started recommending remedies and giving me medicine at work.... about 4 weeks into the never ending flu, one day just like that... I could not get myself out of bed, I lost all feeling in my legs, lost urinary continence, had severe lower back pain...
I had been going to the doctor for over a year seeking answers... and finally my doctor thought of sending me in for an MRI... the MRI that changed my life forever....
Stay tuned for the next part of this story....