Call me Number Five

......as in I am the FIFTH member of my family to be diagnosed with MS. My dad, and three of his sisters, all had MS. One had Primary Progressive, and died in her late thirties. The rest of us have/had RRMS, although my dad and one sister progressed to secondary. Dad and his sisters were all born in the prairie provinces in Canada, but I was born in Ontario.

Such a distinguished lineage to have! Sadly, MS isn't the only autoimmune disorder in my family. Two of dad's other sisters have/had Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia, which is also autoimmune. Plus, a niece has Wegener's Granulomatosis. Before I was conclusively diagnosed with MS, a doctor felt I had Myasthenia Gravis, something for which I was tested after MS became my more popular handle. At that point, the docs said that they couldn't rule out the Myasthenia, so I might have both!

Talk about winning the lottery! I'm sure that a little more digging in the family closet would reveal even more hi jinx of the autoimmune nature.