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Don't Let MS Define or Control Your Life

Praise the Lord! I am still here! Heading into my 32nd year after diagnosis of RRMS I realize how blessed I am. In 1987 MRIs were brand new, my brain and thoracic scans were done in a triple-wide trailer because construction of the building that would house the MRI wasn't finished. They put me in this huge concrete cylinder (ha-ha who knew I was claustrophobic until that moment) which clanged very loudly and told me when not to breathe or move.

Bladder, bowel, and speech dysfunction

My brain scan took 3.5 hours and the next day the cervical, thoracic spine scan lasted 2.5 hours. During this time I could not feel my legs from the knees down (still), my bladder was frozen, my bowels don't work on their own (still), and the fun speech patterns I was emitting were, to say the least... interesting.

Two lesions were found on my brain

Now the idiot neuro. I was being treated and told by my family and me that I was "a 33-yr old hysterical recently divorced young woman who was imagining these issues." So after 5 days of spinal taps, cat scans, and MRIs he goes on VACATION and doesn't get the results until 3 weeks later. The man was so mortified he doesn't tell me, but calls my dad (an MD and formal surgical patient for said idiot) and gives him my diagnosis. So I find out I have 2 lesions in each hemisphere of my brain and a couple of suspect spots on my thoracic spine.

Don't let MS define or control you

In 1987 the only medicines they used were steroids for an episode. All of the wonder medicines we have now were still in clinical trials. So I continued to work and learn to live with my "issues." I disclosed to my employer, and my boss immediately began trying to sabotage my career because she had not the slightest idea what MS was, she just thought she would be saving the bank insurance costs in the long run. I eventually got a wonderful neurologist who finally talked me into Copaxone, Baclofen, Neurontin, PROVIGIL, etc. Of course, to afford all these meds I gave up work and eventually received my SSD (2 tries and 19 months later) and 2 years later Medicare. I lost my husband of 30 years in May of 2015 and I will be 65 this month, and my last MRI shows 30 lesions in my brain... but the good news is the Lord wakes me up every day and I can still walk and talk and serve Him!!

My whole rambling point here is we all have our stories of this relentless condition but after sharing my life with MS for 32 years I can tell you DON'T let it define or control you, find your faith and keep hope alive in your life!

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