About

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of twenty.

Rather quickly, I noticed that I was starting to sleep more and more each day. It suddenly became hard for me to make it to even afternoon classes, and even when I did, it was so hard for me to pay attention I might as well have not attended any ways. I noticed that as I was sitting in class, I was having a harder and harder time reading slides, or seeing what the professor was writing on the board. The problems with my vision continued to get worse and worse.  I was rapidly losing my vision and sleeping between 18-20 hours a day. I couldn’t explain why I was so tired all the time,  As a new adult. Not even old enough to legally drink, I could feel myself starting to isolate myself from friends, and from those around me. Unfortunately my vision would deteriorate to the point I was declared legally blind in 2018. 

It was a struggle to figure out what exactly was going on in my body. I went through multiple doctors but no one could seem to figure out exactly what was going wrong. In frustration, I changed doctors.I knew something was seriously wrong, so I continued to fight for myself when doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I knew my vision was starting to fade, and there were areas I should have been able to see, but I couldn’t.  I found myself a General Practitioner who recognized my health issues might require seeing a specialist. He set me up with an appointment to see an ophthalmologist, after I told him that I didn’t feel safe driving (stopping driving when I did was probably one of the best decisions I could have ever made).After much testing and an examination of my field of vision (a test I would become very familiar with. They cover one eye and lights flash in a large machine that maps what parts of your vision your brain can see) the doctor confirmed that my issue wasn’t with my eyeball directly, but was caused by a neurological issue. He then sent me to see a doctor who would later become one of my biggest advocates ( alongside both of my parents, thanks Mom and Dad), and actually a good friend.  He was a Neuro-ophthalmologist. After only one visit he had me admitted into the hospital in December of 2015

The hospital is where my life changed dramatically. I considered myself to be a fairly normal college age kid. I was still incredibly stressed about the next test, the next paper due, the next person I would date; but this was really where I realized how sick I actually was. I had known I was sick for a while, but this was the moment where It really sunk in. I was surrounded by doctors and nurses fairly constantly as I was in the neurological unit of the hospital. They had narrowed down my Diagnoses to two possible options, a condition called Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) ,or Multiple Sclerosis (MS). They were trying their best to keep me comfortable in the hospital, but the treatment course was rather intense. 

I spent my time in the hospital trying to keep a brave face, despite how terrified I really was. My parents were of course nervous. Their only child was in the hospital and the doctors didn’t quite know what was happening.  The only thing they knew was that my immune system was attacking the nerves in my body. 

I was eventually diagnosed with Pediatric onset Multiple Sclerosis. This made sense to me looking back at memories from my childhood. I didn’t have issues with fatigue, or severe vision issues, but I remember when I would be up at bat, in little league. I would always have such a difficult time hitting the ball, because I would see two. They were not vastly different, maybe only separated by less than a foot, but more than enough to make hitting a near impossibility. Now being a kid, no more than 10, I didn’t realize that something was wrong. I just thought everybody saw things the way I did, I was too young to realize that something was wrong. This continued into high school. I didn’t realize it, but I slept a lot more than most High School aged kids, I would be in bed by 9 pm pretty much every night, and it was a struggle for me to get up some days. I remember one da, I woke up, got in the shower, and then fell back asleep in the shower. I attributed these sleep issues as being a teenager. 

This is the story of what led up to my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis. The story since then has been a story of ups and downs. I have received so much love and support from so many people, I wish I could thank them all by name, but I was to particularly mention my parents. I don;t know where I would be without them, but the love and support they both provided helped save me more than once. The next people I want to give a shout out to are the people at the charity Can Do MS, they helped show me that despite my limitations I can do it. Even though I have strayed from the path they Showed me, more than once, I’ve found my way back to it. 

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog, and if any of this resonates with you then please continue to fight for yourself. You can do it, and remember no matter how dark your situation may seem, it’s always worth fighting for what you truly want. Stay strong, and know that tomorrow can always be a better day.