I am joining Team MSAA for the Anniversary Challenge with the intention of raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.
Every day, people with MS live with the unpredictability of this disease. They may face unbearable fatigue, balance and mobility issues, numbness, difficulty walking, heat sensitivity, blurry vision, or any others in a long list of symptoms. No one knows what causes MS and there is no cure. But with your support, there is help – and hope – for anyone affected by MS.
I have a Relapsing Remitting MS, which means I have flare ups when symptoms get worse, then settles down. A lot of times, there's no rhyme or reason to MS. Nothing is normal. You can have a stable MRI but have worsening symptoms. Some people have 10 lesions and it doesn't impact day to day activities and some people have 3 and are wheelchair bound.
I currently have 7 lesions in my brain, located near the frontal lobe.
I was officially diagnosed 10/31/15, although I'd been having issues since 2009. Because I'm also a type 1 diabetic, it made things more complicated to diagnose. Currently, I'm unable to work, dealing with
**extreme fatigue
**poor balance and having to use a cane to walk
**cognitive changes (some days I can't put 2 words together)
**Muscle weakness and spasms
**Nerve pain in my right leg and arm
**Insomnia
**Bladder spasms
**Blurriness in my left eye
**I can no longer read articles or books because I have a difficult time retaining and understanding info. I usually send info to my husband to read and explain to me. I can no longer help with my son's homework because I don't remember how to do simple math or read his book to help him. If I try, it frustrates me to the point of tears.
**depression and anxiety. Anxiety from a disease that is so random and unpredictable. I could wake up tomorrow blind or unable to walk.
**Ear ringing
Just to mention what I'm currently experiencing. It can change tomorrow.
Heat, stress, sickness and lack of sleep make all the symptoms worse.
I have good days where I function at about 80% of the old me. (aka, my new normal) and days where I feel like I have sandbags on my ankles and shoulders and getting up to make lunch wears me out. Going out one day could mean being exhausted the next. Planning my days out to make sure I can recover from the prior days activities.
My neurologist told me earlier this year his job is to try and keep me out of a wheelchair.
MSAA improves the lives of tens of thousands of individuals with MS, their families and their care partners each year by providing free, vital programs and services such as: a toll-free Helpline; award-winning publications including a magazine, The Motivator; dynamic website featuring educational videos and research updates; S.E.A.R.C.H.™ program to assist the MS community with learning about different treatment choices; a mobile phone app, My MS Manager™; a resource database, My MS Resource Locator®; equipment distribution; educational programs and activities; MRI funding; and more.
Your support helps make the free programs and services MSAA offers possible. Please consider contributing to my fundraising goal and help improve lives today!