Hello! Welcome to our blog. Whatever the reason that brought you here, we’re glad you came. We anticipate using this blog to help bring awareness and understanding of MS to many people, while also keeping our friends and family updated on how we’re dealing with it. Like anyone living with MS, they’ll be good days and bad days and we can only provide a small glimpse of what it’s like living with such a disease. We are in no way representative of any other MS patient or spouse, we’re just here to tell you how it is for us, answer questions, and keep you updated on the world of MS.
What better place to start than in the Fall of 2007, when Gary went to the doctor with complaints of discomfort and fatigue. Doctor #1 told him that he needed to drink less alcohol and exercise more, but that she also wanted to run some tests. Some lifestyle changes and several tests later, Gary’s symptoms subsided so while there was no diagnosis to attribute the symptoms to, we figured she had been right. Life went on. Two years later, the symptoms came back and were a little more severe this time. Gary also began having difficulty walking during this time. Doctor #2 (we had moved about an hour away from the last doctor) said it was his heart and level of stress he was experiencing. This doctor put him through even more tests, and then more – on his heart, his blood pressure, his leg, etc. We joked that our insurance was so great and that we thought this doctor was committing fraud. He must have ran over 10 tests and never provided any diagnosis. Before long, though, Gary’s symptoms subsided once again, and while they didn’t go away completely this time, they weren’t interfering with his life anymore. Gary discontinued seeing the doctor since he was feeling better and wasn’t really a fan of doctor #2 anyway. Life went on. That is, until March 2010 when we began researching Multiple Sclerosis. His symptoms still hadn’t gone away and there were days he felt great and days he felt terrible. We decided to go back to the doctor (this is Dr. #3) and after several more tests, Dr. #3 agreed with us, and sent Gary to a neurologist. After two MRI’s and a visit with the neurologist, it was determined that Gary had lesions on his spine and brain.
On June 7th 2010, Gary’s 27th birthday, he called the neurologist for his results and it was confirmed that he had MS; however, he wanted Gary to get a second opinion from the Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis (MCMS). The appointment wasn’t until August 3rd, so it was a harrowing two months of knowing the diagnosis but not being able to start treatment.
In sum, three years after his first symptoms, Gary was diagnosed and began seeing the doctor (technically, Dr. #5) at the MCMS and began treatment with Copaxone. MS usually appears in “attacks/incidences” and those periods of increased fatigue and discomfort over the past three years were actually relapses that Gary experienced – which then subsided and so did the symptoms. Tricky disease we got here. We’ll go back to the doctor in the spring of 2011 for another MRI of his back and brain to determine if there are new lesions, if they are active, or if some have died out. Moving forward, we will visit the doctor annually to check on the lesions. While the medication can help slow down the progression of the disease, it cannot stop it, so there will inevitably be more episodes, more lesions, etc. but we CAN hope that the medication is working it’s butt off and the MS makes minimal progress each year.
However, life is different these days. Humidity and heat really affect Gary, making him dizzy, nauseous, and sometimes exaggerating the difficulty he has with his leg. Gary’s nerves which transmit messages from his brain to his left leg, telling it what to do, have been attacked by his immune system, and since we didn’t start treatment earlier, the myelin around these nerves cannot be repaired – at least for many, many years. He will likely never regain the full function of his left leg – we can only hope that through treatment, exercise and diet, that it won’t get any worse. MS is a part of our life everyday – part of the plans we make, the places we go, how we get there, what time of day we go, and if we even go at all. We lead a spontaneous life, one that isn’t dictated by MS, but one that has a little MS in each decision. That’s ok with us.
As you can imagine, Gary and I have had a huge learning curve these past several months since his diagnosis. For Christmas, I pledged to raise 5k for MS before the MS Challenge Walk in September 2011. I hope that through your participation in this walk, either as a walker or a volunteer, or someone who supports our cause, you will be able to learn more about MS, how it affects people, and what can be done to help those living with MS. Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” Here is our chance to make a positive impact on an unfortunate situation. If you’re interested in donating or participating in the walk, please visit our team page at Gary’s Gang
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Many thanks for visiting
Sadie and Gary
Gary's Gang 