Click HERE to be directed to Susie's Stars team page so that you can donate or join our team and walk with us on Sunday May 3rd, 2015!*Let me know if you would like to purchase a
"Susie's Stars MS Walk shirt.
If not just wear ORANGE!*
On Sunday, May 3rd, 2015, I will join thousands of others in a movement to end multiple sclerosis by participating in Walk MS 2015. When you walk with us or make a gift to the National MS Society, you support research and local services to those affected with this unpredictable disease.
Every hour someone is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Many have trouble imagining what their lives would be without the ability to move, but I know the effects of MS personally.
My symptoms began in December of 2008 with my face itching uncontrollably. I ruled out allergies to the products I was using on my face as well as food allergies and just began to live with this itching. In January 2009 I was driving home from work when suddenly I got an extreme headache. It felt like someone was stabbing me on my left temple with a hot pitch fork. I began to cry and had to pull over because I couldn’t stand the pain. I sat on the shoulder on highway 94 with cars speeding past me, rocking back and forth and rubbing the left side of my head to try and get it to go away. I called my husband who was leaving work at that time so he pulled up right behind me on the freeway. We sat there for a little while and the pain subsided enough that I was able to drive the rest of the way home with him behind me to make sure I was OK. The next day I awoke to the left side of my face being numb. I called my doctor and she suggested that I go directly to the emergency room. After several tests that evening the ER doctor’s were thinking I had Multiple Sclerosis, but he could not make an official diagnosis. He referred me to a neurologist at that point. Several doctor visits later along with lots of pokes, prods and tests finally confirmed that I have MS in February, 2009. I was told things would never be the same for me and I was going to have to find a way to live with this disease. What! Me? Why?
I was told that research has come a long way over the years and that people are able to live full lives as long as they take care of themselves. I made the decision right away to go on a preventative medication, Copaxone. I was very nervous to start this treatment because the only way you can take it is to inject it into your body every day. All I thought about was I have a husband and at the time we just had my son and I was going to do this to keep myself healthy. I did go off of the treatment for about one year so we were able to have our daughter, but I have since gone back on the treatment and had to endure these injections every single evening.
I visit with my neurologist at the end of every summer so he can order some blood work and see how I am doing with the disease. This last visit I entered just like I always do, “So, Doc. . . When can I get off these shots?” I usually get the same response every year, “They are working right. Let’s not fix what isn’t broken.” I was getting so tired of doing the shots everyday and feeling like a pin cousin so I pressed a little more this time. Then the best news ever came across his table, I could be switched to every other day shots and remain on Copaxone. They recently came out with a longer lasting medicine that only needs to be injected three times per week. Yes that is right!!! I only need to poke myself 3 times a week instead of every single day of my life! Reuben was a little hesitant about switching the medicine up in fear that I would have a flare up, but I was willing to take the risk. I got started on the new shots within a month of that visit and I still feel great!
Overall, MS had not had that big of an effect on my body. I forget, itch, go numb, drop things, stumble and get dizzy, but that is few and far between. I have triggers that bring these attacks on so I have learned to avoid those things.
Susie’s Stars was started in 2011 with a team of 18 walkers and we raised $1,296.50.
In 2012 we walked again with a team of 64 walkers and raised $4,439.00.
We gathered again in 2013 and had 55 walkers and together raised $6,851.00.
Last year, 2014, we had 50 walkers and contributed $2,718.58 all for the MS Society.
As you can see, I have a personal stake in this particular event. Not only do I want to help find a cure for myself, but also the other people diagnosed with MS who live in the Upper Midwest Chapter area. I know these walks make a difference because when I was first diagnosed treatment options were so few. Now I am able to do shots just three times a week instead of every day. This is what the money goes for so maybe, one day I won’t have to do another shot EVER!
MS is a disease that affects the central nervous system. Some symptoms of MS may include loss of balance, impaired vision and hearing, fatigue, muscle weakness and, in some, paralysis. Even simple everyday living skills become increasingly difficult. Everyone is affected differently by these symptoms.
Click HERE to be directed to Susie's Stars team page so that you can donate or join our team and walk with us on Sunday May 3rd, 2015!
Thank you in advance for your support. Please
call me if you have any questions or comments about Walk MS. I can be reached
at 763-464-3011.
