What wonderful, inspiring, and heartbreaking stories you all have shared. Thank you to all of you who have shared your stories.

Back in 2002/2003 I had the worst rib cage pain. I had no idea what it was. I went to my PCP and he ran some blood tests and X-rays. All tests were negative and the pain eventually subsided. The pain returned again and I saw him one day while working at the hospital. He could see that I was still hurting and actually asked me about it and how I was doing. I told him it was back but since we couldn't identify what was going on I was just working through it. He said I was too young to have that kind of pain without a reason and asked me to make an appointment to see him. I did and he ordered an EGD to see if the pain was from my stomach. The EGD was normal with the exception that the nerves in my stomach were extremely sensitive. He then felt it may be autonomic neuropathy or something with my CNS and ordered an MRI. The MRI showed some lesions and he referred me to a neurologist. I saw her and at the time I had no clinical symptoms that suggested anything neurological going on. She explained that the lesions could be from old injuries, migraines, and/or a virus of some sort. I went on my way and just dealt with things for the next few years.

In the fall of 2005, I lost the feeling in my leg and it went numb with tingling. I lost my sense of balance as well. I went back to the neurologist who did another MRI which only showed 1 more lesion. She determined I probably had CIS MS. New Year's Eve 2005, in addition to the rib cage, more balance issues (wall walking/drunk walking), and leg numbness, I lost control of my bladder as well as some vision problems. I went back to the neurologist who then diagnosed me with definite MS. She recommended Copaxone and I started on that a month or so later. She ordered another MRI which showed a couple more lesions and a thoracic lesion.

It was kind of a scary time as I was a single mom who now could not work. I could barely walk and didn't drive as my car had a manual transmission. It was scary to think of how I was going to support all three of us. I decided to apply for SSDI that May as it did not look like I was going to be going back to work again. It took me about a year to learn to walk again as I was constantly falling, especially when I made left hand turns. The neurolgist told me it would take about that long and she was right.

Being diagnosed was actually a blessing in disguise as DD's were both in high school (DD23 a freshman and DD24 a sophmore). I was able to stay home with them during that time and I think it benefitted all of us. I was granted SSDI and worked a little from home. Things were tight but we made it.

That's a brief version of my story.