Penny and her MS (not the other way around)

Hello, my name is Penny. I'm a 46 year old mother of three, and I was diagnosed with MS in 2008. My medical Adventure started back in 2002. Over the course of a couple weeks I was having issues with my left eye. I was seeing double And couldn't figure out why. I never look at a mirror cuz I don't like the way I look. So one day at work I had one of my employees tell me that my eye was looking funny. So they told me run to the bathroom and look in the mirror and then You'll see. So I run to the bathroom And I looked at my eyes. And what I saw was unbelievable. My left eye Was into my nose Meaning it was cockeyed. I didn't know what to make of it so when I got home I made an appointment with my doctor. I went to the appointment. My doctor took one look at me and said I need you to go see and neuro ophthalmologist. And I asked what was that. He answered me and then I made the appointment with a neuro opthamologist.

The neuro opthamologist ordered me to have a MRI of my eye sockets Which I didn't even know you could possibly do. So I had the MRI done As well as a regular brain MRI. Then the doctor told me that Wait in The waiting room Before you go home, So I did. Apparently the neuro opthamologist saw something on the MRI And called my regular doctor Who then in turn called me and told me to get right back to his office. I didn't like the tone in his voice and I was scared but I went back to his office and waited to see him. When I walked into his office He asked me to sit down And explained to me That I had something called six nerve palsy. I didn't ask the doctor to sugar coat it and to please explain to me what that was In laymen's terms. He told me that due to a virus of some sort in my left eye it weaken the muscle To the point where it wasn't controlling my eye properly and my eye went lazy from it. I asked him okay then what's next what has to be done. He said to me You're going to need to wear a prism in your glasses and that should correct and strengthen your eye muscle. I wore the prism For almost a year-and-a-half before It corrected my eye. I had a couple years Where my health seem to improve Until one day in June 2006. (6/6/06 to be exact.)

I was having trouble with my left leg.It had gone numb I thought I had pinched a nerve. I made an appointment with my doctor. By the time I saw the doc I had been dragging my left leg around for weeks. He examined me, I needed to see a neurologist. I went to see him and he ordered an MRI with contrast her found nothing. He sent me home, but I was still having problems. I then started being numb in both legs. So I went back. He put me in the hospital because I was falling and by that time I really couldn't walk. My Neuro took all sorts of tests. They all came back normal. Then he said theres one more test I need to do. The dreaded spinal tap. OMG!!!!!! That scared me to death. I got through it. 3 days later my doc comes in with the results.

The spinal tap was abnormal. I was told I had something rare something called Transverse Myelitis (An inflammation of spinal cord on both sides) caused by a virus. I ended up paralyzed from the waist down was in a wheelchair for 2 years. I got better went back to see my Neuro he then told me it was all in my head my symptoms that I needed a psychiatrist. I got mad and sought out a 2nd opinion. I found a new Neurologist who told me what I had is a precursor to MS. He then told me I'm not saying that you will be getting MS anytime soon Or even at all but it is a possibility sometime in the future.

I was so stressed out.This all happened in the year of 2007. Little while after that I started having issues again. So I went back to my new neurologist. He then took another MRI with contrast of my brain, the spine was told I did truly had MS. I was put back in the hospital for IV steroids. I got better but I had gained alot of weight. I was a mess, and could do nothing about it. I thought this is it for me . That was in 2008.

Now the year is 2017 I don't feel that way anymore. Although I've had A lot Of Relapses And most recently had my second Plasma transfer, I have come to realize that I have MS, Ms does not have me. I am not a quitter I am a strong person. It's when I give up Is when I'll be in a wheelchair And I'm not going down like that. So please Be your own advocate. Fight for what you feel is right if you don't get the answers you want. Get a second third fourth fifth sixth opinion. Don't take things for granted anymore cuz your life can change in the blink of an eye. Don't ever ever give up.