The Little Sister's Story

In June 1986, my big brother of 26 years was diagnosed with MS.

He had been working as a truck driver on a construction job. He did not see the vehicle in front of him and rear-ended it. Three days later, he turned in front of a motorcycle. No one was injured, but their was major concern. He had a large vision loss and could no longer see anything straight on. They treated him for neuritis for 2 weeks and it never got better. They went back for a MRI. They found 7 peas sized lesions on his occipital and frontal cortex.

Within weeks he could no longer control his balance or the muscle tremors in his legs, he could no longer stand let alone take care of his family. It seemed like every day a new symptom appeared. Within 6 months he was in a wheelchair. My folks could no longer care for him and his wife packed up and left him. The only medication offered was prednisone and it had little affect on his symptoms. Within two and a half years, he was gone, leaving a very large whole in a lot of lives.

Eight years later, my step-daughter started having difficulties with her balance, sever fatigue and optic neuritis. She was diagnosed within days with MS. Her story has been quite different from my brother. She has had many new treatment therapies and medications that were unheard of years earlier. She has been able to maintain a slower pace but continues to enjoy life.

Please let research and new treatments continue. There was nothing 25 years ago to help my brother, but maybe, just maybe, there will be a cure is my daughter's life time.