Life since my MS diagnosis aged 16
Emily was diagnosed with MS at the age of 16. She tells us how she has adjusted since her MS diagnosis and why the letters ‘MS’ don’t define her.
My story starts in April 2014. I was a healthy, but very stressed, 16-year-old revising for my GCSE exams. I woke up one day with blurred vision in my left eye, which quickly turned to double vision.
After a trip to Accident and Emergency at the hospital and an urgent MRI scan, I was told there were lesions on my brain. I was referred to my local neurology hospital.
I completed my GCSE exams that summer with the ongoing double vision in one eye and I had a lumbar puncture the day after my exams finished.
From lumbar puncture to diagnosis
The lumbar puncture indicated a possible MS diagnosis may be made in the future, if I had another episode. Everyone was hopeful this wouldn’t happen and I would live my life MS free.
I passed all my GCSE exams and began studying for my A-Level exams. However, in November that year, I suffered from electric shock type pains up my legs and back. I had to go back to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with MS. Aged 16, I thought this diagnosis would ruin everything. How wrong I was...
Life since my MS diagnosis
I adopted the mindset that I needed to take control and not let MS control me. So I looked at how I could make my lifestyle healthier, which I find helps me recover from treatment and when my symptoms flare up.
I’ve also become a lot more appreciative of the smaller things in life, and believe this helped me excel in my job.
I completed my A-levels in 2016 and went onto university to study nursing. I’ve since qualified as a nurse, learnt to drive, bought a house and done lots of travelling with the most supportive boyfriend ever. It's safe to say that MS hasn’t held me back. I just know I have to slow down and rest when fatigue and leg pain flare up (usually just before my treatment is due).
I have trialled numerous disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and I’m now having ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) once every six months. Touch wood, it's working well! I wanted to share my story because the two letters ‘MS’ don’t define me.
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