I’m attending my first Walk MS event this May! My team F*MS has a fundraising goal of $2,000. Walk MS helps fuel the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s mission to cure MS while empowering people affected by MS to live their best lives. Donation Link In Bio. 🩵 My MS Story. At the end of 2018, I was hospitalized for optic neuritis—three days of MRIs, a spinal tap, and enough steroids to put me into steroid psychosis. They said I may have MS, but the tests were inconclusive. For two years, I had the looming potential of a chronic illness that was always present in the back of my mind. At 26, I had been fortunate enough to never truly worry about my health. But now everything I did, from how much I slept to what I ate and the late nights I loved spending with my friends dancing to music, all came into question. Over time, the idea of having MS started to fade with every MRI scan coming back positive. No lesions, no problem. At the beginning of 2020, I got my annual MRI scan back and had three new brain lesions. I officially got my diagnosis over the phone with my neurologist. Just like that, my life changed. I was fortunate to be asymptomatic until last year. My first MS relapse happened at the end of a yoga class. I tried to roll up my yoga mat, and my right arm curled inward and started to spasm. I couldn’t move my right arm or leg for a minute. Spasms would happen over the next few months anytime I stood up too fast or sat too long. Muscle spasticity. Another new term and a sobering experience that this was real. I am grateful for my support system. My partner, friends, and family have helped me through my darkest moments while I learned to cope with this. I have health insurance that affords me the medication I need to keep this at bay and the financial means to take care of my body—all the reasons to stay hopeful for the future. So many people with MS lead beautiful and fulfilling lives, and so can I. Thank you, Johnnie, for organizing our team and making this happen. Thank you to everyone who joined the team immediately without question. Made me cry. Made me feel seen.