You're going where? For what? No way!

I can say with great conviction that getting a stem cell transplant was not on my bucket list of things to do after I turned 40!  Neither was getting a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, but I was able to tick that box as well!  I'm really a poster child for MS...female, fair skinned,  usually diagnosed around 37, often presenting with visual disturbances (optic neuritis) or numbness/tingling to extremities (transverse myelitis).  I've had the pleasure of experiencing both of these, and more.  Yay for me.

On one of my first visits to my neurologist, he told me that in 10 years I would be more disabled than I am now, and one of the first articles I read stated that MS was the leading cause of disability in young adults.  I was devastated.  Now, I know God would give me the grace and courage to handle anything, but this was not how I envisioned growing old. MS was not on the power point presentation of my life!!!

 I know not all of you see me on a daily basis, but my standard "school drop off attire" is yoga pants, shirt, running shoes and a ball hat.  Craig and I love to be active and exercise together.  For our one year wedding anniversary we ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., romantic...right?  After Emma was born, in January of '03, I vowed to run another marathon before the year was done.  I ran the Portland marathon that October, carrying a bald baby girl across the finish line.  I've been a part of some great Providence-Hood-to-Coast teams, and I've had the privilege to hike many of our beautiful, national parks with friends and family.  I mention this because in an instant MS was threatening to take away something I loved most...being active.  That might sound selfish.  The thing is, I have two young kids.  This is about them.  They are young kids that want to jump on the trampoline, swim, ride bikes, go to the park, roller-blade, and play at the beach.  Craig and I love to do these type of activities with them.  MS has already affected my ability to participate, and it is by definition a progressive disease.  It's not getting better, and it won't. I know many people suffer through worse, every day, but what if they had the option to do something about it?

Marine Corps marathon '01

Fall near the "ranch" '13

Fortunately for me, my internal medicine doctor, Chad Pfefer, had MS before me.  That seems to go above and beyond the normal empathy you would expect from your doctor!   He had an extremely aggressive form of MS, as many young men do.   Determined to fight his MS, he researched and came across Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.  Dr. Burt was/is treating MS, and other autoimmune diseases with an autologous non-myeloblative stem cell transplant.  Since MS is an autoimmune disease, the stem cell transplant essentially reboots your immune system.  In very basic terms, an MS patient is given chemo to kill the bad T and B cells that are attacking the myelin sheath of the central nervous system, then your body starts producing new immature cells. These immature cells are harvested, cleaned and frozen.  After the harvesting, more chemo is given to kill off any rogue mature cells.  They then reinfuse my harvested stem cells and a new immune system is born that will recognize self as self.  The MS is turned off...no more lesions, no more declining disability, no more painful injections and in many cases some/much ability is regained.  By the way, my doctor has his life back.  No meds, no disease progression, no new lesions and has had a decrease in his disability score (EDDS).

It is essential to turn MS off early.  Again, research shows that the stem cell transplant is more beneficial when it is performed early in the disease process, when MS is still in its inflammatory stage, as opposed to later when the disease is more debilitating with a greater degree of irreversible disability. 

So that is why I'm going to Chicago in a little less than a week.  My MS has been somewhat aggressive (but I use that term lightly, as so many have suffered far worse). I'm young with young kids and I choose to fight my MS aggressively. Some might say, "she doesn't seem that bad".  To these people I resist the urge to poke their eyeballs out. (Of course, with my vision, I'd probably miss!) As discussed above, this is the key window of  opportunity.   I feel like God has opened doors and placed people in my life that give me the peace and assurance that this is the best decision for me.  I choose to be thankful in every circumstance...don't get me wrong, some days are a little more sour and harder to swallow, but I WILL CHOOSE LEMONADE! 

~ Veronica