I am Destiny,

A 24-year-old African American woman living with multiple sclerosis. I was diagnosed on October 10th, 2018. How it began? I went out on a random night in May 2018, I came home from a girl’s night out, and after that everything went left. My stomach started to hurt, but it was a feeling that I have never felt before. I was thinking do I have food poisoning? I went to the hospital three nights in a row, the pain was unbearable. I didn’t understand what was going on, and every time I went to the hospital, they thought I was crazy because I kept telling them that I was in pain, but they didn’t understand why. They sent me home every night and all I did was cry because no one knew how I felt. I knew something wasn’t right. I finally did my research and found a gastroenterologist. He helped me in the best way that he could, he also recommended me to take probiotics, and I did just that.  A few days later I had to call my gastroenterologist because this pain was unbearable, I could not sleep, and I could not walk due to the pain. I went  back to the hospital , and  the gastroenterologist came in and I was able to have an  endoscopy that day. They found a small amount of bacteria but I was reassured that it was nothing to be alarmed  about, I was  advised  to continue taking probiotics. After that I was referred to see a Neurologist, he ordered steroids for me because I was also now having problems with numbness and tingling in my hands and feet . We all just thought maybe this could be food poisoning, but we really weren’t sure. Fast forward to a few months later, it was a normal day at work, and out of nowhere my right eye felt weird and a little blurry but I thought to myself maybe I’m just tired.  The next day my vision was very blurry, and I knew that I needed to make an appointment. I was able to get an appointment with the eye doctor the same day that I called. The eye test stated that the vision in my right eye was completely gone. He told me that this could possibly be Multiple sclerosis and I should make an appointment with a neurologist as soon as possible.

I went to the neurologist the next day and he ordered more steroids which ended up bringing my vision back, and he ordered an MRI for me. A few days later the nurse called me while I was at work and stated that I needed to come to the office the next day. I begged her to tell me why, but she couldn’t.  As soon as I hung up the phone with the nurse, I called my mother and we talked on the phone and prayed the whole night. The next morning, we went to the office together and sat there holding hands and clinched together, waiting for an answer. My neurologist walked in and broke the news to us stating that I had Multiple sclerosis. My mother and I were in the state of shock and cried. My first thought was that I would never be able to walk again.

That was the beginning of my new life. I stayed with my neurologist for about a year , he had a lot of patience with us, but he was not a multiple sclerosis specialist and I was referred to see a specialist to take me further .I was able to find a Multiple  sclerosis specialist shortly after but I learned that not everyone will be the best fit for you ,and you have to continue looking until you find the right neurologist for you ,and I believe I found one.  I am currently taking the medication Ocrevus through iv every six months. This journey has been scary, but also made me a stronger woman. I was given this battle and I will share my story so that I can help anyone who may feel alone, discouraged, hopeless, and also to encourage anyone.  I have MS, MS doesn’t have me. I am very grateful to have a group of supportive people around me, and blessed to have my mother who has been at every doctor’s appointment, joined a support group, and does research every single day.