← Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis
Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis
Running Across America with MS, Betsy Mueller’s story | S8E16
00:36:15
Loading summary
Transcript75 lines
- [00:00]
A
My body gets overheated and I'm sweating, and I'm like, okay, how can I. How can I work with this? Cause it just. I'm like, is this gonna get worse? Or. Anytime that fear would come in, I'm like, it. I'm. I would always tell myself, it's a symptom you had before. It's not getting worse. It's just appearing and can I do with that? And then I would run with, like, cold water towels on my back. And then when I would get to that support vehicle, there'd be another cold one, and I'd swap it out and everything.
- [00:30]
B
Welcome to Living well with Ms. This show comes to you from Overcoming ms, the world's leading multiple sclerosis healthy lifestyle charity, which helps people live a full and healthy life. Through the Overcoming Ms. Program, we interview a range of experts and people with multiple sclerosis. Please remember, all opinions expressed are their own. Receive monthly tips and ideas about Living well with Ms. By signing up for our newsletter@overcomingms.org newsletter and now let's meet our guest.
- [01:08]
C
Welcome to the latest edition of the Living World with Ms. Podcast. Joining me on this edition is Betsy Miller. Betsy grew up in Wisconsin with her parents and five siblings, surrounded by a big, lively family. Running has always been a part of her. As a kid, running was freedom, and it brought her happiness. In 2021, everything changed when Betsy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. That year, she became cautious and fearful, isolating herself and worrying about what lay ahead. Her joy of running began to fade, but she fought to hold on. So welcome, Betsy.
- [01:41]
A
Thank you.
- [01:42]
C
And to start off, could you introduce yourself and talk us through your Ms. Diagnosis?
- [01:47]
A
Sure. So I am Betsy Miller, and I'm a mom, a wife, I have three daughters, and I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August of 2021. That summer, I was having these odd symptoms, and by the time August came, that's when we were going. We were planning this family vacation. So I thought, you know, I have this really weird symptom. It was the time of COVID I'm like, I better just go to the er and.
- [02:16]
C
Yeah, I was gonna say, because that's a strange time for everyone.
- [02:19]
A
Yeah.
- [02:20]
C
Because you must have thought Covid.
- [02:23]
A
Yes.
- [02:24]
C
Yeah. And it'd be a very difficult time to go through a diagnosis, I imagine.
- [02:28]
A
Yes, it was. It was because I thought it was Covid. I figured, oh, God, it. Cause it came on, and it just slowly, every day would get a little worse. And I'm like, oh, this is so weird. So I went to the ER and they, you know, did some tests, but nothing came back. Like, just tests, like, you know, feeling, because it was like numbness, a little numbness here. And I think they were nervous, it was something else, but it ended up not being that. And so then I had an mri. And then after the mri, they asked me if there's somebody I could call. And so I called my husband, he was at work. And you know, I had no idea. And then the woman came in and she told me, well, you know, there's, there's lesion, we found some lesions on your brain. And you know, the radiologist reached out to a neurologist and he confirmed it's Ms. And in my mind I was like, what's ms? You know, I only, I didn't know much about it. The good thing was that the neurologists had an opening the next day. So I was able to get in at like 9 o' clock in the morning, which I found out that like that's diagnosis for Ms. Is it seems like it takes a while to get diagnosed. So I'm, I'm pretty lucky that I was able to get diagnosed right away.
- [03:53]
C
Yeah, that's very good. So, so you follow a plant based diet, which the Overcoming Ms. Program recommends. They do say you can, can add fish to that, but generally a whole food plant based diet. So what led you to change your eating habits? Habits and did you notice any changes adopting those habits?
- [04:14]
A
I, we, we actually started going plant based in 2018 and I must have felt something. Looking back, I'm like, oh, I did have some odd symptoms, but I, you know, I always brought it up. I thought I'm getting older, I, oh, I'm tired. And so when we started plant based, I, I was feeling good. I, you know, I woke up feeling well, we exercised, we, I felt great. My husband and I, and you know, we cut out dairy then, and then eventually we cut out alcohol and I was like, oh, I'm feeling great. So then when the diagnosis came, I was like, no, I, I don't know if I believe the doctors. I do, but I don't. But then I realized, you know, I kept eating plant based. Cause at first I'm like, oh, was it because I was taking things away? But you know, plant's medicine. So I, I still follow the plant based diet. I took out dairy because I hear it causes inflammation. And I think that I was lucky that I started that early because it was a, I didn't have to transition it. I feel like I had to have the things I had to stop my flares, I wouldn't have been able to do that just with eating plant based diet. I needed, you know, a plasma exchange. Well, I tried the steroids, so it didn't work. Then I had the plasma exchange and that eventually worked. And so I think it was great for me to have that plant based diet already in action to continue to
- [05:50]
C
stay healthy and, and also you didn't have a time of stress and change. You didn't add in another stress and change, but.
- [05:59]
A
Exactly.
- [06:00]
C
Clearing out your cupboards and.
- [06:02]
A
Right, exactly, exactly.
- [06:05]
C
So when people with Ms. Have invisible symptoms, and I think most of us do have some invisible, some visible symptoms, there can be a lot of challenges to that. It can be a sort of lonely experience, as other people don't realize, and there can be mental health challenges. So could you tell us a bit about the weight of an Ms. Diagnosis and how it can be that people don't always realize you've got it and how people don't want to talk about it or don't necessarily know about that?
- [06:34]
A
Sure, absolutely. For me it was invisible symptoms, but it was also that, the fatigue and then it was the numbness on the left side of my face in my head, and then eventually it was inside of my mouth and so it felt like my head was like swollen or something. Even though it wasn't, it's just, it's like hard to concentrate. I felt very like. It's almost like if I would tell people, it sounds like, almost like I'm making these symptoms up because they're not the common thing and they can't see it. So I, I only shared my diagnosis with a handful of people, our older daughters, my husband, some family. I also didn't want people telling me it's just in my head because I had felt this way because like a few months before, like something was off and I, I kept it to myself because I'm like, this just sounds weird, this feeling's weird, but it would go away. So I, it might have just been a flare that was, you know, fully activated maybe. And then pow. August came and was like, hey, I'm here, I'm messing with you. And so I kept that a lot to myself. And it's such a heavy diagnosis. And I felt like I failed at something. And because I was trying to be proactive and trying to not have to take medication later in life, in my 60s, 70s and so on, that I felt like I failed at something. And I, you know, I didn't want pity from people. I Just felt like they wouldn't understand. And so I kept a lot to myself. I cried a lot to myself. When we go to work, my daughter would go to school, you know. And I think the thing that kept me going was I kept the life I had. I mean, I kind of took out running. I wouldn't run as long. Cause I would start, like, overheating. And then I'm like, okay, I have to back up. I'm not gonna run. But I, I. I felt so low that it just felt like, this is how it's gonna be for now on. And I felt I can't let people know. This is how I feel, though. Like, I felt sad. And I didn't know, like, a depression until, like, my husband would kind of say things like, well, maybe you should, you know, talk to, you know, my doctor. And eventually I did, and he gave me some medication. But then I felt absolutely nothing. And I felt, if I don't feel anything, then how do I get through this? If I'm not feeling anything, how do I get stronger from this? Because I was. I was in this mindset of I would wake up and do, like, okay, I can see, you know, and like, okay, I can move my hands. Okay, can I get up and walk, like, every morning? So if I'm stuck in that mindset and the mind and body I feel works together, so then that's what's going on every day. I'm. Then I'm just staying in that mindset. And then eventually, when things turned, I'm like, I'm not. I don't think that's good for me. Like, eventually, like, I don't need to do that anymore. That's not helpful. And so it's my mindset change more as, like, the ms, as I got out of the depression, as I realized that I don't. As I realized that I didn't want to live. And if this disease got worse, because that's what I was like, well, it's gonna get worse. That's how my mind was. And I think that was feeding to it. Checking myself in the morning. And so when I realized, you know, what if it gets worse? And if you don't go out and do these things, if you don't go running, if you don't join a gym and you. It gets worse, then it's. My mental state's gonna be worse because I'm gonna be mad at myself for not trying new things and not going out there. So that's what I did. I joined, like, a CrossFit which I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. It's like I'm going out to humiliate myself, basically, because it's like, oh. But I felt like I had to do it. And I think those little stepping stones then made me look at the disease differently and gave me the strength that I needed.
- [10:44]
C
Yeah. And so have you got many physical symptoms? Like, sort of obvious physical symptoms as well?
- [10:50]
A
No, I mean, to me, like, sometimes I can. They're cognitive. And this is when I don't get good sleep. I know I put those two together, like. But it's more like, oh, I'll see that word. And I can. But I just can't throw it out there. I'm like, I. It's. I guess it's not a physical symptom, but to me, it feels like a physical symptom because it's like, come on, brain, just.
- [11:12]
C
You get stuck on a. Or someone's name or something like that.
- [11:15]
A
Yeah, the name. Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah.
- [11:20]
C
No. You know, but it's weird. It just comes and goes up. My wife knows that I will not remember people's names.
- [11:25]
A
Yeah. Cause you just feel bad then about, like, why can't I remember the name? Everybody can remember, you know, and you start judging it and it's.
- [11:34]
C
Yeah. So. So you mentioned that steroids didn't work, which is so. So this is a. We have like a global audience. I'm in the uk. For us, we would be given steroids as the standard to deal with an Ms. Relapse. But plasma exchange did work, so hat work. And how did it help?
- [11:56]
A
So like I said, the steroids didn't work, and so. Which was part of that depression. Right. Because I was like, I'm on day five. When's it going to kick in? And it didn't work. I think it was like a few weeks after I went back to my neurologist, or maybe I had an mri, then went back to my neurologist. I told him, you know, the symptoms are there. And he had said, you know, sometimes it's takes weeks, months. And they say it can take up to a year till you get that feeling back. If it's up to a year, then if the feeling's not back, then it's damaged. And I remember feeling like, okay, that's gonna suck. But then he said, by my mri, there was a lesion that I don't. I always hope I'm saying this stuff correctly, but there was a lesion by my brainstem. I remember it was by My brain, he said it looked like it got bigger, so it was still active. And so he was nervous about it. And so then he suggested the plasma exchange. And again, I didn't know what it was. And I thought, what if this doesn't help? Then what? And so basically you go to a fusion clinic and they put one needle in one arm and that takes out your plasma, and then they have a needle in another arm and that gives you like a clean plasma. So one arm is taking out the plasma. I know it's like recycling out the protein in there and then you're getting the new fresh plasma in one arm. And I don't know if it's, I don't know what it's called, you know, fake plasma. I, I don't think it was like donated or anything like that. So I had to do that once a week for five weeks. And then. But after the first one, shortly after, I finally got a little feeling back and I was like, excited, but I didn't want to get too excited. And then each time I went back, the feeling I was feeling again in my face and in my. Cause the mouth was the worst.
- [13:52]
C
So you mentioned that you were kind of overwhelmed initially. These fear and sadness and depression and, and what would happen next in your life. So what helped you change your mindset with ms? Because now you seem very positive. So how did that shift take place?
- [14:12]
A
It was, it was like little steps at a time. But because my husband had said to me, why don't we train for a marathon? And I was like, that in my mind, I'm like. Because he knew I liked to run, but in my mind I was like, that's the dumbest thing you, you want to do. Like, why would you ask me that? But then I'm like, well, that does give me something to do. Because I was afraid then if I start training, I start getting warm, are those old symptoms going to come back? Like I lived in that fear, like, no, I shouldn't run more than when I'm running. Let's just keep it like that. But that little part of me was coming back like, hey, what if it does get worse? Then what? You never try this. That's gonna be worse if you're gonna live with regret. And I was like, okay, I'll do it. And then after I did it and I didn't get any new symptoms, I, I wanna say I felt good. But I like, you know, the marathon's kind of like a fast paced thing, so I was happy I did it and I felt good. Accomplishing it. I was. Felt good that there was no symptoms, because it gave me that hope of, like, ye forward. You can keep doing things. And so it gave me that strength to, like, look at things differently and to try new things and not, like, life's so short. And before I would. Always. Before I even knew I had ms, I lived in that worry, like, well, I'll do that, but I'm gonna wait. Wait till our youngest is older. You know, just excuses. And it's like, well, now you don't. You don't know, so just. Just go out and do something.
- [15:49]
C
So. So you said. I think you just said a marathon is quite a fast run. Would take that as. As not the case as being quite slow. Which brings me on to the next thing, because you ran across the entirety of America.
- [16:05]
A
Yes.
- [16:05]
C
So you ran across America to raise awareness for Ms. So how and why did you decide to do that would be the first thing. And. And how did you control the fear of taking on such a huge undertaking?
- [16:20]
A
So I. We moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, and we're up here in Northern Arizona in the altitude, so there's a lot of runners here. So I was excited to move here. I was at that point, like, yeah, let's try new things. Let's move. I never moved. I never lived out of Wisconsin. So we moved here. I found a coach. It was Matt Fitzgerald. He's an author, a runner, a running coach, and he's in my neighborh. I was like, well, everything's just falling a line. And I had this thought. I used to, like, watch videos on people who ran across America. And I thought that that's cool, that that would be cool. And I remember right before my diagnosis, I heard on a podcast of this man that did it. And I remember thinking, like, I. I think I'd like to do that. And then I was like, I don't even know where to start. And then I was diagnosed with Ms. So then for that year, that thought never came back in my mind. And then when we moved and we moved Flagstaff, little by little, like, this feeling came back. And then I told my husband. I'm like. Because he's like, what do you. Because he trains for triathlons, and he's like, what are you gonna. Are you gonna ask Matt Fitzgerald to be your coach? And I was like, yes, I am. And I said, he's like, what, are you gonna train for a marathon? I was like, no, I don't like the marathon because I don't like to have to pr. Like, I don't wanna be better than my last time. I know people like that. I don't. That's a lot of pressure. So I just, I was like, I think I'm going to run across America. And he was just like, oh, he's. And then a little later he's like, you know, they have a relay that people do that for ms, like, yeah, I know. I don't want to do that though. I want to do, be the first person to with Ms. To do it. And so then he just knew, like, okay, there's, I'm not talking her out of this. And then Matt was my coach. I told him my, my idea and he didn't talk me out of it. And so then I trained for a year and a half, running six days a week and strength twice a week.
- [18:23]
C
How, how far is it across America? What's the distance?
- [18:28]
A
Yeah, you can take different ways. And I went from Santa Monica, which is right by la, and then I went down to Arizona, then to New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio. I think I'm missing Indiana, Illinois, then Ohio, Pennsylvania. And then I stopped, I finished at New York, at Central park. And that was at 3,000 miles.
- [18:52]
C
So about 3,000 miles. I guess that like sort of for people who do kilometers, that's about 5,000 kilometers. That's a long way. Yeah.
- [19:00]
B
Are you ready to connect, learn and feel inspired? Register your interest in our latest events and courses by visiting overcomingms.orgevents to find out more.
- [19:14]
C
So you've sort of told us a bit about your route. So logistically though, so how far did you go each time? Were you doing like ultramarathons or were you doing lots of shorter distances? And how did you. What logistics of it?
- [19:32]
A
The first, I was going to do 40 miles a day because that's what I was training for. And I did the first day 40 miles. And that took like all day. And I'm like, I mean, I stopped for lunch for like an hour, ate on the sidewalk, my husband re tapes my feet. And then next thing I know it's 11 o' clock at night. And I'm like, okay, there's no time for recovery. I can't do this, you know, the whole way across America. That's not gonna work out for my body. And I just knew like, I'm gonna, I'll get tired, maybe that might mess with my Ms. So then the next day I went to like 35 miles or 37, something like that. And then finally I'm like, you know what, I'm just gonna do 30 miles. The first half and then add on, like five more. Actually, my coach had told me, like, you know, don't burn yourself out running a lot. You know, run a little first, which was 30 miles. What? I, you know, at first I'm running. I'm running 30 miles. I get to 25 miles, I'm like, I'm beat. I'm like, I'm done. I'm so tired. And I'm. But I'm still trying to run. And then I'm like, okay, this is. I'm just walking, running. And then the next day, I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna walk that first mile, and then I'm gonna run five. And then I would meet the person. It was our two older daughters took turns and other family members throughout the run. But I met him at the support vehicle. So every six miles, I would meet him. More nutrition, water, and food. And so then I would meet him, grab some more, and then I'd walk that first mile, then run five. So that way, towards the end, I wasn't, like, done in walking the last. Because I'm like, well, now it's going to take forever again. So it was. It was always kind of changing and then different terrain and, you know, the weather would change things.
- [21:23]
C
So you're doing variable distances each day. So where did you sleep?
- [21:28]
A
Oh, again, my husband did all the logistics. He did the map. And we bought an RV at the time we bought it. And so there's a. It was a pretty large rv, so we stayed in there. He found campsites throughout the way. Like, just kind of hard, like. So sometimes I would have to backtrack where I stopped the day before, and we would have to drive to the rv. But then the next day was fine. Cause then we would be at the RV when I stopped. So then in the morning, it would be easier to get to the spot to go. Every two to three days, he would have to move the rv.
- [22:10]
C
So was your support team. Was your husband, or did you have other. Was there a big support team or.
- [22:15]
A
Well, he did, like the cooking, the laundry. And he had to homeschool our daughter for the last three months. And then he worked part time because his job let him take me or let him go with. And he drove the rv. And then our two older daughters, one daughter came out for three weeks, and then our next daughter came out for two weeks. And then my sister and her husband came out to help for a week, my brother. And then last, our friend Diane came out the last seven weeks for the whole thing. So it took. It took three months. I started on March 9th, and I finished June 19th.
- [22:58]
C
Okay, so you got. As you were going a bit further north, it was getting a bit warmer. So you mentioned that you were talking about doing sort of slightly longer distances as you went on. So did your body adapt to that? To, you know, doing all that running every day?
- [23:15]
A
It did. When I was trying to add on the five miles, it was my body. My mind. My body, surprisingly, was like, yeah, okay, let's do this. But my mind was like, no, you're at 15 miles. And my mind would be like, yesterday and the days before. 15 miles was the halfway point, but now I Change it to 35. Oh, that's longer. So then I eventually was like, you know what? 17. I had to tell myself, 17 and a half miles is the halfway point, and that's just how it is. And then once I did that, it was like, okay. It was a lot easier to run it. I didn't have any of the regular Ms. Symptoms that I would get on and off, just not running or just little running or just at home. But it was more this symptom I did get persistent was the one on my. It would go be on my back. I don't know if you ever had it where it feels like there's, like, a hands crawling underneath your skin or a bug. Have you ever had that?
- [24:18]
C
I haven't had it, but I'm aware of people having it.
- [24:20]
A
Okay. Okay. See, I'm not making it up because it sounds like that would be a symptom. That sounds like, huh. But I feel like it's when my body gets overheated and I'm sweating, and I'm like, okay, how can I. How can I work with this? Because it just. I'm like, is this gonna get worse? Or. Anytime that fear would come in, I'm like. I would always tell myself, it's a symptom you had before. It's not getting worse. It's just appearing. And what can I do with that? And then I would run with, like, cold water, towels on my back. And then when I would get to that support vehicle, there'd be another cold one, and I'd swap it out and everything. So I made sure to take good care of my body. Eat enough calories. I mean, all I did was run, and then I would. I would rest. I would have these boots on and everything for my legs.
- [25:10]
C
And. Are you affected by heat with your ms? And so, yeah, so that's an issue, isn't it? If you get overheating yes.
- [25:18]
A
Humidity, for sure.
- [25:20]
C
So were you taking a disease modifying therapy? And if so, how did you manage with that?
- [25:26]
A
Yeah, I am on a DMT called qsemta. And the great thing about QSMTA is you only have to take it once a month and it's just an injection and they mail it to your home. So before I left, I called them and said, hey, I'm running across America. Would there be a chance you could send these to different campsites? Like when I'm there, when I call to make it? Of course. They. You know, it's funny because I don't think it hits people's minds. They're like, okay, yes, we can send it to campsites, but it's like, you're what, what are you doing? Like, no, no, you're not. You're not doing that. So it actually worked out great because I was able to call them before and then they were. They would mail it to the campsite and then I was able to take it and I did that one of the times. I think I did it three times. So three different campsites.
- [26:20]
C
Yeah. Yeah, that worked fine.
- [26:22]
A
It really worked out perfect.
- [26:25]
C
You mentioned that this sort of spread the word a bit as well as just the. The achievement of doing it, which is extraordinary in itself. But did you get much opportunity to interact with people across America? And if so, can you tell us any stories of people you might have met along the way?
- [26:42]
A
First off, there was some people that DM'd me and, you know, just telling me, sharing stories of like a grandmother who had Ms. That they never met, but she passed away a few weeks before or somebody and their mom had passed, or yes, their mom had passed away who had Ms. And it just felt good when I got those stories because I felt like they. I wanted to know that their loved one mattered. And it felt like I was bringing that light to them. And it was. It was such a good feeling. It was. It felt like I'm connecting that way. And so I was hoping to meet all these people with Ms. On the way, but there was like a lot of rural areas. I remember this story. This person was driving and I had just crossed over to Arizona. And then a few days later, I'm in this really small town and this guy comes out of a cafe across the street and I see him. Cause I'm running and it's a small town and I'm watching him and I'm like, oh, he's. Is he coming towards the road? And then he yells like, where you going? Or he's like, where you headed? And. And so I'm like, oh, I got to stop. And I was like. I was like, new York. He's like, new. So he's like, new York. And I said, all right, well, here in my mind, I'm like, here it goes. I was like, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And I'm telling him this whole story, shouting it across the road, and then I get. All of a sudden, he's just like, two big thumbs up. And I was just like. He's like, good luck. He's like, I saw you back in some town. And he's like, I saw you the next day and then the next day and thought, where's this girl running to? And it's just. It was. It was just so great. And I realized people are a lot nicer than I. Than we think they are, and they're helpful. I was running through the tribal lands in Arizona, in New Mexico, and, you know, one time someone drove by me, and they started driving slow, and I was like, oh, what's going to happen? But they just put out this water and handed it to me. They're like, we saw you running this morning, and you're still running from this morning. And I'm like, yeah, but I'm almost done. And they're like, like, wow. So I could share my story with them, and it just felt really good.
- [29:01]
C
As part of this, you've started a nonprofit to help people with Ms. To join a race.
- [29:08]
A
Yes.
- [29:08]
C
Maybe not across America, but a race of their choice. So can you tell us a bit about your nonprofit and how people can get involved with that?
- [29:16]
A
Sure. So we started, because I did. I obviously wanted to bring awareness of Ms. And show that it's not a death sentence. It's, you know, people always, I feel, think the worst. And so we came up with Active with Ms. To help pay for people's races. If they want to join a race, they just have to go to activems.org and just fill out a form and let us know what your race choice is. If it's a triathlon, a run, a swim, whatever it is. But just. I just want to help out, and I want them to not have that burden of, like, oh, I want to do that, but I got to pay for that race. It's in our minds. Right? So it's like, oh, that little war we have. Have it Ms. Or not, we always have that little war. I feel so. Like, that would make me feel great. And then anyone who wants to do that or who wants to share their story. We'd love to hear your story and we'd love to post it on our social media.
- [30:20]
C
And I believe there's a documentary about your run across America.
- [30:24]
A
Yes.
- [30:25]
C
So firstly, what was filming that? Like, was it partly done during the run? And subsequently
- [30:35]
A
we have a. Now a friend from. But we didn't know really what we were doing. So we asked some gentleman who started a business and filming and everything like, hey, could you do this? And he was just, he was busy. But then he's like, okay, I'll meet with you guys. And then he met with us, he heard my story and he went home to his wife because he's like, I'm not going to take it. But he went home to his wife, he tells us and he's like, I have to take this, I have to do this story. And so he has like the first half and then we're going to release the second half of me going across the United States in March when I started. And that he wasn't able to come out the whole time, unfortunately, which I totally understand. So a lot was on the cell phones and then he met us in New York at the end and I, you know, I had so much joy doing it and so that's what I wanted to bring out of it and everything.
- [31:32]
C
So where can people watch and find it? Is it available online? Cinemas? How can people watch it?
- [31:39]
A
If you go to my website, Betsy runs the US with Ms. There's a link there and there's also my Instagram. Betsy runs us with Ms.
- [31:51]
C
Okay, well, as always, we'll put all the links in the show notes. So yeah, check out the links there. And finally, is there anything else or particularly any advice? Because I think you've come a really long. It's. It's only a few years really that you've gone from not being diagnosed, diagnosed running across America. It's been a huge, huge journey. Well, physically and yeah, metaphorically. Is there anything you could add or advice people who newly diagnosed or. Or are coming towards a healthier lifestyle?
- [32:27]
A
I would just suggest finding a support group if joined a support group right away. And I went a day and I left and then I came back the next day because I was so scared. But then eventually I'm. These are my people. This is who I need to be around right now. And you mentioned that. Yeah, I am kind of still newly diagnosed, but I think I just realized that I could stay stuck in that state where I'm feeling down and depressed or I can get out of it and Once I got out of it, it was like, oh, yeah, this is who I am. You know, multiple sclerosis doesn't control who you are. It's going to be part of you, but you're in control of you. So you can go that healthy route. You can control the things you can, like staying healthy, going for little walks if you can, eating healthy, you know, and just. I think a lot of it too is having that community. I don't think it has to be joining a support group with Ms. If it's joining a gym, joining CrossFit. I mean, I like to talk, so I wish there was a community that just talk, talk, talk, talk. And I realize that's one of the things that bring me is meeting people and hearing their stories and then getting connected that way.
- [33:43]
C
I do, I think Ms. Groups particularly help there because it. We talk about the symptoms, but people don't understand it completely.
- [33:51]
A
Yes.
- [33:51]
C
Unless you've got it. And so I kind of. So we have like a quite good support network with overcoming ms, particularly where I live, actually, in the southwest of the uk, we have a really big group and it's really nice to just, just to sound out to people who understand, who just go, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [34:11]
A
You just feel like human again. Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean.
- [34:17]
C
So I'd just like to say again, I'm massively, I mean, because I have run in the past, but the idea of running across America is extraordinary in my mind. So, yeah, massively impressed what you've done. Again, I suggest everyone have a look at the show notes because there's links to the different resources that you mentioned there. And thank you very much for joining us, Betsy Miller.
- [34:41]
A
Well, thank you very much and I appreciate oms having that. That group because it is. What you just have is just so powerful. It's like when you're. You have ms, you're kind of trying to hide it and so then you're not. You're either isolating it and not talking about it, but you're giving this, this, like, platform where, yeah, we can talk about it, but people feel relieved where they don't have to hide themselves. And then you can talk about the things you want to talk about and not Ms. I just love it so much. I think that's beautiful, really.
- [35:17]
B
Thank you for listening to this episode of Living well with Ms. Please check out this episode's show notes@overcomingms.org podcast podcast. You'll find useful links and bonus information there. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. So you never miss an episode and please rate and review the show to help others find us. This show is made possible by the Overcoming Ms. Community. Our theme music is by Claire and Mav Dean. Our host is Jeff Alex. Our videos are edited by Lorna Greenwood and I'm the producer, Regina Beach. Have questions or ideas to share? Email us@podcastvercomingms.org we'd love to hear from you. The Living well with Ms. Podcast is for private, non commercial use and exists to educate and inspire our community of listeners. We do not offer medical advice. For medical advice, please contact your doctor or other licensed healthcare professional.