Transcript
A (0:00)
Foreign welcome back all to the Ms. Living well podcast. I'm Dr. Barry Singer, director of the Ms. Center for Innovations in Care at Missouri Baptist Medical center in St. Louis. This episode is Mind Over Strategies for Staying Positive. This episode is sponsored by TG Therapeutics. In today's episode, we're tackling the psychological challenges that many people living with multiple screw with a new Ms. Diagnosis. Often there's an intense fear of what the future may hold. We'll discuss how to cope with the rough days living with worsening disability and how to find real support. For this episode, I'm honored to be speaking with two amazing patient advocates who've turned their personal struggles with Ms. Into powerful stories of resilience embracing change. Later in the show, we'll talk with former college football player and professional speaker Tyler Campbell. But first, let's hear from Ryder fellow podcaster and television host Ardra shepherd from Toronto, Canada. Ardra's award winning blog and podcast is Tripping on Air. She's also the host of the television series Fashion Dis, a makeover show that features adaptive fashion for people with disabilities. Welcome to the podcast, Ardra.
B (1:25)
Thank you so much. It's great to be here.
A (1:27)
Wonderful. So let's start the beginning of your Ms. Story. Can you tell our audience what were your first Ms. Symptoms?
B (1:35)
My presenting symptom was optic neuritis in one eye and I lost some hearing in my right ear. And it was very dramatic. Actually, about six weeks later, I had started to lose vision in my other eye and I'd had some sensory symptoms and some gait problems. I mean, I guess the good part of that was that I had such a classic presentation that I got diagnosed very quickly.
A (2:03)
What did you think was wrong with you before you got diagnosed?
B (2:06)
Honestly, I kind of thought I had a hangover. I was 23.
A (2:09)
Hangover? That's amazing.
B (2:10)
It's like the worst headache of my life, entirely localized to my eye. I remember going to a walk in clinic thinking I maybe had migraines and there may be a sinus infection. It wasn't until when it started to get blurry. That was when I walked myself to the emergency room. And even at that point, I really thought I just needed antibiotics. Like I was 23. I felt invincible. So even when the ER doctor referred me to come back the next day to the Ms. Clinic, nothing was on my radar. It really blindsided me.
