The MS Gym Podcast

Episode: Finding Calm In The Chaos

Co-hosts: Brooke Slick & Jodi Feltham

Guest: Julie (MS Gym member)
Date: December 12, 2024

Overview

This deeply moving episode centers on finding resilience, faith, and community support while facing chaos. Julie, a longtime member of the MS Gym, shares her unique journey: she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) just weeks before her young son was diagnosed with leukemia. The conversation, led by co-host Jodi, delves into Julie's experiences navigating overwhelming medical challenges, family life, and how community and faith sustained her through the darkest periods. The episode serves as an inspiring testament to perseverance, the unexpected blessings found in adversity, and the power of support networks like the MS Gym.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Julie’s Diagnosis Story

• Delayed Diagnosis & Gaslighting

  • Julie describes experiencing symptoms for years before her official MS diagnosis. Initial signs included Lhermitte's sign (electric shock sensations upon moving her neck) and persistent tingling after the birth of her first son in 1994.
  • She faced repeated dismissal from medical professionals:
    • “People like you feel all kinds of things.” – (Julie’s family doctor, [02:27])
    • “You don’t really need to be telling us about these symptoms because you’re feeling things because of the way you’re wired.” ([02:44])
  • It wasn’t until an optic neuritis episode (following a minor injury from her son) that the connection to MS was made by an ophthalmologist ([03:08]).

• Harsh Prognosis and Immediate Stress

  • The diagnosing ophthalmologist delivered distressing news bluntly:
    • “Chances are that you'll be in a wheelchair within five years.” – [Julie, 04:06]
  • She recalls: “All three of our kids were sick... the son who broke my nose... just didn’t look right to me...” ([04:47])
  • Within six weeks of her own diagnosis, Julie’s son was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia ([06:33]).

2. Facing Two Life-Changing Diagnoses Simultaneously

• Coping and Faith
  • Julie felt numb and struggled to trust doctors after so many misdiagnoses in her own case ([07:46]).
    • “It was competing. And I’ll tell you... I kept thinking how they were wrong. It took me a while to even fully accept that he had leukemia because I kept thinking, well, they were wrong about me.” – Julie ([07:46])
  • She credits her deep faith for helping her family endure the ordeal of a three and a half year cancer treatment protocol for her son.
    • “Without my faith, I don’t know what we would have done. God just gave us peace...” – Julie ([08:21])
  • Julie views adversity as transformative:
    • “It gives us strength and changes our character, makes us more compassionate, makes us more resilient... when we come out on the other side, we’re better people.” – ([09:31])
  • Her son is now healthy, and their family is stronger and more united, seizing life’s moments together: “We... seize the day and do whatever we can to live our best lives.” – ([10:45])

3. The Role of Community and Support (The MS Gym & MOC)

• Parallel between Cancer and MS Communities
  • Drawing on the support from both cancer and MS communities, Julie emphasizes the critical importance of shared experiences:
    • “We had a little community of parents... we were all going through that together.” – ([13:06])
    • “That is what is so meaningful to me about the MS Gym community, the MOC.” – ([14:20])
  • She often finds comfort by searching the Members Only Corner (MOC) for posts on struggles she’s facing, benefiting from the wisdom and compassion of others ([13:30]).

4. Processing Her Own Diagnosis, Years Later

• Delayed Emotional Processing
  • Julie did not confront her MS diagnosis in depth until a decade later, when her symptoms worsened and forced her to leave a job she loved:
    • “I did not process my diagnosis until the year 2012, so 10 years later, when my MS started progressing in kind of a scary way...” – ([15:54])
  • She found herself isolated by certain symptoms (e.g., overstimulation, facial pain) but also notes that joining the MS Gym changed everything ([18:48]).

5. Discovering the MS Gym

• How She Joined & Initial Reactions

  • Julie discovered the MS Gym during recovery from a car accident, diving deeply into the group’s offerings and Trevor’s (Coach T’s) educational materials ([19:58]).
    • “Everything he said, it was like exactly what I have been wanting to hear and needing to hear for years and years and years.” – ([20:48])
  • The community’s welcoming spirit left a strong impression:
    • “I don’t know if you’ve ever had this feeling like you’re right where you were meant to be. That’s how I felt in that moment.” – Julie ([21:38])

• Program Impact: Consistency & Growth

  • Julie stresses the comprehensive benefit of the MS Gym:
    • “It was the MLC. It was the stellar exercises... The mindset stuff you get from Motivation Mondays... Each year it just keeps leveling up...” – ([21:57])
    • She uses the content intentionally: “I feel like you can get so much out of the MS Gym if you treat it like the treasure that it is.” – ([22:47])

6. Personal Triumphs: Dancing at Her Sons’ Weddings

• From Doubt to Joy
  • Julie highlights a deeply meaningful MS Gym “Victory”:
    • “In those years when they were dating, I never believed that I would be walking around, much less dancing with my sons on their wedding day.” – ([24:10])
    • She describes using specific MS Gym techniques (visual resets) to manage symptoms and be present for these major life events, with the support of her husband ([24:42]).
  • Memorable Moment:
    • “I turned around and my husband knew exactly what I was doing... I’m blinking like some kind of a crazy woman. But it reset my brain... and I was, you know, I turned back around, didn’t have to do any more resets the rest of the time...” – ([25:00])

7. Hopes and Passions for the Future

• Continued Service and Family Joy
  • Julie hopes to give back—currently serving through prison ministry—and aspires to more social engagement through her church as her health improves ([26:34]).
  • She expresses deep passion for her role as a grandmother, celebrating a new grandson and another on the way:
    • “Right now, this is a true time of blessings.” – ([27:33])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you have any stress, you will be in a wheelchair.” – (Julie recalling her ophthalmologist’s advice, [04:00])
• “Without my faith, I don’t know what, what we would have done. God just gave us peace.” – Julie ([08:21])
• “We can see the good that can come. I mean, it’s a terrible disease... but it gives us blessings in there.” – Julie ([09:31])
• “When I’m having those MS moments... I’ll go in to the MOC and I’ll search for ‘struggle’ or ‘bladder’... that has been such a coping mechanism for me.” – ([13:30])
• “I felt like I was home.” – Julie describing her first interaction in the MS Gym MOC ([21:38])
• “You had the tools, but you also used the tools.” – Jodi ([26:00])
• “Right now, this is a true time of blessings.” – Julie ([27:33])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Julie's Early Symptoms and Gaslighting: 01:29–04:00
• MS Diagnosis & Son’s Leukemia Diagnosis: 04:00–06:33
• Immediate Coping and Faith: 07:46–09:31
• Transformation Through Adversity: 09:31–11:37
• Role of Support Communities (MOC): 12:09–14:41
• Delayed Processing of MS Diagnosis: 15:54–19:53
• Finding and Joining the MS Gym: 19:58–21:47
• MS Gym’s Impact and Growth: 21:57–23:23
• Dancing at Her Sons’ Weddings: 24:10–26:00
• Looking Forward: Service and Family: 26:34–27:48

Conclusion

Julie’s story—a journey from simultaneous medical crises to dancing at her sons’ weddings—embodies the MS Gym’s philosophy: living a life by design, not by diagnosis. Her resilience, faith, and strategic use of community and resources offer hope and practical insight for anyone facing chronic illness or overwhelming adversity. As she looks to serve others and delight in her growing family, Julie’s experiences and wisdom are a testament to the enduring strength found in faith, support, and staying engaged with life’s possibilities.