My Story

UCI Live Well Magazine

For an easy to read synopsis of my story, please see the article in UCI’s Live Well Magazine — Fall 2022 Issue.

Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with MS in April of 2019. My presenting symptom was optic neuritis. I had laser eye surgery that February—a Valentine’s Day gift from my (now) husband. My optometrist confirmed my eye, as an organ, was fine. He then told me to go to the ER because it must be a neurological issue. I was admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with MS.

Ocrevus

In August, I had my first appointment with my primary care neurologist. My wedding was in October 2019, after which, I was started on Ocrevus.

With the pandemic, being immunosuppressed was really hard. Not being able to do anything outside of the house exhasperated my MS symptoms. It also felt like Ocrevus was helping my MRI stay stable, but not my symptoms.

Finding AHSCT

By the summer of 2020, my partner and I had read all we could about MS, treatments, and the results of recent studies. This lead us to discussing AHSCT with my neurologist. It wasn’t something that was offered, so we started to look elsewhere (and abroad) to make it happen.