“This looks like classic multiple sclerosis.”

Those were the first words the neurologist bluntly uttered after he scanned over my brain MRI. Just a few days prior, I had been at my primary care physician’s office complaining of difficulty with my balance, issues remembering the most basic words, vision problems and more. He optimistically believed it was an inner ear infection causing me vertigo.  Still, he wanted to order a brain MRI just to be certain.  Three days later my doctor called me asking me to come in and speak to a neurologist on his lunch break; the writing was on the wall.

Image of my brain MRI for those curious what a brain lesion looks like (white spots)

I sat there with a thousand mile stare as the doctor continued to speak. “It isn’t a death sentence”… his words falling on deaf ears. All I could envision was me sitting in a wheelchair. I had seen people with multiple sclerosis before.  How is it possible that I had a disease which affects two to three times more women than men? Isn’t this a disease only people over 40 or 50 get? My mind was racing at a million miles an hour.

We talked about treatment options and I was referred to a specialist in Boston.  One thing was clear: there is no cure. There are new and innovative ways to slow the disease and 5-10% of people with MS never progress to severe disability (benign MS). I walked out of the office more confused than I had ever been.  I had woken up that morning thinking I knew something about my future and by early afternoon I didn't know shit about what was in store.

All the self-pity bullshit wore off quickly. One thing that I can’t stand is people who get caught up in a world of “woe is me” – it is a toxic mindset and it ends up becoming like a parasite inside of people attaching itself to their personality. There will always be people worse off than you are. All the children with cancer or loved ones who tragically die, who was I to feel sorry for myself? It was time to look for an alternative.

That is when I came across an article about a young man- a young man who was diagnosed with a more aggressive form of MS than myself and was already in a wheelchair. That was until he underwent a life changing yet experimental treatment. His name is Edwin McClure and he is the single reason I am here typing this blog right now.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/treating-ms-symptoms-with-stem-cells/

Now I don’t believe in fairies and I sure as hell don’t believe in miracle over-the-counter herbal cures but this was different. It was science- pure and undeniable science using a procedure that has been used since the 1960s. This procedure, known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), was being used to put MS into remission. I sent all of my information into Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

That takes us to today. I am in Chicago and will begin the process starting tomorrow. I could not have done it without the help and love of my friends, family, coworkers… many of you falling into more than one of those categories. I will be putting periodic updates up through this entire process and promise to be blunt about the whole thing; letting you know which parts suck and which aren’t nearly as bad as you may think. Until next time.

-Troy