Thanks to everyone who has responded. I especially appreciate the stories of people who have MS and have gotten to have full lives, or at least really close to full. Those are the sort of stories that give me hope that my brother and his family are going to get through this okay. You should always have hope, but it’s a bit easier if you have a foundation to rest it on. Unfortunately we won’t find out the results of the MRI until next week so I’m still kind of white-knuckling over this.
Just to show how cool of a brother he is, yesterday he came over my house to help me with some stuff around the house. He even offered to loan me money when I mentioned I’ve been a bit strapped lately. In light of his own personal ordeals that just reinforces that he’s a hell of guy.
My brother was diagnosed with MS five years ago, how your life can change with a phone call, 6:27 PM July 7, 1997. The preferred testing method is a MRI scan of the brain, if it shows lesions MS is almost a certainty. There are a trio of new medications called the ABC drugs “A” stands for Avonex, “B” stands for Betaseron/Betaferon and “C” stands for Copaxone. These drugs can lessen the progress of MS and treat it’s symptoms the only drawback is the incredible expense in some cases $1,000.00 per month.
The thing about MS is that no one person reacts the same way, one can have no outward symptoms another can be in a wheelchair in six months, you just can’t know.
Tell your brother that Steph and I are both rooting for him, bud. From what I’ve seen of the way your family works, he’s got one of the best support systems around.
I know there’s a lot of people you can talk to, but if you feel like it, gimme a call anytime. Anytime.
A friend of mine has relapsing and remitting MS. In this version he has an episode which can be farily dramatic. For instance he my be bed ridden for a few weeks but then gets better. By better he regains most (90%-99%) of his mobility. This takes months but he is having a full life although it does somethimes takes a toll him emotionally.
I’m sure you will be a great brother just like him and be there for him when he needs it.