A Positive Outlook Can Help MS

Meghan Forestell Pierson has fought two life threatening diseases within her lifetime. One battle she won against Leukemia when she was just a girl, however her ongoing struggle against Multiple Sclerosis is something she fights daily.

When Pierson was three she was diagnosed with Leukemia and was on chemotherapy until the age of six. Although she does not remember much from that time of her life, she recalls having to mix chemo meds with chocolate syrup so she would take them. She went into remission after kindergarten and considered herself extremely lucky to have never developed more cancer.

However at the age of 25 after being misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Pierson experienced extreme shock when she found out she had Multiple Sclerosis. “I was devastated and so sad. It took about six months for it to sink in. I started treatments for it in December, two days before my 26th birthday. Giving myself a shot every other night was miserable. It took me at least another year to get used to that and then it just became part of my life,” she said.

Multiple Sclerosis is the most common neurological disorder diagnosed in young adults. Its causes are not yet fully understood and researchers continue to search for answers. This disease damages the protective insulation surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Studies show that women are three times as likely to develop multiple sclerosis as men. Unfortunately, this proved accurate for Pierson.

Pierson said she is extremely thankful for the love and support her family and friends give her on daily basis. Her husband Roger is someone she can always rely on, who has been there for her from the start of her diagnosis. She said, “Roger gave me shots and came with me to doctors appointments. He gave me my injections for a very long time when I was still scared to do it myself. I get frustrated and angry and sad, and he helps me through it.”

She also has a lot of support from online websites, chat rooms, and networks that specialize in MS. When she was still trying to cope with MS, this provided her with a safety net of other people dealing with the same thing she was going through.
“We can all share our sad and happy stories together. MS is a really strange disease because unless you know someone has it, it’s not always visible. So even though I struggle with pain every day, outsiders cannot see that. So knowing other people with MS who have to deal with the same thing is huge.”

In the fall of 2008, Pierson’s doctor urged her to consider the option of pregnancy. The doctor explained to her that in studies shown in women with multiple sclerosis, pregnancy has the tendency to slow the development of the disease and lesions on the brain. Pierson and her husband had been planning a child, but now with the doctors strong push towards a baby, they decided to go ahead and try in the spring of 2009. By late summer to her delight Pierson discovered she was pregnant.

Her happiness sadly was short lived when in October she went through a miscarriage. “I am still working on overcoming the loss of our baby. That has been the absolute hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. I know that everything happens for a reason and I am starting to become alright with not knowing what that reason is. I think that is pretty profound.”

Pierson is proud to say that she has participated with the annual MS Society walk for the last three years. She has an intense love for her three cats she has at home, and has uniquely named her team for the walk “Team MeowS.” The M and S are capitalized to represent MS. The walk is typically 6-8 miles and her team is filled with her supportive friends and family. “I always cry at the finish line because there are a lot of people in different stages of MS that cannot participate for one reason or anther, so they line the finish line and cheer us all on. And if I can’t walk someday, I’ll definitely be cheering on those who can!”

Pierson still tries to just take each day at a time and that makes things easier for her. She has advice for people who are recently diagnosed and are struggling with the disease. She said, “Try and be positive and surround your self with positive people. You have to be an advocate for yourself, nobody else will do that for you. And sometimes that is a difficult thing for people to do. It’s a lot of work to be your own advocate but it’s worth it.”