Battling Multiple Sclerosis
- Malaynee Snell, a 26-year-old woman from Western Australia, thought she had a dog hair in her eye when she experienced blurred vision. She eventually discovered she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
- Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), according to the Mayo Clinic.
- There are 400,000 people suffering from MS in the United States. In Don't Stop Me Now, SurvivorNetTV features the story of one incredible woman who, like Snell, learns to overcome her own hardships.
However, when the 26-year-old woman, from Western Australia, realized her vision wasn’t getting any better, she underwent testing and discovered she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
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After undergoing scans of her eye, she was admitted to a hospital and put on an intravenous drip to prevent the damage in her eye from worsening.
Snell, who admitted to being scared when she was first checked into the hospital, explained, “The weird thing is that my pupil was reacting normally and my eye looked OK from the outside so it didn’t look like it had anything in it.”
An MRI scan revealed she had optic neuritis (irreversible optic nerve damage) as a result of multiple sclerosis (MS). She also learned there were a dozen lesions on her brain.
She continued, “If I would have kept ignoring it and thinking it was something in my eye that would clear, I would have lost my sight completely. I’m glad I got it checked out when I did. Every lesion on my brain is possibly an attack that’s happened and I haven’t noticed.”
@deftonesmal Replying to @Breezie oml im so sorry i didnt explain this better in my og post – i didnt anticipate so many people to see it. It was a draft dump from 18 months ago and i definitely could have explained it better so i apologise to everyone stressing about their eyes atm
Thankfully, Snell is still able to see, drive, and continue her job as an administration worker.
And now, six months after her diagnosis she is keeping her MS symptoms under control with a strict diet and medicine. However, she still deals with trouble balancing, headaches, muscle spasms, and fatigue.
Now she’s hoping to inspire others to get checked when something doesn’t feel right.
She even admitted, “There’s symptoms that I might have ignored that could have stopped my eye from being what it is now, even though this is the best outcome.”
“I’d tell people if they notice something isn’t right, don’t play it off because it could be much worse than you think,” Snell advises.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Snell also addressed anyone reading her story not to stress too much if they notice floaters in their vision as that isn’t what she noticed.
“I just wanted to clarify because I feel like I’m freaking everyone out. They’re not like floaters. What happened was, the entire sight of my eye went. So it wasn’t like it was a little bit or anything,” she explained. “It’s different for everyone, so if you do have major concerns I would go and get checked out. … Floaters are normal, but if you do have concerns go to the doctor.”
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), according to the Mayo Clinic.
MS causes the immune system to attack the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers, leading to communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. The disease can eventually cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.
Signs and symptoms of MS can vary widely but may include:
- Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs that typically occurs on one side of your body at a time, or your legs and trunk
- Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, especially bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
- Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
- Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement
- Prolonged double vision
- Blurry vision
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Tingling or pain in parts of your body
- Problems with sexual, bowel and bladder function
Most people with MS experience periods of new symptoms or relapses followed by quiet periods of disease remission. These relapses can take days or weeks to develop and the remission periods can last for months or even years.
Hope for Multiple Sclerosis Patients
There are approximately 400,000 people suffering from MS in the United States. In Don't Stop Me Now, SurvivorNetTV features the story of one incredible woman who, like Snel, has discovered how to overcome her own hardships, and paves the way to inspire countless people across the country.
MS warrior Louise Carr might seem completely healthy on the outside, but behind her warm smile a war rages on inside her body.
The disease causes her daily pain, fatigue, memory loss and restricts movement. But even in her darkest moments, Louise maintains that "I might have MS, but it doesn't have me."
'Don't Stop Me Now' Is Inspiration for Anybody With Multiple Sclerosis
For Louise, switching to a vegan dietcoupled with a focus on more active livinghas been a game changer. Through yoga and Zumba classes, in addition to riding a recumbent bicycle, she found her physical and mental outlooks both had dramatically improved.
"To my absolute astonishment within a week of becoming vegan my energy levels absolutely shot up. It's changed my life," Louise says.
Louise Carr's story is living proof that mindset does matter.
SurvivorNetTV Presents Defying All Odds A World-Renowned Doctor's Incredible Journey Through MS
Coping With Emotions
An MS or cancer diagnosis can be shocking and send you into a down-spin of emotions. And an important way to pick yourself back up is to embrace those emotions and let them free. In this episode of SurvivorNetTV's series, "SN & You," survivors share how they handle their mental health and cope with their emotions after undergoing cancer treatment.
Taking control of your mental health is important and processing your emotions is one of the first steps. Cancer survivors say that first you must let the emotions out, find your support system, and live your life.
SN & You Presents Mental Health: Coping With Emotions
"People that are strong cry, it's the weak ones who try to hold it in," says Evelyn Reyes-Beato, a colon cancer survivor.
In this episode, you'll hear several women, all of whom are cancer survivors, talk about their experiences dealing with cancer and navigating life after a diagnosis. Many of these women get very emotional about what they have gone through. It just goes to show that crying and being open with your emotions are part of the healing process.
SurvivorNet has other great mental health resources for you, including more films that will inspire you.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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