Multiple Sclerosis

My dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2002.  Before the year of my internship, I had taken up a job with a flower shop in Provo delivering flowers to people. It was a great job for a college student, and very flexible, and helped me to earn a little spending money. One night, I was talking to my roommate late in our room, and we were both lying on my bed. I started to move my legs because they were starting to go numb, and then I realized that I did that way more than what I considered to be normal. My dad's diagnosis had ended his medical practice that he had for ten years. The next day, while I was delivering flowers, I called my mom on my cell phone and asked if MS was hereditary. Her heart sank. She had noticed a lot of things that I had done over the years that seemed to be a lot like my dad’s symptoms, and had wondered if I had a disposition towards it. She tried to tell me to ignore the symptoms for insurance reasons, but after a while, I was having constant headaches that could not be ignored. My dad talked to one of his friends who was practicing medicine in Provo to find out about a good neurologist in the area. Dr. Altamirano was mentioned for me to go see. She was new in town, so getting into see her was not a problem.

            Dr. Altamirano became my mother figure in Provo. We got very close very fast. She was from Chile, and was a stake young women’s president in her stake at the time. I became like one of her “young women” and she treated me just like family. I told her about my father, and about my symptoms. She was concerned, and ordered me to have a lot of tests done. My first MRI showed up clear. She also ordered a spinal tap to be done, and my dad was able to come to Provo and be with me through the procedure. After the spinal tap, I felt like my headaches were getting worse. She said that it could be from the procedure itself, and asked for another MRI to be done. I took Taylor with me to get the MRI done. On the way home, after dropping him off at his dorm, she called me and said that I needed to have ANOTHER MRI done, because she had seen signs of cancer in the first (second?) one. I tried to find Taylor to go back with me, but could not locate him, so I took one of my roommates, Melissa, with me. I was very worried, as was the rest of my family and friends who knew what I was going through. Taylor was about to leave on his mission, and his farewell talk in Idaho Falls was soon. Dr. Altamirano called me later that night, and told me that she collaborated with other doctors, they had looked at my scans and my medical history, along with my dad’s, and decided that I indeed had MS. The good news was that I did not have cancer. The other good news was that I could go home with Taylor and Katie for Taylor’s farewell. The bad news was that I would most likely be battling with MS for the rest of my life. My mom said that she was more devastated about me having MS than she was with dad being diagnosed. When dad was diagnosed, it was very sad, because his career as a doctor was over, but when I was diagnosed, it seemed that everything was over. How would I find a husband? Have children? Get medical insurance?