MS Warrior Strong!

I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2008 just after my 40th birthday. As many of you may know, those diagnosed with MS or any disease have a story of how it happened and what they went through after diagnosis.

Here's mine: I hope it allows you to get to know me better.

I’ve been married for 22 years to an amazing woman whose name is Laura and I have three adult children Madison, Michael and Blake.

When I was diagnosed I had been married for about seven years.I had served my country, was an avid outdoorsman and weightlifter, loved to ride my Harley and I loved my career in sales and all the people it afforded me to meet.

My first thought was there is no way the doctor had this right! My wife just finished battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was in the first stage of remission and now this? No way!

After the initial shock wore off my life went back to semi-normal, since I only had a few small mild symptoms. It wasn’t until late 2009 that I began to lose the use of my right arm and leg. I didn’t understand the disease at that point. Basically, I have been pretending nothing was wrong.

Over the next several years I quickly became more and more symptomatic and ended up in a wheelchair unable to walk isolated from my once normal life.

Family has always been the most important thing to me, and to now accept that I was no longer the provider for my family was incomprehensible to me. I was humbled and embarrassed by my lack of mobility, not to mention the inability to provide financially for my family, and in my mind, I could no longer be the husband or father I desire to be.

I was hospitalized several times between 2009 and 2012, suffering from sepsis twice and nine different pulmonary embolisms. Laura was told by doctors on two separate occasions that she should prepare herself and that I probably wouldn't be coming home. But, by God's grace, I recovered fully each time and came back home to my family. Mentally I was lost, I couldn't understand why God spared me to live as a shell of my former self! Convinced I now had nothing left to offer I fell into a deep depression. This is oddly funny because people would comment on what a great attitude I have towards life and the challenges God gave my family and me to face. But, I did, and to be completely honest if it wasn’t for the tough love and support of my wife Laura to make me realize I could be proactive and regain control of my life, regardless of my disabilities through faith, exercise and nutrition I don’t know what road I would’ve traveled.

So, I began an incredible journey in 2017! I found an MS trainer, my wife was my personal chef, and my faith was renewed and hope was restored making incredible mental and physical improvements! We once again found humor in everything. My family loves to laugh and I found myself finding humor in my shortcomings instead of being so angry. I believe our faith and sense of humor were the threads that wove our family even tighter than before.

Then "Boom" the pandemic hit, and not to mention during that time we moved from California to Oklahoma losing all my resources and the advances I had made.

Over the last few years since we moved my disease progressed from relapsing-remitting to primary progressive, and now I am unable to care for myself. Sadly, now I require an in-home nurse to assist me to do the most basic daily routines. I also require a specialized electric wheelchair, and the monthly cost for my in-home nurse and specialized equipment is overwhelming and unfortunately, insurance only covers so much.

I know that there are so many people in need of help out there who struggle every day with so many different issues, and who are far more deserving of God’s grace than I am!

So once again, I find myself humbled to have to ask for help from family and friends, and from people who I never even met.

But one thing is for sure, I will never stop fighting. This disease may take away my body, but it will never take away my spirit or my faith in God.

The truth of the matter is, I’m very blessed.

God bless all of you and I will keep fighting the good fight.

***Breakdown of monthly costs and needed equipment.

*Monthly cost for in-home care ($1,200)

*Monthly cost for MS trainer ($250)

*Cost for Air Power exercise glove for hands ($370)

*Cost for vibrating leg massager for blood flow ($275)

*Cost for bathroom/shower chair ($850)

*Cost for transfer poles ($189 each need 2)

*Cost for Corpus F5 VS electric power chair ($54,870 insurance covers 60%) $21,948 my responsibility.

*Video above is of my road to recovery journey I mentioned in my story.

I hope you view it. I look forward to continuing the fight.