Hello!! I am very new here, like as of 10 minutes ago!! My name is Jacque, I live in OKC, OK USA. I used to be a Master's prepared ED RN (wait, I guess I still am, I just can't work any longer). I was diagnosed on May 19,1995, 1 month to the day of the OKC Murrah Building bombing. I had been having symptoms, such as trigeminal neuralgia at the age of 32, falling, breaking wrist watch faces due to falling into walls, etc. extreme fatigue, heat intolerance. cold intolerance. Y'all know what I'm talking about....I worked the ED in OKC on the day of the bombing and, of course, after my shift, I went home crying my eyes out. I cried about the loss of life, no way to help my patients understand what had happened, no way to make sense out of something so senseless. All that was on TV was 24/7 coverage of the rescue effort. I cried for a week. I went back to work 1 week after the bombing. The first night, I tried to stand up and my right leg felt as if it wasn't there, so I fell. Then a couple of days later, I was shopping and my right leg felt as if I was dragging an elephant behind me. I dropped by the ED to talk with the doctor about what was going on. She got me an appointment. for the next day, with a neurologist. He did MRI's which showed I had a demyelinating illness. That was the beginning of my story.......
The Oklahoma City Bombing claims one mor... - My MSAA Community
The Oklahoma City Bombing claims one more injured!!
@ms4n6rn
Sorry to hear your story. Welcome to the list. I hope you find it useful as I have. All the members have great knowledge and advice. I have learned and shared a lot since being on here.
I have to say I am sorry that you have MS and that's no way to find out. To deal with what happened in Oklahoma City that just made your MS make its appearance what an entrance. The way my MS made it's appearance was after 9-11 my husband was working at Logan Airport in Boston. He new people who were on the planes. I was Nervous about everything. That's when I lost partial eyesight , it has some what came back. But that was my beginning with this monster of a disease.
I am sorry 😐 you have MS.
Good LUCK in all that you do.
Welcome to the site I think you'll enjoy yourself here. I think you'll meet A lot of interesting people here. I think there are fellow nurses here also.
Welcome, ms4n6rn ! Look forward to getting to know you! Don't hesitate to post or reply to any topic that catches your eye! I have lived with MS for 30 years and still learn from our group!
Thanks so much for the warm welcome. I've had MS for 22 years, mostly good years. Was able to work until 2010, after my Momma passed away in July, 2009. The symptoms came roaring back to life and has made my life much more difficult. Hoping all is well with you and I hope to see you on here again!! Jacque
Welcome ms4n6rn , we are close by one another! I live in Duncan. My mother lives in Moore. My neuro/MS specialist is Dr Aaron Farrow. Was with OU Medical and I believe already has moved to Mercy. My next appointment in October will be the first at Mercy neuro clinic. I have been falling behind with my posts however when I saw you were so close I had to give a shout out to ya. I am aprpching my 3 month mark of Ocrevus tomorrow so I am fixin to post an update either tonight or tomorrow. Welcome this forum does wonders for the whole emotional pitfalls that couple MS. Glad your here!!!! 😆
Thoughts and prayers
Allen
OMGosh!!! It is truly a small world!! Dr. Farrow was also my neurologist, unfortunately due to our insurance, I have to stay with OU neurology. I think my new Dr. is Peggy Wisdom. Have you ever seen or met her?? I don't go back to see her until November. What is Ocrevus?? I'm on Aubagio, which I take orally every day. Have you ever heard of something called a "MS HUG?" What is it if you know?? Thanks so much for your warm welcome!! I look forward to hearing from you again!! Have a blessings filled day!! Jacque
I don't know Dr Wisdom at all. My clinical DX was by Dr Hershey and she transferred my care to Dr Farrow.
Yes I know the MS hug all to well. It's the tightening of the muscle (spatisity) in the abdominal area and around the waist and midsection. However when I get it it even sometimes happens in my legs as well. It varies in intensity and at times makes it excruciating to even breathe. It feels like I am in an anaconda movie where a giant snake is crushing me. Other times its just an annoyance.
Talk about brain fog. I could have sworn I responded earlier but I was checking and realized I had not.
And about Ocrevus it is the first treatment approved for PPMS as well as RRMS. It was approved in March 2017 by the fda. It is an infusion once every 6 months and so far so good. I am hypersensitive to meds and I am tolerating it much better than my previous three therapies.
I can understand everyone! over the last couple of weeks I have fallen 3 times. I was hot the first 2 n normal (as can be) the third. It's instantaneous, the lights go out and I fall like a sack-o-taytas. Anyone else?
Welcome Jacgue. Sorry for the reason your here but glad you found the best ms sure available. Its full of real people that truly understand ms as well as it can be understood because we live it everyday.everybody's experience is different but that how ms works. We all have this monster in common so we have a common bond. We share symptoms concerns laughter and sometimes heartbreak and sorrow. Guess you could say we share about everything together because we are family. We also share ideas and treatment experience. So whatever you're looking for you can find it here. Welcome and God bless.
Donnie.
So sorry to here of your diagnosis of MS, especially after such a terrible tragedy. In reading your post and some replies I noticed several mentions of a stressful situation preceding MS symptoms and subsequent diagnosis of MS. I have always been a very healthy active person and rately got sick, and never seriously. The a few days after a cystoscopy I came down with a raging infection that sent me to the emergency room. I remember the urologist Dr coming into the office and not sterilizing the instrument before my procedure. My MS symptoms started soon after my infection, which I just kept attributing my symptoms to my getting older. I was eventually diagnosed with MS. Although it might have occured sooner or later I'm convinced the infection caused my MS to flare up. Otherwise I may still be healthy and not even aware I had latent MS in my genes. Presumably this is nothing new and Dr's are well aware of stress kicking off MS that otherwise may have stayed dormant. My doctors think otherwise, but I've learned to trust my instincts which haven't failed me, except when I ignore them. As a researcher I'm well aware it's important to be objective and not make conclusions based on what you want to believe. Too much speculation. It's getting late.
My prayers go out to you. Best wishes. You've found a great group to talk to others who understand what ir's like to live with MS.
Thank you so very much for your sharing your story with me. I agree with you about the infection causing your latent MS to exacerbate. Studies consistently show that infections, viruses, stress, and emotional events cause MS to flare up. I thank you for your prayers. I will be praying for all the wonderful people I have chatted with tonight. Hope to talk with you again!! Jacque
ms4n6rn welcome!
We (unfortunately) have much in common. MS, TN and nursing (I'm a NP forced into early retirement by MS).
The OK bombing must have been a horrific experience 😢
It was horrifying. We had bomb threats throughout the day and evening. All sense of security and safety was gone in a moment. We had patients asking what had happened to them. It was so hard hearing all their memories of the bombing. I felt like I couldn't provide emotional support to them when they would ask why. How can one make sense out of something so senseless.
I, too, was forced into retirement by MS. I have my Master's in Forensic Nursing. I feel like I used to be rather intelligent, but not any longer. The cognitive issues truly suck. When I was diagnosed, I prayed that the MS could affect my legs or arms, but leave the cognitive areas of my brain alone. It, MS, has a mind of it's own. What it is taking is my brain. My control center. I had to learn that there are no choices with MS. It is out of my control what it has in store for me. So I just take it one day at a time and one step at a time.
I would really like to hear your story sometime. Bless your heart and soul. Jacque
ms4n6rn
It was the cognitive deficits that also caused me to stop work. I still function fairly well, even decent on my neuro-cog testing. Just not good enough to make the complex decisions necessary to assure safe patient care.
I still teach NPs in an online program and do volunteer work helping people that gives me the fulfillment I had in my career.
Forensic nursing is in high demand! Much medical-legal opportunities in addition to the hands on clinical opportunities.
I spent 10 yrs in the Army, saw some traumatic injuries related to stupidity but there were no wars during that time and we only practiced for mass casualty events.
Hi, welcome to the group. My heart goes out to you for having to go thru that horrific experience. As for the MS this is a great place to be...if no one else understand we will.
Hi y'all!! I'd like to say how much I appreciate all the wonderful responses I have received. It is an awesome feeling just knowing I have finally found a site with excellent, knowledgeable, giving, and open persons. Thanks so much for y'alls kindness!!
I'm late welcoming you, ms4n6rn . It's a shame we all have to meet under the umbrella of MS, but I hope you find this a great place.
I'm sorry you personally experienced that horrific day in our history. As others have mentioned, stress, injuries, etc. can trigger MS or relapses. My first experience with MS followed a slight back injury and my father's unexpected and sudden death two days after that. And sadly, MS has also affected my ability to work. Even my volunteer activities have changed due to my cognitive deficits.
But all in all, my life is good. I have a loving husband, kids and grandkids. When I focus on what I do have, what I've lost seems much smaller in comparison. 💕
Thank you so very much for welcoming to the site. I'm so sorry about the loss of father. I lost my Momma 7/30/09 and my Dad 11/23/12. It's so hard going on without them, but they are resting peacefully now. How soon after your father's death did you start having problems? Or were you like me, having uncontrollable shaking in my 20's and then TN at 32 (1990) and then the other shoe dropped and I was diagnosed in 1995 (37).
I am with on having a good life. I have a wonderful hubby, who is also an RN, and 2 children, our oldest is Shannon and youngest is Jared. We also have an "adopted" daughter, whom we all love to pieces, Stephanie. She has 2 little girls, 9 and 10, and a little boy due in October. That is as close to grandkids as I have!! Life is still fun!!
I'm sorry you've lost both parents. My mom is still with us and only lives 45 mins away.
To answer your question, I started having unusual burning/buzzing sensations in my back 2 weeks following my dad's death. (I was 33yrs old.) I assumed it was from the back injury 2 days before he died. But my doc didn't agree with me. He sent me to a neuro for testing and that's when MS was first mentioned. It progressed from there-falling, walking like a drunk, leg giving out, etc. I wasn't diagnosed until 9yrs later.
It sounds like you see the glass half-full, too! I know there are days when that cup seems bone dry, but I hope those days are few, ms4n6rn . 💕
That is a brave story to tell! Thank you for sharing! You will never ever find a better, more diverse, loving group to be a part of! We already love you! We all look forward to what you have to offer!
Love you all!
Rob
Oh!!! Thank you so much for your kind words. I know I have only been on the site 2 days, but I feel as if I know each and everyone on this forum!! I've learned so much already.
Oh goodness, I'm so sorry...big stressors to say the least.You are in a good knowledgable group.On 9 11 I know even the ashes falling effected many for a lifetime not only the horrificness of it.so a bombing, particles, it could relate a part also.Ill just say it...some times it just stinks.
Welcome to this great great group. I remember the Murrah building bombing. well. We live in Norman Ok at the time, and still do. That incedent and the following TV coverage was really intense.
I was also in OKC when the bombing occurred. I worked for an insurance company in the BOA building which was a few miles north of downtown. It shook the whole building and everyone was speculating what had made that happen when people on the downtown side of the building started calling others to say that there was dark smoke coming out of downtown. Little Baylie Almon's mother had just gone to work for my company a few days before which is why her little girl was in the daycare at the Federal building. I'll never forget how awful that time was. I'm so sorry to hear that your health issues can be linked back to that time.
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