My MS Story

As a sports reporter and anchor, I spend my days working to share others’ stories. I’m always compelled by those stories of athletes who have overcome obstacles that have shaped them into the people they are today. I didn’t imagine it would be my turn next.

“Making it” in sports journalism, and especially as a woman, can come with challenges in a competitive field. If you’re one of the people who “make it”, you’ve probably proved that you are a determined, goal-oriented, ambitious, and maybe a little bit stubborn (the good kinda way). I’ve learned this about myself throughout my career, and since my multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

It’s not the obstacles life throws at you that define who you are, it’s how you attack them.

I’m a TV sports reporter in Orlando, Florida. I grew up in Boston as a massive sports fan, and at an early age decided I wanted to be the person who shares the stories of the sports I love to cover. I went from my first job at a TV station in Charlottesville Virginia, market #187 in terms of size, and made a jump to Orlando, market #17 in the country. I was “making it.”

I had a weekend of coverage circled on my calendar for weeks, September 16-17, 2023. First, drive to Gainesville to cover a University of Florida football game, and the next morning drive to Jacksonville to report on a Jaguars-Chiefs NFL game. I remember being in the press box at the Jags game and feeling dizzy, thinking I was just overtired from a busy work weekend or was too hyped up on caffeine. I ignored it initially and went through my day.

The following morning, I woke up with the dizziness getting perpetually worse. It was a vertigo attack. Vertigo becomes incredibly frustrating when both eyes open and eyes close bring on the spinning sensation. I went to Urgent Care, where they simply gave me Dramamine and said I should see an ENT. Four days later, I would finally have an appointment for the vertigo, which is typically an ear related problem. Each day I would go to sleep thinking “maybe if I get a good sleep, I will wake up feeling refreshed and back to normal.” In those days, I forgot what “normal” felt like, holding myself up on furniture to walk around my apartment, seeing through double vision.

The ENT first ran a number of hearing tests, tested out my balance (spoiler, failed that test!) They recommended I get an MRI to look further. At this point, I’m still spinning, and my mental health was so low as I just wanted some relief for the vertigo, as well as answers. After an MRI, I got an email with a PDF report. Reading through the medical jargon, I was able to see it, in summary, said no structural ear problems, which was great! But as most journalists know, you never want to bury the lede, aka keep the most important part of the story away from the top. They identified “white matter,” and then one final sentence: suspicious of multiple sclerosis.

I am 26, have been very healthy throughout my life thus far, maintain an active lifestyle, and have ambitious goals for my future. Reading these words, I went through a range of emotions: confused how this would be happening, scared for what a diagnosis of MS means, anxious to get answers rather than suspicions. In the grand scheme of time, I was able to see a neurologist just one month later, which to me felt like an anxiety riddled eternity with the unknowns lingering, but now know how grateful I was able to get my diagnosis really quickly after initial symptoms.

On October 23, 2023, hearing the neurologists at Mass General in Boston confirm those suspicions, I felt at peace. After worrying about unanswered questions, I felt I had clarity. I was also given incredible confidence that I would continue to lead a normal life.

The vertigo went away after a week but the double vision lingered until I was able to be seen for my first round of treatment. With the support of my family, who has the same mindset of wanting to attack any obstacles as quickly and efficiently as possible, I went from my first signs of MS symptoms, to the official diagnosis a month later, and the start of treatment one month after that. Since talking to others, they think this could be some kind of record-breaking timeline, haha!

I think this is due to how I try to approach everything I can in life: with a positive attitude and driven by my goals. I think back to a quote I saw right around the time of my diagnosis, “It’s not the obstacles life throws at you that define who you are, it’s how you attack them.” I’m attacking them head-on. I have spent the early months since my MS diagnosis not just setting up my treatment plan, but taking time to learn about the chronic condition through, making physical health goals in terms of maintaining the passion and energy for fitness and clean eating, and connect with others and hear their stories too.

Community is very important to me and I have been grateful to connect to some incredible people with different perspectives since my MS diagnosis. I am not one to let this make me feel sad about myself, but giving myself grace for feeling those emotions as they come. I wanted to become involved to help spread MS awareness. One of my initial impressions since talking with others who have MS is that everyone’s stories are so different. MS looks different on everyone and everyone has a compelling story to share. I have become comfortable with using my own voice through my career, and want to become a voice and advocate in the MS community in any ways I can.