Name:

Sarah Conrad

Country of residence:

USA

Age:

27

Occupation:

Graduate Student in Astrophysics

Who is accompanying you on the Kilimanjaro climb?

No one in my family or friends. My climbing partner is Colleen Hayes.

When were you diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis?

May 25^th, 2010

How has your diagnosis affected your life?

MS is the first thing I think of most days. On average, it crosses my mind 15 or 20 times per day. One thing about having MS is I am now hyper sensitive. If the SLIGHTEST thing goes wrong in my body, I notice. It could be a square millimeter falls asleep on my thumb for 30 seconds (this has happened) and all my attention focuses on it. Muscle twinges, arm falling asleep etc. Everything, despite the fact that it could be and probably is completely normal is all the sudden noticeable.

What is your current level of physical disability (if any)?

There is not a whole lot to complain about so far, a few vision problems that have resolved and the annoying foot buzzing.

Please provide a history of your disease and how the disease is now affecting your life?

It's been just over a year that I was diagnosed. It started when my left eye became opaque (it's better now). The best way I can describe it was like it was a constant bright glare and like there was a milky sheen over everything. The vision itself was clear, but I couldn't see very well through the milky haze. Also my color vision was strongly affected. I thought perhaps my retina was detaching or something weird like that. I wasn't too concerned, but at the worst case I thought I would just lose vision in one eye. I went to the ophthalmologist and he sent me to the ER saying "You have optic neuritis, where your optic nerve is inflamed. A neurologist normally treats this with steroids, don't worry it's nothing to worry about". He never mentioned MS. I went to the ER got the same story. The ER doctor at this point said, "There is a slight chance of developing MS with this condition". In my mind I thought slight meant 1-3% or so. But my sister is an optician and she said the chance was 20-40%. At this point I was a bit taken back. 20-40% seemed to be a bit more than slight. I confirmed with the ER doctor that those were correct percentages. Then they did a MRI of my brain and spinal cord. I had "many lesions". Too many to count in fact, so they didn't bother to in the report. Thankfully they were all small which is why I had had no previous symptoms. At this point the neurologist, who came in with a gaggle of interns, said there was a 75% chance of MS because I had lesions, but that if I didn't have another attack in that year, my prognosis was good (I ended up having 2 other attacks…though I am still hopeful). At that time, I had no idea what MS was, but I knew it was bad. Within about one day my slight chance, nothing is wrong, went to fairly high chance of MS. I remember distinctly thinking: "I wish I was just going blind in that eye."

But in the end I found out that I have MS.

What are your current views/feelings of your life with Multiple Sclerosis?

When I think about what is the worst part of having MS, it's not those things. It's the fear. It is ever present and I fight to keep it at bay every day. Sometimes I lose. But I think overall I've kept fairly positive.

How have your relationships with your family/personal/friend relationships been affected by your diagnosis?

My husband has been incredibly supportive, though for a period of 2 weeks, it was nearly too much for him and put a strain on our marriage. My close friend and most of my family have been very supportive. There has been a few cases of very weird interactions with family. Just really unthoughtful comments. I think it is almost impossible for someone without a chronic illness to really empathize and so sometimes they will just say completely clueless things.

What has motivated you to take part in the Kilimanjaro climb?

After being diagnosed with MS, it was the first thought I had, not being able to hike. I always envisioned myself hiking until I was 60, 70 or even 80 years old. The diagnosis of MS suddenly threw that into the realm of uncertainty. I heard about the Kilimanjaro climb back in September by reading an article about Lori in Reader’s Digest. Even though it sounded like the hikers were already determined, the article stuck with me for a month and then one day I decided to email her. And here I am! For me climbing Kilimanjaro is the epitome of triumph in the face of adversity.

What is your previous experience of hiking/climbing?

I am from Montana and my husband is Swiss so I grew up hiking and in the mountains. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do and every time I travel to a new country I look for an opportunity to go hiking.

What are your aspirations/hopes for the Kilimanjaro climb?

To get to the top! And to meet a lot of really inspiring people with MS who are living life to the fullest in face of this scary disease.

What hopes/aspirations do you have planned following the Kilimanjaro climb?

To keep a high level of physical fitness. And to make every hour of every day count.

What would you say to other people who are living with MS?

I feel that being as I’ve only been diagnosed just over a year, I am not in the place to say anything. I have more to say to people who don’t have MS about health care issues in the US and how to empathize a bit with people living with chronic illnesses.

If I had to say something to all people in the world it would be “Take Vitamin D!!”