MS Diagnosis Journey
In the chronic disease arena, most everyone is more than willing to share their story for their own benefit and that of others. At the core of each story is the diagnosis. Everyone has a story to tell, and every storyteller needs an audience. We invite you to join us for the Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Journey podcast and listen to these unique stories. There's much to learn from each other by listening to these stories of diagnosis. By sharing their experiences with others, the MS Diagnosis journey podcast will serve as a vehicle for healing and empowerment for the storyteller. Support of this project is made possible through the generosity of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Episodes
42 episodes
Series Wrap-Up
For the final episode of the MS Diagnosis Journey podcast, regular host Laura Kolaczkowski and editor Steve Woodward reflect on the stories that they've heard throughout the series.In this chat, Laura and Steve look back on what they fou...
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Episode 40
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18:20
Laura Kolaczkowski: "Don't Make It A Solo Act"
In a change to our regular broadcasting, this time around it's regular host Laura Kolaczkowski's turn to share her journey to a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.Despite having a family member with MS, Laura never thought that it was in her f...
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Episode 39
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16:24
Damian Washington and Trusting Your Gut
Damian Washington is a self-proclaimed high-energy dude. So it's easy to see why, when his enthusiasm started to dip on set, he and his wife knew something was wrong. It was so out of character that Damian refers to it as losing his essence of ...
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Episode 38
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16:56
Dr. Susan Payrovi and the Lessons that MS Can Teach Us
As a physician and a patient living with Multiple Sclerosis, Dr. Susan Payrovi has a unique perspective on managing the condition. But even she dismissed her own initial symptoms, putting them down to exhaustion and tendonitis.In this co...
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Episode 37
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12:27
Cassie Martin on Trying to Find The Right Words
When Cassie Martin noticed sensations of tingling and numbness, she initially put it down to being in Wisconsin in the fall. But a feeling like a buzzer, running from her head to her feet, eventually led Cassie to Doctor Google who told her all...
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Episode 36
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12:19
Linda Kanner: "This Is A Sneaky Disease"
Linda Kanner was diagnosed with MS in 2007. She had an awareness of the disease through an Uncle, but her official diagnosis still took twenty years after first presenting symptoms to a medical professional. Shortly after this, Lind...
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Episode 35
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12:20
Kathy Reagan Young: "Anything You Notice About Your Body, Don't Ignore It"
When she noticed the appearance of strange symptoms, Kathy Reagan Young put them down to being an exhausted stay-at-home mom. It was only down to the input of friends and business associates that she was able to be fast-tracked to a diagnosis o...
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Episode 34
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10:33
Renita Larsen: "It Continues To Be A Whirlwind"
Renita Larsen was an athlete and a dancer when her mysterious symptoms began. She shares her journey over several years and even surgery before connecting with a neurologist who put her history together. Renita credits the support of her family...
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Episode 33
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18:44
Teresa Wright-Johnson: "My Body Has Never Failed Me"
Hope could have been Teresa Wright-Johnson’s middle name because she exudes hope in all she does. Treatment for a workplace injury was the trigger for her MS diagnosis, which added an additional dimension to her already impressive health advoca...
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Episode 32
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20:28
Dawn Morgan: "You Mean I'm Gonna Look Like Janet Reno?!"
Dawn Morgan was young and living her best single-woman life when abnormal symptoms began to disrupt her life. The first doctor she saw put what she was experiencing down to B12 deficiency and her vegetarian diet. However, what she now knows is ...
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Episode 31
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22:13
Robbie Gillett: A Warrior Beneath The Tracksuit
Robbie Gillett was at work when he became unable to move when he was installing a kitchen unit. He was convinced that he was dying or having a stroke but the doctors who saw him initially thought he had Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS). Howev...
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Episode 30
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14:40
Roger Cook: "Don't Let MS Rule Your Life"
Roger Cook is from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and is active in the Newcastle chapter of the MS Society and the MS Research and Relief Fund (UK). He was officially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2001 but had symptoms much earlier ...
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Episode 29
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12:35
Veronica Daniels-Lewis and Listening To Your Inner Voice
Veronica Daniels-Lewis is a Multiple Sclerosis myth-buster! Firstly, she is a woman of color - and as we've learned before, some medical professionals still believe that MS is a white woman's disease. Secondly, her three pregnancies were all ma...
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Episode 28
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17:08
Joan Jordan: "A Slow Volcanic Eruption"
Like many of our guests, Joan Jordan's MS diagnosis took many years from her first reported symptoms. However, Joan's situation was complicated by the fact that she was working as a software engineer in various locations around the world - and ...
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Episode 27
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14:08
Kyle Warendorf: Joining the Dots
Though he was aware of MS while growing up, it took a number of neurologists before Kyle Warendorf was able to connect the dots of his medical history. He was finally diagnosed with MS in 2011, but by trawling through his medical archeology he ...
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Episode 26
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18:01
Susan Silver: "You Feel Like You're Going Nuts!"
In a first for this podcast, Susan Silver was diagnosed with MS not once but twice.Initially, Susan was told that the symptoms she was reporting - including fatigue, vertigo, and problems with her vision - were caused by her high-pressur...
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Episode 25
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13:40
Toccara Carter: "Don't Ever Feel Like You're Alone"
Toccara was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2008 as she was wrapping up her final semester of graduate school. At that time, she didn't see anyone that looked like her in the materials that were available to help make sense of her diagnosi...
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Episode 24
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10:53
DeLisa French: "Your Medical Team Works For You!"
It took DeLisa French ten years from the onset of her symptoms before she got a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. She now sees MS as a blessing and a curse, and although it might slow her down, she won't let it stop her. DeLisa is an...
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Episode 23
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14:59
The Power of Knowing What You Have
Even though Helen has a background in Medical Research, her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in the late 1990s still came out of the blue. Not least because - as you'll hear - her symptoms matched exactly with B12 deficiency and pernicious ane...
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Episode 22
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14:22
Patty Solis: Seeing The Positives In The Cards You've Been Dealt
If you've ever felt bad about the fact that you were unaware of Multiple Sclerosis before beginning your own journey to a diagnosis, take comfort. Patty Solis was completely unaware of MS, despite having worked in a variety of healthcare roles ...
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Episode 21
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22:23
Dan and Jennifer Digmann: Powerhouses in living with MS
Jennifer and Dan Digmann have been married since 2005 and have lived with Multiple Sclerosis throughout their relationship - Jennifer was diagnosed in 1997, Dan in the year 2000. They met at a National Multiple Sclerosis Society event in 2002, ...
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Episode 20
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18:39
Dimika Cavalier: "You Have A Right To Be Analytical When It Comes To Your Health"
If you've been diagnosed with MS or any other chronic illness, you will have likely gone through a period when the medical experts you're speaking to don't believe you or even listen to you. However, people of color face that on a whole other l...
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Episode 19
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11:52
Shereese Hickson: "It's Something That I Can Live With"
A recurring theme of these podcasts is the seemingly random misdiagnoses that come before someone finally says the words "Multiple Sclerosis". Shereese Hickson and her doctors brushed aside her first symptoms for years before she was finally di...
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Episode 18
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14:10
Scott James: "If I'm Broke I Need To Find Out Everything About It"
Compared to most people, Scott James' diagnosis story is incredibly rapid. Just over a week after being misdiagnosed with a pinched nerve, he was back at the ER with worsening symptoms. The on-call neurologist he saw listened to his story, jabb...
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Episode 17
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21:30
Nohora Gutierrez: "I want to see my lesions!"
When she was first diagnosed, Nohora Gutierrez was told by her (former) neurologist to stay away from MS Support Groups. She was even told which drug she was going to take.As a trainer, Nohorra is naturally drawn to learning as much as p...
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Episode 16
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19:17