My story
Thursday 24th Apr
I entered the emergency department of the Victorian eye & ear hospital on a Sunday.
I had lost vision in my right eye which gradually got worse in the upcoming weeks.
I remember clearly the nurse face when she put a light over my eye . I asked her what was wrong “your pupil is not reacting to the light at all” .
This was the beginning of my new life tho I didn’t understand the changes it would truly bring with it.
Am I going blind ?
Will I never see out that eye again ?
What’s wrong with me ?
Questions running through my head a million different ways.
3 days in the eye hospital, a doctors appointment on the Wednesday & the look on his face “you are showing early signs of MS Kimberley I’m so sorry”
Trying not to break down in front of a stranger is met 10 mins earlier . All I knew about it then was not being able to walk, losing speech , becoming paralysed & more.
Next day being transferred to the Peter mcallum canter centre for Plasma transfers.being told this may or may not bring back your vision.
Few hours later being transferred to the royal Melbourne hospital.
Then Friday I was given a spinal tap that should have been 1 needle in surgery awake to get spinal fluid from my brain turned into 7 due to it failing .
Having a canulla put in my neck for my plasma transfer as my arms couldn’t do it anymore .
Next day while receiving my 2nd plasma transfer my blood pressure drops from 127 to 60 in seconds . A code red alarm (emergency) was hit in my room. Watching my private room turn into roughly 20 doctors , nurses & emergency staff fly through my door & everything just being blank but voices hooking me upto machines & them all just panicking while I had no idea what happen but felt extremely sick .
12 days in hospital, I lost count of needles , test , contaminated bloods , 5 plasma transfer 3 of them failing .
I remember so clearly the doctors telling me “you’ll never drive again, never train at gym , work at a full time job or live a proper life again Kim” .
Fast forward from November to June 2023 I started an amazing job doing insane hours , driving after a week out of hospital & back training in gym stronger then I was . But then the downfall came again in my next appointment.
“I’m sorry Kim you have two small lesions on the right side as when admitted last year but there is a new bigger lesion on your left side you have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis “
The news destroyed me knowing I had no choice but to reevaluate my life again. 2 weeks later I started my treatment & every 6 months for the rest of my life I’ll be getting my infusions to see if we can slow it all down . Being told originally you could now only live 10-15 years at 29 is absolutely horrifying. Without this treatment I wouldn’t have that extra time .
These almost 3 years have been exhausting, heartbreaking, traumatic & scary. My MS has amazing days . Then I have the days I’m randomly blacking out , feeling sick , not leaving bed , back pain from my spinal tap still , nausea, headaches , weakness from doing nothing . But on those good days I make sure I make the absolute most of my day.
It’s been a rough few years but if one thing I won’t ever let it take over my life the way it was designed to. Dont take you health for granted , it can change overnight 🤷🏼♀️
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