In October 2015, Amanda Dent woke up in a hospital in Winnipeg, confused, and aching.. In the months prior to her hospital experience, Amanda had been dealing with blood pressure and nerve problems. “I never thought much of it until one day I just woke up and something didn’t feel right. I called my friend Andrew and he immediately drove me to the hospital,” she said. Soon after their arrival, Amanda went into cardiac arrest. “It’s terrifying thinking about it now, I mean really thinking of all that I would have never been able to experience… I continuously find myself wondering about the ‘what if’”. Amanda was soon diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the myelin sheath of nerves, thus limiting fine motor abilities, and she is now being treated with a disease modifying therapy called Rebif. Currently, there is no cure for MS, but this medication is used to slow the progression of the disability. There are day-to-day hurdles for Amanda to overcome, but the biggest challenge she faces involves the emotional aspect of the disease. “I have to plan for that someday where the disease just takes over. Maybe I’ll be [in] a wheelchair, maybe they’ll have a cure by then, but it’s really that uncertainty that I find can make a person go crazy”. Shortly after her diagnosis, Amanda took time off of work to cope with the dramatic life change, and recently she received a promotion in her job with the federal government. “I’m in Ottawa for training and even though it’s work-related, I’m just happy to be here,” she said.“The biggest life change I’ve had to make is learning to take things day by day and make the most of the experiences I get”. With the support of her family, friends, and the ongoing research for a cure to end MS, Amanda remains hopeful her future.

Author: Nadya Pankiw