Brittany’s Story
Brittany’s story with multiple sclerosis: Brittany learns how to find strength in the challenging moments of life with multiple sclerosis.
My story begins in August 2021; I had just turned twenty-nine and my life right on track. I had a career I loved as a police officer, a solid plan for the future, and everything seemed to be going as expected. Then, one morning on my drive to work, everything changed.
I was on the highway, about to merge, and when I turned my head, my vision in one eye went completely black. I could still see out of my right eye and was only a few minutes away from the police station so I continued driving. When I arrived at the station, I tried to step out of my car and almost fell. My legs felt numb, my ribcage felt like it was being squeezed, and I had pressure behind my eyes, along with neck pain, vertigo, and a pounding headache. A coworker helped me inside, and I went straight to the hospital.
After ten agonizing hours at the hospital, I was sent home without answers. They advised I see my primary care physician and a neurologist. The next day, my primary care physician prescribed steroids and gabapentin to help with my vision and referred me to a neurologist.
The neurologist sent me for brain, cervical and thoracic spine MRI’s. A month after being hospitalized, I was called back into my neurologist’s office and was told I had Multiple Sclerosis. I had two lesions in my brain and two active lesions in my neck.
I started five days of IV steroid infusions to treat the active lesions. Those five days of steroid infusions were some of the most painful days of my story thus far. My frontal vision came back but the peripheral took a month or longer to fully recover. When I met my multiple sclerosis specialist, they diagnosed me with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. After discussing treatment options, I decided on Ocrevus.
Getting started on Ocrevus wasn’t easy. My insurance denied coverage twice before finally approving it in January. My doctor had categorized my MS as aggressive, and this felt like the best treatment option. I was on Ocrevus for five full infusions. At my last infusion, I had a reaction, some symptom progression and new lesions on my MRI.
During this time, I was also diagnosed with additional autoimmune conditions, including a tiny brain tumor. I began researching other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and MS specialists. That’s when I found Dr. Andrew Bouley at The Elliot Lewis Center (ELC) through a pharmaceutical education program about a new medication, Briumvi.
At the program, Dr. Bouley’s expertise stood out. He answered all my questions, discussed switching medications, and shared his patient-first approach. Dr. Bouley personally sees his patients at every appointment and even provides his email for direct communication. This level of care and accessibility was exactly what I was missing.
A few months later there was a second program and I went back to speak with him to see if he was accepting new patients. I knew I needed a change, so I made an appointment with Dr. Bouley at The Elliot Lewis Center.
The office staff at ELC made making the appointment and intake so easy and stress free. I particularly like that The Elliot Lewis Center does cognitive testing and vision testing at each six-month appointment to determine if anything has changed. I feel like this is so important to monitor progression and is something that wasn’t done at my prior neurologist’s office.
After changing my MS specialist to Dr. Bouley, I then made the difficult decision to switch to a new promising medication, Briumvi. ELC makes it convenient for me, coming from Rhode Island, by coordinating my infusion appointments and doctor visits on the same day. I’ve now had two full doses of Briumvi, and I feel better than I did on my previous treatment. I still struggle with daily symptoms and issues due to my MS and other chronic illnesses.
I still have a lot of unknowns about my future; I’ve been on sick leave for three years, unable to return to my career as a police officer. These past few years I have had to grieve my past life. I’ve had to grieve the life I once had, letting go of plans, dreams, and activities I used to take for granted. It’s been a difficult journey, but I’ve also learned to treasure what I still have.
I have accepted that I have MS, and I have to do things to keep it controlled and at bay; taking medications, working out, trying to minimize as much stress from my life as possible, eating healthy, holding onto hope for new medication options and maybe one day a cure. In some ways I feel like MS has made me a better person, I have more empathy for others and understand materialistic things aren’t important.
The MS community has also been a huge source of strength for me. Connecting with others who understand what I’m going through has helped me feel less alone.
Ten years ago, after I graduated from the police academy, I got a tattoo to remind myself that I could achieve anything with perseverance, not knowing how much those words would relate to my health: “Somewhere weakness is our strength”. Life with MS is unpredictable, but I’ve learned that even in the hardest moments, there’s strength to be found.
