Soon after that day, I found myself in another situation, this time with my right leg. Walking to my car, my right leg nearly gave out under me. Instead of my usual firm gait, I found myself having to walk very slowly and gingerly, holding on to a building so as not to fully collapse. Once again, I figured it was the severe cold weather causing my near fall. Once I made it to my car I phoned my best friend, who prevailed upon me to see my doctor later that week.

I rolled my eyes when the doctor ordered a CT-scan of my brain to see what was going on. A couple days later, the doctor's office called, citing they needed to see me right away. My situation turned almost surreal, as the woman from the doctor’s office sounded overly concerned, and my coworkers seemed to be nicer than usual. I started to wonder what was happening.

At the doctor’s office, I learned the alarming news that there was something in my brain that didn’t belong; one possibility was that it was a tumor. I was referred to the Neuroscience Institute for more tests. I was on pins and needles for the entire month before I could get an appointment with them. While this was not exactly the news we were hoping for, my boyfriend comforted me during this crisis, as it were. When I finally made it in for my appointment, they informed me that the unusual area in my brain was consistent with that of a stroke. I was then given blood thinners to reduce the risk of another stroke; then I was sent for further testing, to include MRIs, and Echocardiogram (EKG), and referred to see a more specialized neurologist.

A few months later, in better weather, I finally made it to see the neurologist. He stated that this growth in my brain was not a tumor, nor was it a stroke that I had experienced. He informed me that I had something called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I nicely asked him how we go about getting rid of it. I had no idea what this fancy medical term referred to, and didn’t think it was anything too serious. It was then that I learned that it is a serious auto immune neurological condition, for which there is no cure. I was also delivered the news that I would have to take certain treatments in injection form. I was also then forwarded to another kind of neurologist who specializes in MS.

After making the appointment to see the even more specialized neurologist, I went home and straight to the search engines. From the fist words I read about this thing called Multiple Sclerosis, I was reduced to tears. It seems this is quite rare in Asians. So then thought even with that, I somehow happened to get it. The test this doctor ordered was something called a Lumbar Puncture (LP), aka a spinal tap, and it caused such excruciating pain, and a terrific headache, I could hardly stand it. No amount of pain killers would touch this pain. Even a visit to the ER and several fluid infusions later, I was released…only to return a few days later. Finally, two weeks later, relief arrived and I was free of my massive headache and able to walk once again.

This was a very difficult thing to explain to my very traditional Indian family – what is MS, how I somehow contracted it, the fact that there is no cure, etc. It was just not something they could accept. My parents did their best to prevail upon me to move to India for their local medical "cures". It was upsetting to me that they had a difficult time understanding or accepting my new challenge. My fatigue was dismissed by them as laziness, and needless excuses. Unfortunately, I have not been in contact with my parents much since then. But I am thankful to have some wonderful friends in my life. My feeling is that MS is to serve as a reminder to me that I am blessed, and that things could always be worse. I keep reminding myself that I am a strong Indian woman, and that is something that will never change.