Alecia Harris
I had a marriage made in heaven, three wonderful little boys and a house with a white picket fence. I was so blessed. I had a wonderful family and great friends. I had worked for one of the nation’s top hospitals and as a university instructor. Life was great! All of my hard work had paid off and I was on my way.
In a matter of months, my picture perfect world was shattered. After the birth of my youngest son, I began to regularly experience extreme fatigue, numbness and tingling in my limbs, loss of balance and other unusual symptoms. Having been trained as a nurse, I thought that I was experiencing post-partum fatigue. After all, my new bundle of joy was keeping me quite busy. I continued to be a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I had absolutely no time to dwell on a little physical discomfort. I had things to do.
As the symptoms continued to progress, I knew in my heart that something was terribly wrong. After undergoing months of testing and losing my vision in one eye, I heard the dreaded words, “You have a chronic debilitating disease for which there is no cure. You have multiple sclerosis.” Life as I knew it, changed forever. I could no longer work and was declared legally disabled.
Not only had I lost my vision, I lost a part of me. On the inside, a part of me was gone. I continued to have good days and bad days physically. There were many days and nights when I wondered, through tears and excruciating pain, if I would be able to walk in the morning or evening. Sometimes the answer would be yes and sometimes the answer would be no.
Adversity continued. Less than two years after being diagnosed, my marriage ended in divorce. Because of my faith, determination, and disease modifying treatment, which slows the progression of the disease, I am able to keep my head up and forge ahead.
I organized a “Walking With Faith” team of people who participate each year in the annual National Multiple Sclerosis Society walks. Today, “Walking With Faith (www.walkingwithfaith.org), Inc.”, a 501 (c) 3 organization, is comprised of more than 100 volunteers committed to raising funds to end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis.
I am a survivor on many fronts, and my prayer is that my testimony will inspire others to hold on even during the darkest of hours.
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