Meet MS Warrior Ellie Tillotson
While preparing for the Marine Corps Marathon in 2013, Ellie Tillotson of Virginia decided to mix things up a bit to give herself a break from the long, arduous training runs required for a marathon. In July, she wanted to have some fun and participated in a mud run, but she literally gave herself a break. She scrambled to the top of a 10-foot fence and jumped down the other side. She landed on both feet, but the impact caused a compression fracture on her left ankle. Ellie tried to walk off the pain on her way to the next obstacle, but it did not feel good at all. The intense pain made her feel dizzy and even nauseous. She hobbled her way to a medical tent, where an ambulance was called to take her to the hospital.
Needless to say, Ellie was not able to run her Mrst marathon at Marine Corps and deferred her entry to the next year. She spent the rest of the summer at physical therapy, mending her way back to running form.
Then in January 2014, Ellie started tripping and falling over her left foot. She thought it was residual injury from the time she broke her ankle. She diligently completed all of the rehabilitation exercises and wondered why it was taking so long to heal. She distinctly recalls a 10-mile run in February with her friend. She fell at mile 6. Then she fell again at mile 7. Ellie, being head-strong, wanted to keep going, but her friend convinced her they should call it a day and go home. Ellie said it was the coldest, longest 2 mile walk back to the car.
Ellie continued to run and tried to train as well as possible despite the tripping and falling, but on July 4th… she broke herself. She was at a 5K race and gunning for a fast time. With one mile to go, Ellie said it felt like something broke inside her. It wasn’t at all like the ankle break she experienced a year prior. Her balance was suddenly off and her brain felt confused. She knew something was wrong. Yet, two weeks later she participated in another race and had serious issues with balance and vision. She imagined people thought she was drunk.
Ellie went to her doctor and was referred to a neurologist and ophthalmologist. The neurologist ordered an MRI and when the results came back, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in August, 2014. She Mnally learned her foot drop was due to the disease and not the broken ankle from the previous year. Ellie’s neurologist callously told her to Mnd a new sport, but she didn’t want to hear it and she Mred him! Ellie needed a doctor who aligned with her desire to keep on running.
Not wanting to give up, Ellie still had her first marathon at the Marine Corps in a few months. She could not train properly, but toed the start line anyway. She started to feel trippy at mile three. At mile seven, she ducked into a medical tent and explained her situation to the Marines. They took immediate action and taped up her foot and leg to mitigate the tripping. Although Ellie no longer felt wobbly, her speed significantly slowed due to constriction from the tape. She did not make the cut-off time at the 14th Street Bridge. The Marines picked her up on the other side at mile 21 and drove her to the finish line. Ellie learned more about the strength of her character by not finishing.
With resolve and determination, Ellie went to her physical therapist to find a solution to run safely. She was given a list of strength-training exercises and Ellie also asked about an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) to help stabilize her foot. The therapist’s main concern, however, was to preserve functionality versus Ellie’s desire to keep running. The therapist said Ellie would have to go through rehabilitation before an AFO could be considered.
Ellie was scheduled to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon a month after Marine Corps. With time running out and PT exercises not helping her situation, she sought the help of a physical medicine doctor. He was very understanding and fast tracked an AFO.
She received her new medical device two weeks prior to the Las Vegas Half Marathon. She only had a few training runs with the AFO, but successfully ran the race in all its neon glory. She did experience numbness and some pain 10 miles into the race, but it was better than the fear of falling.
Though Ellie felt hopeful about her new-found AFO, it was a marathon journey adjusting to the device. Her first AFO style was carbon fiber with medial and lateral polyetheretherketone rods. The plastic is supposed to allow flexibility for the motion of running, however, Ellie broke her AFO after 8 months. Then while running with her second AFO from the same company, she rolled her ankle and ripped the carbon footplate right off the strut! That AFO also lasted a mere 8 months.
Ellie’s orthotist found a new carbon fiber AFO style and it was much better for Ellie’s running. It was a sturdier device, but the stiffness caused a neuroma problem. Ellie said the pain can be so bad at times that it feels like her toes are going to break off! She has played around with neuroma pads and other remedies, but she hasn’t found the perfect solution, yet. However, a year ago, she started running with the SpryStep AFO by Thuasne. It is a flexible and more dynamic AFO. Ellie says the SpryStep is simply amazing!
Ellie has been living with MS for almost six years and has completed 5 marathons, 5 triathlons and 5 Bike MS events. Once in a while she will lapse into frustration of feeling broken, but she uses MS to motivate her to do hard things. And, yes. She eventually completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 2015!