Meet MS Warrior Christine Arno
written by Christine Arno
My first “episode” became undiagnosed. I was in my 20s and life was great. I noticed some issues with vision in my left eye. I went to the Medi-centre and seen the doctor on duty, but he didn’t really see anything. A few days later I looked in the mirror and the left side of my face had gone paralyzed. I went back to the doctor, he looked quite concerned, phoned a neurologist, and came back with a prescription for prednisone and I had an appointment to see the neurologist in a few days. I saw that neurologist, he set up a CAT scan in another few days but by the time I went to the hospital the symptoms had cleared up and so they decided not to continue with the scan and sent me on my way.
I decided life is short and went back to university to finish my degree which I had taken a break from. I had my degree in hand and started my career the very next day after convocation in June of 2007. Little did I know what life was going to throw at me next…
I began working to change my health. I always had that incident with my eye and face paralysis in the back of my mind. I quit smoking, started going to the gym and working out with a personal trainer. I signed up for a Learn to Run clinic and ironically, our goal 5km run at the end of the clinic happened to be the MS Walk/Run in 2014. I continued the running and progressing thru the clinics.
During the training for my first half marathon, I started feeling numbness in my feet and pain in my right leg. I figured it was due to all my training. I went to chiro, and they diagnosed it as a pinched nerve. Turns out after that pinched nerve is a common misdiagnosis for those with MS. The Chiropractor said that if the numbness travels up to my belly button, then it’s something else. Sure enough, the numbness continued to travel up my right side and went all the way up to the belly button in a few weeks. I just thought it meant she did something wrong during the sessions. I quit going to see the chiropractor and switched to a physical therapist. I told the therapist that I had a pinched nerve and kept silent about the numbness. She did the standard assessment and came up with the same conclusion – pinched nerve causing the pain in my right side.
I continued going to physio and eventually the numbness travelled back down to just my feet. I figured the treatments were working and that it was just a pinched nerve. I completed the training with the half marathon clinic and travelled to Las Vegas in November 2015. I went on to become a running coach to share my knowledge and passion with others and to help them to run their first half marathon.
It was during my time as a running coach I had another set back. It was one week after finishing one half marathon and I was coaching the next group for a half marathon the summer of 2017. I went out on our first training run and we were just around the corner from where we started, excitingly talking when I lost my focus, stepped funny, heard a loud crack, and down I went. I got to the hospital in a blur. I didn’t cry over the pain I was in. It wasn’t until the Doctor told me that I couldn’t run and that it my ankle was indeed broken and not just a sprain that I cried. I cried over not being able to do what I loved. I was worried about how long it would take me to recover so I could get back to my running. I continued to coach that half marathon group from the side lines and started walking around the block in my “boot” while they would be off running.
It was the beginning of 2018 and I started noticing issues with my right eye. It brought back memories of what happened to the left side of my face years prior. This was a bit different though. This time I had a black spot in the middle of my vision in the right eye. I went to the optometrist and had my vision checked. They advised me to go see my doctor to find out what was maybe going on with the nerve. I was scared I would be told that I couldn’t run again. My determination was kicking in and I didn’t see the doctor. The black spot eventually went away but I still had issues focusing with that eye.
I completed the training for my first full marathon despite all this. It wasn’t easy, I pushed thru the numbness in my feet and focus issues with my eye, nothing was going to stop me! I cried as I crossed that finish line and the volunteer handing out the medals gave me a hug. I even had a girl come up to me and tell me that she followed behind me and kept my pace. She said she wouldn’t have finished if it wasn’t for me. That is why I love running, you never know who you are going to inspire.
Next step was to see my family doctor to discuss the issues I had been having with my right eye. At my appointment she had me to a few eye charts, I answered a bunch of questions, we went thru my medical history, and I finally told someone about the numbness I had experienced previously (which never completely went away). She put in a requisition for an MRI, and I was in the very next week; a few days later, I was in the neurologist’s office and was given the official diagnosis on November 22, 2018.
I had MS.
I was finally given the “all clear” to start running around October of that year. I broke out my notes from previous run clinics and started from the beginning. I completed a 5km race in December and then went into training mode for another half marathon. I decided to complete my first full marathon. I started “small” and signed up to do a half marathon first. I chose the half marathon to which I had completed the previous year just prior to breaking my ankle. That’s when things with my undiagnosed MS started to act up again.
All those years ago with the left eye and face paralysis, the numbness I thought was a pinched nerve, and the new issues with the right eye were all episodes of MS. I was sent on my way from that appointment, brochures in hand, and was told to Google MS if I wanted to know more about the disease. I wanted to learn how running with MS would work. I remember the look the neurologist gave when I told him about the marathon I had just ran. He seemed very surprised that I was able to do that. It made me question; can I continue running? If so, how long will I be able to do this for?
During my googling, I saw pictures of a group of runners with the saying “Run a Myelin My Shoes” on a jacket. I have always liked a good play on words. I was excited to learn that there were others like me with MS and were able to run! The running group that I ran the marathon with were thinking of getting a tattoo to commemorate the event. I nervously decided to join them and got that saying I came across permanently inked so I will always remember what I was able to do despite having MS.
It was also during my running with MS research that I came across an article about Cheryl and how she ran 7 marathons in 7 continents in 12 months with MS. I decided to reach out and let her know how I admired what she did and how inspiring her story was to me. I received an email back from her almost immediately! She happened to be the founder/creator of the Run a Myelin My Shoes group, and she invited me to join them. I finally found a group of people who understand what I am going through and are there to help answer my questions on running with MS and how to manage it. I have participated virtually in their yearly annual run to raise funds for the National MS Society. I have run half marathons and 10kms virtually with them from Alberta, Canada, depending on how my training is going that year. I even took the RAMMS shirt with me on an adventure to Las Vegas during one of their annual run weekends. Where will it go this year???
To this day I continue to have numbness and tingling in my hands and feet so running/walking can feel a bit weird at times. Some days I have more feeling than others. I still have issues with the episode of optical neuritis in my right eye and am currently going thru a new MS attack with optical neuritis in my left eye. It can get out of focus when I’m tired or after working all day on the computer. When it comes to my running, that’s where I notice my MS symptoms the most. My right side especially my leg/foot doesn’t want to cooperate with me when I get fatigued with running. I must mentally concentrate on picking up my foot with each step, so I don’t fall. I often trip over my foot or scuff it on the ground hard. If it’s too hot or too cold, it can make my symptoms even greater. With the way weather is in Alberta it’s very rare to have a “perfect” running weather day for me. This has not stopped me from running though! I go to physiotherapy bi-weekly to get treatment (IMS) on my right side to try to help with the nerve pain. It seems to be working and my walking/running is easier. I continue to listen to my body and monitor my running.
I can’t wait for the day when I can meet this group of MS Warriors and MS Supporter that continue to inspire me to keep going and I will continue to inspire others to Run a Myelin My Shoes!
I’m not about to let my MS win. I am an MS Warrior!
