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I had a very aggressive deterioration where I went from a matter of – October to December [1997] – of my whole right side going completely numb and being completely weakened and, I mean, I don't want to get that graphic about what happens, but you lose bowel and bladder control. It's so scary, you can't even imagine. I thought it was moving so fast it was going to kill me. But for me, I was put on [a 9-month course of] intravenous steroids and that worked like a charm. The thing is, you want to caution that everyone's diagnosis is different and everyone's treatment is different. I was having enormous fatigue and that's where the holistic part helped me. So, the steroids worked for stopping the progression and the holistic part helped me with energy.
You used horseback riding as therapy?
This enormous joy and passion that I had with riding horses got me out of bed, got me motivated, got me physically moving again, removed me to a very happy place and I would have so much joy and happiness and just so much fun while I was on the horse that I would even forget I was sick. Now I was really, really weak at the beginning when I was first riding. I had always dreamed that I might be able to even compete in the Grand Prix ring. Well, last year, not only did I compete, I earned the Gold Medal for the United States. Not only did I compete in Grand Prix, I'm also the highest-ranked Grand Prix rider in New England. Amateur, but still.
How did your husband take your diagnosis?
He was amazing. Initially we were both devastated. There was a lot of education we had to absorb about the disease. When he really helped me was when I was going through this really depressed period where I felt like I was 80 years old, there was nothing I could ever do again and life was over for me. I was of no use to anybody. It wasn't as though I was suicidal, but I was at the point where I thought, Couldn't I please just have cancer and die? And that's when Mitt would look at me, like, what? Finally he just said, 'I don't care if you aren't able to do the things you used to do, those things don't matter. We can get through anything together. As long as you're just still here, everything will be okay.'
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