One thing I have learnt with having my MS is to keep active. Being off work for 5 months and spending a lot of time on the couch, eating more and sleeping I have naturally put on a few extra pounds. I don't mind the extra pounds, it's the strength I want to keep up with.

Only fitting, I signed up for a membership at my local MS society here in Saskatoon. $18 for two years gets me a membership at the YWCA gym and access to other great resources. I decided to get up off the couch and make my way to the strength training class. It was a great experience and I am thankful I was able to get myself there to try it out. 

I was excited, but very hesitant on the whole experience, not knowing what I would be capable of. I was nervous I wouldn't have guidance and I'd look like a hot mess trying to figure out what machine to use, if I was doing it right or even working the proper muscles. Luckily, there was a trainer that worked with me the entire hour to introduce me to a couple a machines, found a weight that would be good to start with and some warm up and cool down exercises.

I have lost a lot of strength in my arms over the last 5 months so I am starting the Chest press and Shoulder press at the 10 pound mark, 2-3 sets with 12-15 reps. I am riding the bike for 20 minutes for some cardio and as I attend more sessions they will continue to add a couple more machines to my routine to work every area of my body.

It is so important to keep active, I plan on going to these classes every Tuesday and Thursday, do some yoga at home and get to the gym at least one or two more times a week depending on how well I'm doing that day. My aim is to tone my body but more importantly to keep my body healthy to slow down any progression of the disease.

Anyone else with MS, have you been taking steps to make sure you stay as healthy as possible? Feel free to share your experience in the comment section below !

I am a very open person when it comes to certain aspects of my life. After being diagnosed with MS, I had to do a lot of reading up on it as I wasn't fully aware of what the whole disease entailed. Everyone has their up days and their down days, I am lucky to say mentally, I have more up than down. 

I want to have this page on my website, to share my journey with others as I am quite young, (21 at the time of diagnosis) and I feel there aren't that many resources out there for such young adults going through this. I am still learning but whether you're younger, older, have had it for many years or newly diagnosed, we can all appreciate the fight we are going through and pass on positive vibes and encourage each other.

I am going to go into how I went about being diagnosed, what led to it, all the juicy details. It all started back in November of 2014, I was 20 at the time working in a local coffee shop of the small BC town I was living in. I woke up with what I thought was a nasty viral infection, shooting pains, numb legs and arms, vertigo. Spent weeks going back and forth to the hospital, after blood work and CT scans, nothing appeared, it was an unexplained illness. I had never felt that kind of pain and exhaustion, I was in the process of getting ready to move provinces and so I had to quit my job sooner than expected due to not being able to function properly.


​Everything went back to normal after 5 weeks, it was as if nothing happened. Fast forward to December 2015, I woke up with blurry vision in my right eye. I thought maybe my prescription was changing, or I scratched my eye so I went to the optometrist. Everything checked out on the front of my eye, it was swelling of the optic nerve so she sent me to the opthamologist at the hospital. My eyes at this point were getting so bad I was holding on to the wall when I would walk, I stopped driving because I was seeing double. On January 5th of 2016, I got admitted to the hospital, they ran an MRI and on January 6th 2016, they gave me the official diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis with 8 brain lesions to accompany it.

Fast forward to July of 2016, I have since had 5 rounds of treatment to bring both my eyes back to acceptable vision, I've had other forms of medical treatment and I am currently waiting on an updated MRI to determine if the current MS medication I am on is even working. I am transitioning into a healthier and cleaner lifestyle to ease the struggle of my MS and that is why this website has been born. Makeup is becoming harder for me to be able to do so I would love to have a place to share my other passions and hobbies as well to keep my sanity in tact. 

I love the support I have been receiving over the last 5 months with my life, it makes adjusting a lot easier. Keep an eye on this page of my site to keep up with my progress and as I learn more myself, I will share with everyone!