Numb leg led to MS diagnosis: Ontario woman shares her story
May is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) awareness month in Canada. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
Sandy Stretch, of Sudbury, Ont., was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 2016.
Stretch woke up one morning and noticed her right leg was numb. The next day, the numbness got worse.
"The next day it was both legs, and then it some in both arms … and so I was having a full neurological episode," she said.
"When they sent me through the MRI machine, they found lesions in my spine."
Stretch said the MS Society has helped her in many ways and she doesn’t know where she would be without its support.
Sandy Stretch, of Sudbury, Ont., was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 2016. May 12/22 (Molly Frommer/CTV News)
"They’ve provided the eye level for my chair, which allows me to raise up and be face-to-face with people," she said.
"It allowed me to reach the upper cupboards and stuff like that because it raises up. They contributed to the purchase of my van, which was a big thing, and with the support services and stuff. They make my life more comfortable."
The MS Society of Canada said there are about 90,000 Canadians living with MS.
"About 12 people on average are diagnosed with MS every day," said Daniel Corvino with the MS Society of Canada.
"So it’s certainly a very impactful disease here in Canada and it’s a disease that affects the central nervous system. There’s so much that we don’t know about it ... what causes MS, what causes it to progress in some and not others."
Corvino said raising the profile of the disease and raising research funds is important.
Stretch said despite it being common, not many people talk about MS.
"We want to make sure with MS awareness month that everyone knows that we’re here and ready to help," she said.
Stretch said she wants people living with MS to know that they are not alone and that support is out there.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.