Kat Wolkowski grew up with a single mom who had multiple sclerosis and now she’s got it herself.
As a child growing up in Saskatchewan, she was used to stopping often during shopping trips for breaks where her mom had to catch her breath or give her tired legs a rest.
“Mother, daughter fun things were very limited,” Wolkowski said. “She always tried to do her best and she took really good care of me. I used to get really frustrated about her forgetting everything – what I had going on and all my friends’ names, which now I completely understand and I absolutely love her for trying so hard to keep up with me.”
MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, the MS Society of Canada website explained. Since that includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, MS can affect vision, memory, balance and mobility. It is considered an episodic disability meaning that the severity and duration of illness and disability can vary and are often followed by periods of wellness. It can also be progressive.
Wolkowski’s mom (who wishes to stay anonymous) worked with the MS Society quite extensively throughout Wolkowski’s childhood, she added. They were always going to MS conferences and other events in an effort to support the cause or for her mom’s other job, working with people with disabilities.
“We were always at something,” Wolkowski said. “So I learned a lot about MS as a really young child. I learned about the disease and how it affected my mom, although I didn’t understand a lot of it.”
Wolkowski rebelled as a teenager, turned to booze and drugs and ran away, she said.
She got her act together, got pregnant and now has two beautiful children.
“It was a year after I had my second child that I was diagnosed with MS at 25 years old,” Wolkowski said, who was married at the time. That was 10 years ago.
Symptoms started with numbness and tingling in her fingertips and moved up her arms and soon Wolkowski went to the hospital to get checked out. That’s when tests showed she had two lesions in her brain. The most recent test showed Wolkowski has eight lesions now so the disease has progressed quite a bit, she added.
The worst symptom for Wolkowski was a complete loss of vision a couple of years ago that came with excruciating pain in her right eye.
“It lasted an entire month and it was really scary and very painful,” Wolkowski recalled. “I have really good support from my current partner Tanner so we managed. He’s just wonderful.”
Even though vision impairment is one of the first signs of MS, Woolkowski said she was lucky to have avoided it – for a little while at least.
“The numbness and tingling has come and gone for a while now and it’s just an exhausting disease,” Wolkowski said. “It’s tiring and painful.”
Some things do help with the symptoms like massage therapy, swimming and medications but there is no cure for the disease. It’s all about managing symptoms.
MS attacks myelin, the protective covering of the nerves, causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin, the MS Society of Canada website said. Myelin is necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses through nerve fibres. If damage to myelin is slight, nerve impulses travel with minor interruptions; however, if damage is substantial and if scar tissue replaces the myelin, nerve impulses may be completely disrupted, and the nerve fibres themselves can be damaged.
MS is unpredictable and may cause symptoms such as extreme fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, vision problems, bladder problems, cognitive impairment and mood changes. Its effects can be physical, emotional and financial. As there is no cure, the focus is on researchers learning more about what causes MS and are zeroing in on ways to prevent it.
Looking back at her life, seeing how the disease affected her mom, who is now living in Vancouver and confined to a wheelchair, prepared her for what was to come, Wolkowski said.
“Who knows if my mom will ever walk again but she’s willing to try different things,” she added. “And that shows me that I can try new things too.”
Wolkowski will participate in a couple of studies her doctor has arranged for her, she said.
“So that’s exciting,” Wolkowski said.
Wolkowski and her family will be at the Prince George MS Walk if she’s feeling up to it and encourages everyone to participate and support the walk as best they can.
“There’s always hope for a cure,” Wolkowski said.
This year’s MS Walk is at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park on Sunday, starting at the bandshell.
Opening ceremonies start at 11 a.m. and the route distance is 2.5 km.
To keep everyone safe, people are asked to register for the walk in advance to avoid a crowd gathering just before the event.
Health regulations will be in place for all in-person MS Walk events to ensure a safe environment for everyone participating. To register to walk in-person at Lheidli T'enneh Park Kiwanis bandshell and all the details, visit the Prince George MS Walk page.
