In September of 2004 my friend of many years, Tom, and I were sitting in his living room while his parents were at work. Everything seemed perfectly fine until he looked over to me and said, "Uh-Oh", he then waived his hand in front of his face and began to have a seizure. Being alone and in a panic I managed to collect myself and grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911.
Shortly after EMS arrived and took Tom to the hospital. After 2 weeks of painful and stressful testing Tom was diagnosed with Brucellosis, a bacteria that enters the body through unpasteurized cheese, and causes legions to form on the brain. Tom had recently gotten home from a trip with his family to Portugal to visit his sister. Tom was prescribed bacteria fighting antibiotics and seizure preventative medications.

After 2 years of being on that medication Doctors realized that the legions were not only still present but had actually doubled in quantity and size.
Additional testing was done and it was eventually discovered that not only had Tom been misdiagnosed, he had also been wasting the last 2 years of his life taking medications he didn't need. Tom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and has been on medication for it since.

During Tom's time in the hospital getting tested I also learned that a cousin of mine who currently lives in Florida was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Since their diagnosis our families have become much closer and have participated in Walk MS every year.

Every year since his diagnosis Tom, his family, and his friends make a point to attend Walk MS. It would mean a lot, to not only me but Tom and his family, if WAC got involved in the 2012 Walk MS. His team name is Team Chubbs, which was his nickname when he was a little kid. We would both be honored and proud to have WAC be a sponsor for his team.

As the newest member to the WAC family I would love to have everyone here get involved and become educated on the effects of MS. It could serve as a great learning experience and possibly serve as a comfort zone for others to share their stories and experiences.

Information on Walk MS can be found here:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/walkmapregion.aspx

~George Feis - Graphic Design Temp