I never really considered MS to be a significant part of my identity, despite living with it for more than a decade. Then began the unrelenting MS roller coaster that was 2021 - and along for the ride came a disability that was no longer episodic. All of a sudden I was not just a mom, a wife, a daughter, a physician, but a person with MS.
After running out of effective medical options to manage my MS, I arrived at an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant through a combination of good fortune, a supportive team, and sheer will.
Call of the void, or l'appel du vide, is the sudden desire to jump when encountering a high place. Rather than an expression of despondence, most consider the feeling to be an affirmation of life. Choosing stem cell transplant has felt like standing atop a cliff, peering over the edge to the uncharted waters below. I’m ready to leap.