Woman credits advances in research for quick MS diagnosis, treatment

A woman living with multiple sclerosis is thankful that her experience with the disease is far different from that of her mother.

“I grew up with a mom that had MS for over 20 years. When she was diagnosed, it didn’t happen as quickly because the imaging wasn’t available, the diagnosis wasn’t as quick (and) the medications weren’t there,” Rhonda Szautner said on The Greg Morgan Morning Show on Thursday.

“I feel my path is a lot better and more positive.”

MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects more than 77,000 people in Canada, one of the highest rates in the world. On average, 11 Canadians are diagnosed with it each day.

That happened to Szautner nine years ago. But unlike her mother, Szautner said she was diagnosed with the disease and started medication within months.

She said her quality of life is better than she thought, but still deals with symptoms like numbness in her limbs and blurry vision.

Other symptoms include fatigue, muscle weakness, mood changes and cognitive impairment.

“It’s one of those diseases that because you look fine on the outside, you can’t really explain it,” Szautner said.

On Thursday, A&W staged its Burgers to Beat MS Day, where $2 from every Teen Burger sold goes towards the MS Society of Canada.

It is the 11th year the restaurant chain is holding the fundraiser, which has raised $13 million so far.

“A lot of it goes to research. It’s research that’s going to find a cure for this eventually,” said Chris Hurley, A&W’s director of operations for Western Canada. “It (also) goes to programs that have already been diagnosed with MS and advocacy.”

This year, the goal is to raise $2 million for the MS Society.