Jennifer is a 45-year-old wife and mother who lives in Howell. She is stay-at-home mom of two active children as well as a freelance writer and editor. However, life took a turn when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Lyme Disease several years ago.
As a busy mom and editor, Jennifer has challenges caused by her diseases. Some things many people take for granted, Jennifer does not. She has difficulty walking and experiences fatigue which interferes with her career and being the best mom she can be. In addition to the main two challenges, other symptoms this strong, determined mom experiences are numbness in her hands and feet, along with brain fog. While there are several different types of MS, Jennifer has the relapsing-remitting form. Most people with this type of MS decline over throughout the years and their quality of life keeps declining. She feared this happening to her, ending up in a wheelchair, restricting her ability to be active with her children and husband.
Jennifer was diagnosed in 2006 after her daughter turned one year old. Initially, she thought the tingling in her feet was related to a recent pedicure. The numbness in her toes led her to a have an MRI and to see a neurologist to have tests done. The tests showed that she had lesions in her brain and spinal cord. She was diagnosed with MS. Later, through blood tests, she also found out she had Lyme Disease.
For many years, she met with neurologist after neurologist who recommended MS medications. Not wanting to be on those medications for the rest of her life, she knew she had to find something else. She tried several holistic options that gave her temporary relief, but she yearned for more. Jennifer’s uncle had received Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for macular degeneration at Oxford Recovery Center. He encouraged her to reach out to schedule an appointment and learn more. After some research and talking to Elizabeth, ORC’s Patient Care Director, she decided to give it a shot to help with her own disease.
When Jennifer first arrived at Oxford Recovery Center, she was using occasionally using a walker, walked with a noticeable limp and often needed the assistance of others to walk. She was feeling depressed and isolated due to her disease. She started her first round of forty treatments of HBOT, and soon started to notice the difference. She saw an improvement in her walking and a dramatic increase in her energy level. Jennifer also noticed a better mood since she was able to be more active and be there even more for her family. Overall, she felt more present in her own life.
Many of the things that moms typically enjoy doing with their daughters, Jennifer was finding challenging due to her condition. Prior to her treatments, her daughter, who loves to shop, wanted to go shopping. Jennifer could only drive her to the mall and wait in the car due to her loss of mobility. Since starting the treatments, she no longer needs her walker. Half way through treatments she tried shopping again. This time she was able to go into the stores to share in her daughter’s love of shopping and spend a nice mother and daughter day together. “I didn’t expect this dramatic improvement so fast,” says Jennifer. “I found myself crying tears of joy on my way home from the treatments, it was like night and day. The staff at Oxford is amazing and I feel well taken care of. I feel loved and that they care about my progress. They check in with me every day to see how I am doing. It is very different than any other place I have been for treatments. It helps with my overall healing.”
Jennifer is one more person who is on the road to a better quality of life thanks to Oxford Recovery Center.