Symptoms may vary from mild to severe, and relapses and remissions may last for days or months. "I envisioned a wheelchair in my future."Īfter consulting with several other doctors for a second opinion, they all agreed that Dean had relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), characterized by periods of relapse (symptom flare-ups) followed by remission (periods of recovery). "At the time, I knew very little about MS, and the things I had heard about the disease scared me," she says. She was surprised to learn that it is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and that two to three times more women than men are diagnosed with the disease. Like many people, Dean thought MS was a disease of the elderly. "The spinal tap fluid also showed the protein they look for in MS patients." "I had lesions on both my brain and spine," Dean says. In MS, the body's immune system attacks the nerve linings, called myelin, of the brain and spinal cord and leaves behind what doctors call a lesion, which is actually a scar. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS affects an estimated 500,000 people in the United States and 2.3 million worldwide. After being told her symptoms could be anything from a slipped disc to MS, Dean's primary care doctor referred her to a neurologist.ĭean was diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable and often disabling immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system, on the basis of a neurological exam, a magnetic resonance image (MRI), and a spinal tap. She initially chalked it up to her busy work schedule.īut even after the work let up, Dean's symptoms persisted, and she made an appointment to see her physician. In 2005, Dean was working long hours covering Hurricanes Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, when she began feeling an overwhelming fatigue, numbness in her thighs, and loss of sensation in the soles of her feet. Yet nine years ago, the 44-year-old meteorologist was surprised to learn that there was a threatening neurological storm brewing inside of her, resulting in a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Janice Dean has been nicknamed "The Weather Machine" and "Weather Queen" by her FOX News colleagues as a testament to her tenacious coverage of hurricanes, tornadoes, and winter storms. FOX Meteorologist Janice Dean's Forecast for Life with MS is Bright Thanks to advances in multiple sclerosis research and treatments, Dean is confident that the future for patients like her is sunny.
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