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[Interviewer] Welcome to "Inspiring People"

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Today, we have Chloe Cohen, who is going to tell us the inspiring story

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of her struggle and how she has been dealing with Multiple Sclerosis for many years, now.

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Chloe, you are on.

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[Chloe Cohen] Hi, everybody. My name is Chloe

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and I've been living with Multiple Sclerosis for about 14 years, now.

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I was 20 years old when I was diagnosed and for me it was very quick - it was not -

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Most people generally have symptoms and then slowly, more shit starts happening,

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and then they are diagnosed.

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But for me, I hit my head real hard, and that head trauma caused symptoms pretty much instantly.

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[Interviewer] Oh, it's not genetic?

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[Cohen] They don't know. They still don't know if it's genetic, environmental or anything.

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So they're still trying to figure out that out.

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But - Yeah, nobody in my family has it, but like, one of the girls that I know with MS, her sister has it,

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and then, this other girl, her father has it.

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So I don't know. I don't know if it's genetic or not. I don't think they know, but I will say this:

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when I was diagnosed 14 years ago, there were 30 drugs available to slow down the progression of the disease.

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Now, I think I should start by explaining what MS is.

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And that's a neurological disease that affects the central nervous system,

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with a wide, wide, wide range of symptoms, from numbness and tingling

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to blindness in an eye, to the loss of the use of limbs, to chronic pain.

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And every single person with the illness is different, and how it affects them.

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And there is no two people who deal with it in exactly the same way.

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But before these drugs came out, there was no way to slow the progression of the illness.

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So that's why there is such an older generation of people with MS in wheelchairs,

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because they didn't have the benefits of these drugs that slow the progression,

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because it is constantly flowing, you never know what's going to happen today, you know,

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I've been now in remission for four years, and it's like a new life,

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because for 9 years of my life, it was this up and down thing of what's going to happen tomorrow,

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what - is this symptom not going to be here tomorrow, or what's going to happen tomorrow?

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So I very much learned how to live [coughs] - excuse me - within the moment.

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not worry about the future as much.

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But it's only because I went through all that, that brought me to this for me (? - 3:12)

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But I'm definitely a lucky one. I was very disabled initially.

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When I hit my head, it basically just jarred everything loose that was loose .

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I probably had, you know, when I look back at my childhood before I even had MS,

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I can recall things that happened during that, you know, that were like,

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my feet would go numb in the shower in high school.

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But I didn't even consider it, because they'd come back to life, you know.

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Only until I was diagnosed with MS did I go "Huh, maybe that was connected", you know,

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But, you know, I don't know - I don't know.

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In my theory, I've probably had this since I was born and it probably came up all through my life.

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But I didn't get that diagnosis untill I initially hit my head

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and had this like fast bang: I can't use my left side, it was all like I had that constant tremor,

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I had vertigo, so it was like being wasted drunk all the time,

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but you're not drunk, so you didn't get the benefit of the drunkenness [laughs],

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you just got the bad stuff (4:35)

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[nterviewer] Did you suffer from it really bad, sometimes? (?)

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[Cohen] Luckily, it was only about, maybe, 6 months to a year, where it was really bad.

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I was lucky because as soon as they discovered that it was MS,

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I got put on medication and really the only thing that they have, it was steroids and steroids

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to calm the inflammation or whatever that's happening.

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So, getting on am oral dose of steroids relieved my trauma relatively

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and I was on - about some other drugs, there is this drug called antivir,

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And I don't even know what the heck it is, but it was something like working out, straightening you out (?).

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So, I didn't have vertigo anymore. So, I give credits to the medical establishment

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for having these drugs available, but never ... quite enough.

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And I found ...... to be one of the only things that relieved me from these constant annoyances.

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At least, it brought me to a more accepting place, I guess you could say,

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where it's like "OK, if I have to deal with this 24/7, then I can, you know,

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as much physically as the marihuana was doing, the cannabis was doing,

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of calming my tremors and taking away my disconfort.

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It was also bringing psychological relief that, you know what ? I can handle this and do it.

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And this is my life, and I'll move - and now, not worry about the future so much.

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But my story really is important because, you know, within 20 minute, my life slipped .

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I had hit my head and I couldn't use my left side, and that was a challenge (?).

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This is what I was going to college for. I was going to study music,

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I was going to be a Michael Bark Band (?) ..................... (6:46)

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That's what I thought. But then what's, you know. Yeah, I had to reramp my life.

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My life, you know, and I was very angry for a very long time,

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because I think anyone who've got their passion (?).... quickly (? /:07)

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Anybody who has had any kind of instant loss knows, appreciates every little thing a little bit more,

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because you know what it's like to lose it. (7:18)

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and i think it took me a lot of therapy and a lot of, like,

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awsome conversation with people who get it, to be able to be at this point.

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But I did start a support group here, eight years ago, for younger people with MS,

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because all the support groups were for old ........... people

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because they never got the benefit of the medication until, maybe, 15 years into their MS game

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and it has done - it has taken its toll already, so there is always so much -

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there is no repair of what 's been taken away.

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You know - they're working on it, how to - figuring out ways to repair that myeline that's .....

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First, when you have myeline - I left this major point out - you've lesions on your brain.

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So those lesions then form symptoms in whatever area of the brain they're covering.

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Yet - but the disease is the demyelinization of your nerves,

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and that's what causes them to be set (?) on improperly, and things.

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So when you have ........... nerves (8:45)

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and the messages get screwed up.

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But what I have learned after not walking, to be where I am at now,

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there is no way I could have done that without the concepts of neuroplasticity.

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And I think that's so important, like, our brains are so powerful and we are capable of anything,

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anything if you put your mind to it, and what I have proved to myself as well as,

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I guess, if the medical establishment would have studied me?

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But there is no study of me, you know

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, that what I have done is really carve new pathways in my brain.

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So now I'm using my left hand and it's never going to be the same,

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I'm never going to be able to play the cello like I did but at the same time, I can use it now.

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I mean, in all these 9 years, I didn't use it, and it's only through this, like, persistence I have,

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of exerciszing, of pushing myself. And I think it helps bcause I was an athlete before I got MS.

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So I had this like, competitive "I'm hard-ass" kind of thing in me (laughs).

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Because I played soccer for many years, and we were really good, you know, our team was good,

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and so I have at - that hard-ass attitude of just like keep pushing, keep pushing.

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and the hard part with MS is, like, your energy is greatly depleted.

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And I know for me, and for a lot of people, when they are first diagnosed with the illness,

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they can't do this stuff the same way they did it before,

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they have to figure out how to adapt to this new world of not being able to do things yourself

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And we knew that as stubborn and hard-ass that I was, there was no way,

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and how I would ve to ask someone to change my light bulb,

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but it was at a point where I had that, so the light bulb would not get changed

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if I didn't ask someone to do it for me.

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And what I also had to realize is that generally, people like helping other people.

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It gives them a sense of, self-sense of worth, you know?

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And where I looked at it like, it's a downfall for me that I can't do myself, do it myself,

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what they're getting from it is like, "We like helping people, I like it,

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it makes me feel better about myself".

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And I know, you know, when I can help people with stuff that they don't know anything about,

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whether being DJing music technology, or MS for that matter, you know,

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it feels good to know that, like, I have something to give these people

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and so, like, for many years, I beat myself up being like, "Well, I can't do myself."

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But that attitude really got in the way of my growth,

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you know, I think you really have to learn that.

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I don't even know, I think I am lucky that I was able to adapt successfully.

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You know, I've reached a point now that the MS isn't ............. life (11:59)

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which it was, for many, many years, ten years.

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And it was like that was every, everything I did, it was about MS.

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It was about having - First of all, graduating college: I mean I had to -

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I couldn't be the music major, because I couldn't even play anymore.

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So I changed into , speech (?) communication major (12:22)

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because I wanted to learn how to affect people effectively (laughs) with my words,

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and let them hear me, and not sign off.

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So, I thought it was important to learn the art of communication

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and how to communicate effectively, to affect people.

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And I think I did that really well, and I know I'm doing it really well,

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because my story is special and unique in the sense that it happened so quickly.

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But if you - if there's a will, there's a way. I mean, the fact that I couldn't walk and I went skiing

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and now I'm riding and I ...................... what the hell! (13:06)

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Excuse me, but like, it's .............. it's just mind-blowing to me (13:12)

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Everyday, it's a min-blowing experience like, brushing my teeth in the morning.

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I could never do that with two hands, and now I can.

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And so every morning, when I brush my teeth, I'm like, "Hell yeah, I'm doing this",

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and that' just a little thing, but it's like, I appreciate that stuff.

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Tie my shoes? Couldn't tie them for a good nine years.

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So now, I tie my shoes and I'm proud to tie my shoes, you know, it's appreciating those little things.

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And I wouldn't have had that perspective, I wouldn't have known this,

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I wouldn't be inl......... this much (13:45) without the losses that I've had.

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And I really say, I thing Ram Dass said it,

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that, you know, through his strokes, this brought him closer to enlightenment.

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Because now he had a new perspective, you know,

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now he saw what it was like, you know, on the other side - whatever.

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And I think it's been my duty to kind of let people look through a different lens for a minute

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and see, you know, look at themselves.

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In that regard, I think most people don't ever think about things like that happening, you know.

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But the fact is, they do and it could happen to any of us at any moment.

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Yet we are so concerned about the future, or so stuck on the past that we're not living in the moment.

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And like, right now, I'm appreciating this moment, to be able to speak freely

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and let people know they've just got to appreciate what they have a little more.

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Because, people, you really don't know what you have until you lose it.

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And I think it's so important for people to appreciate what they have.

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And you're never going to - hopefully, you'll never have to go through that,

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of learning what it's like to lose all that stuff,

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because it's not easy, and it was only through some intense MDR (?) theraoy (15:12),

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which is eye-movement therapy, that I got peace with the fact that I can't play the cello

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like, you know, a symphony cellist anymore, you know?

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But it - that is some intense stuff., for anybody ........... trauma (15:29), it's mainly for trauma.

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But I always thought that I didn't go through war, I didn't have some horrorific incident happen to me.

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But at the same time, I went there because I was in a car accident,

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and the car accident was because of this darned tauma (laughs)

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and I thought for a brief second I could use my other hand to grab something,

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but in that brief second, my arm jerked and whoof, there went the car and we slipped (15:58)

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I lost my two dogs in the car accident. It was very traumatic.

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But, so I was going to go, and I was like; "I'm never driving again."

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After that happened, I was like: "No: screw the car." (16:11)

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So I went into this therapy, thinking I was going to work on my driving.

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But what I realized was how connected it was to having a mess.,

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and the trauma that I went through with my diagnosis.

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Because, you know, I was only 20 years old, my brain was not yet developped.

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So it is pretty impactful when all you know is no longer, you know?

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But I'm also very thankful because I had an amazing family to help me through it all, you know,

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that's a key piece. But this also why I started my group.

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Because I don't think that anybody needs to deal with that stuff alone (16:55)

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and fortunately now, there is now, what, seven drugs available,

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........ just the three (17:02) that were available before, and those three were only injectables,

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there is no - I think now, only in the last ouple of years, I don't even now,

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I'm kind of happy to live (?) with the medication

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because my medication has worked for me the whole time and I^m really lucky.

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But I know that there's like one or two other oral medications out now,

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all the rest are injectables, and that's a big deal.

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That's probably one of the harder things, it was having to know I ...... poked in my butt (17:40)

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every four days or whatever, and you know, for a lot of these, a lot of people,

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it's so interesting how everybody is so different with these injections.

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I have one friend that is like, adamant, like "I'm never letting people do this to me.

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This is I have to live this for myself, it's my medication,.

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And then there is someone like me that's like, I can't even look at the needle,

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so I need someone else to do this for me.

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And, you know, 14 years later, I still have someone else do it for me because I -

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....... you want to make it easier for yourself? (18:18)

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If I mean I have to do injections in my butt, into muscular leg, I'm talking big needles,

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I don't want to see the needle, I don't even want to know.

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But even to this day, I don't do it myself, I have a nurse do it.

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I'm really good at it at this point, I mean, so much practice,

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and I think I have enough needles now that we are about equal on the coverage.

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But I thik, you know, you know, I'm going to promote myself and I'm a DJ.

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And I -

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[JOurnalist] (Incomprehensible)

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[Cohen] I did transform that classical skill of music into my turntablism.

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It's vastly different. It's a different sound.

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And it was a huge loss to me, to not be able to create my own sound, and even turn, you know,

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being on turntables, it's someone else's music that I'm playing.

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But what I've learned is that nobody else can make it sound the way I'm making it sound.

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Because it's the art of the mixer, and it's really about hearing, and the harmony -

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this tattoo right here represents harmony because - and I have one on the back of my neck,

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that was initially made out of two base clefs in a - in........... (19:52)

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But the tatto artist was not a musician and he put the dots on the wrong side,

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and I was like, Oh, can we just like... SO he just made it in ..........(20:02)

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But it still has the same meaning to me, and that is that the music is never lost in me,

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no matter if I can play that or not.

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I will forever hear it, I will forever feel it.

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And that's what I put into my turntablism, you know?

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I'm not a big scratcher. Oh, I must admit, the other day, I was fucking around

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and I scratched some of this Saudi Arabian music, and made it House: it's pretty hot.

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[Journalist] Now....

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[Cohen] Well, you know, that was just like, I don't know if I can do that again,

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it was kind of in the moment, but I am able to let out my creativity through the turntables now,

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and it took me a long time to get to this point, but it's -

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now I know that the sounds I'm creating whether - and it's all other people's music,

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but the way I'm manipulating their music, it's an art within itself.

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And I think that there's plenty of DJs these days that just use a stupid program

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that does it all for them, and they just click in stuff,

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but they've lost the art form of what it really is, and i think if you go back to, like

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the original people who were DJs, they were - they were musician

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and they were creating their own sound,

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and unfortunately, technology has kind of moved faster,

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and so all these kids are trying to be DJs, and it's kind of funny to me,

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because they don't even know how to match a beat.

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But you know, to each their own, and I do not judge (laughs) Bullshit, I totally judge.

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I am - I would be the first to say that. It's like if you don't know how to match a beat,

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why are you even trying? BUt, you know, that's a whole other show.

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[Journalist and Cohen laugh]

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[Cohen] BUt I think that the message I want to leave with, I guess you could say,

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would be, you know, "Stay positive." That's the only way I got through all this stuff with -

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by staying positive, then I kept pushing, you know, it was like, you know:

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"Bring it on!" - now I made a point to bring it on, you know?

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What else are you going to do with me? You know, I don't really -

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you know, I can beat it, whatever it is, you know, and yes, I may have this illness

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for the rest of my life, but I'm not going to let it run me, and I'm not going to let it control me,

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but you know, at the same time, I say that, and there's definitely a lot of restrictions it puts on you.

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I mean, when you've chronic fatigue and you're sleeping 18 hours a day, you can-

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it's going to be .... hard not only to be able to hold on a job, more or less like "relationships",

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that's whole other ball of game. So it's like, you really have to learn how to adapt.

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And a lot of it is adapting to other people.

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Because, especially like now, even now, like, I don't look like I've an illness

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or anything wrong wrong with me at all.

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And then, I have a drink, and I look like I'm wasted.

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And I've been called (?) out of bars even (23.29), a few months ago I got called (?) off at a bar,

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because the bartender saw me stumbling, ad^nd I was like: "But I have MS!"

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And it's like, I don't have it tattoed - I wear a bracelet now that says "I've MS",

256
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because I carried a card that I have MS, but this is much more like, bang!

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you don't have to, like, struggle, to get it out of your wallet or whatever.

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But, you know, it's all the invisible symptoms that nobody sees,

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and that's what I will make visible is that with this illness, you can't see the pain they're in,

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the struggles they're in, feeling like they have a tight belt around their waist, you know, 24/7,

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or whatever - you know, for me it was shaky arms, so you know, I - there was always tricks,

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there were times that I just sat (?) on my arms (24:22).

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Because whenever I'd bring it out, it was like flopping in the wind.

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So it's - you learn tricks (laughs).

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But I think that a lot of people - its - it's really hard for a lot of people,

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because they don't want to accept it, you know, and what is it?

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The 5 stages - were you a ...........? (24.45)

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[Journalist] Yeah.

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[Cohen] OK: spit them out: denial, anger, I don't know. What are those? All those stages you go throug.

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You go through that stuff with MS. It's like, OK, because like that first year, I drank so much boo-

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so many beers because it was so much easier to say: "No, I'm just drunk", instead of

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"I've got this illness that's making me all uncoordinated".

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Alcohol was awesome for making me deny the fact that this stuff was going on - to a degree, to a degree.

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And then I was reallyhe angry because I was on a college campus,

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and everybody was so young and sttupid and hadn't -

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.................... angry (25:34)

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I was like, "Everybody is stupid" [laughs].

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But then, after i got over the anger, I, you know, became accepting of it

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and I knew that the anger wasn't getting me anywhere, any of these -

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or the sadness for that matter, you know, or any of these emotions, wasn't taking me to a place of peace with it..

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And I really think that because of this........ therapy (26:05), I became at peace with it all,

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and it still sucks. I'm never going to say it doesn't suck,

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but you know, fortunately for me, the only thing that I have to deal with is these injections. (26:15)

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You know, I don't have - my tremor is calm enough now, all my symptoms are pretty regulated,

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I - So it's like a new lease on life, I feel. And so -

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[Interviewer] .... of MS(26:29)

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[Cohen] What?

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[Interviewer] Are there different types of MS?

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[Cohen] Yes. Thank you for asking. There are, and that's what a lot of people don't know.

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And the more ......... people(25:40) with MS have relapsing or remitting MS,

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which is one that comes and goes as it pleases.

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But these drugs prevent the quicker going downs and kind of trick the brain into the -

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thinking the stuff's there that isn't.

294
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But then there is the progressive and secondary progressive, which are the really debilitating kind -

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ah no (?), the kinds with the people in the wheelchairs, and the people that (then) get bedridden. (27:14)

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And unfortunately, there is no medication for them.

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So for - this is my biggest concern now,

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because they've got all of us relapsing or remitting people pretty much under control,

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but it's these people that just keep getting worse and worse and worse

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and, you know, that's the hardest part of MS to watch or even talk about.

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Because, like, when I started this support group 8 years ago,

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there was a few people in there with progressive MS,

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and you know, they started coming to the meetings and they were OK,

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they might have had a little tremor, but we all had tremors at that point.

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So it was like, "Yeah, I -". But we could relate to each other,

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and one of these guys I got really close with, and he had progressive. Oh, he still has progressive.

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I should not speak of him in that way.

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But just the quick downfall of his system, and how it just fell apart, you know, like,

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so he comes to this meeting, and maybe he's got the old tremor,

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the next month he comes and he's got optic neuritis in one eye, one eye is just looking out that way,

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you know, and then it's like, ........ is another symptom (28:44)

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Then the next month later, he's not even walking, you know, he's using canes.

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And then the month after that, he's in a wheelchair.

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And now this guy is totally bedridden, to where his mom has to feed him and bathe him,

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and his independence has been taken, and it's really hard.

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Because then unlike - well how did I get so lucky? Why am I so lucky that I could get better?

317
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If I could just have given him half of my recovery or whatever, we'd both be in better places.

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But it's not how it works. But for me, that's my biggest motivation, you know,

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for all these people with MS who really can't do it anymore, like I'm going to keep pushing harder,

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and I'm going to ride that elliptical machine, because I can, damn it.

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And you know, for me, that was such a huge thing, because that elliptical machine and I were enemies.

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We - my left and right body didn't work together, that whole piece of my brain was kind of messed up,

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so an elliptical machine was the utter, the best example of the left and right brain working together

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at the same - you know, that total coordination right there. And -

325
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[Interviewer] Do you want to talk about what induced you to use the elliptical?

326
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[Cohen] What?

327
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[Interviewer] Do you want to talk about who pushed you to use the elliptical?

328
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[Cohen] Oh, my trainer! God bless my trainer!

329
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Because I met him 5 years ago,

330
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[Interviewer] Ah!

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[Cohen] and I wasn't using my left arm. I could walk but I had very little coordination and balance.

332
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So I always thought I was kind of drunk, which is fun, in public.

333
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But he understood right away that this was a neurological disease and that it wasn't about my muscles,

334
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because the trainer I had before him was like a total jerk, and he was like,

335
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"I'm going to whip you into shape" and like - he definitely put some muscle on me

336
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but there was no - no pathways being carved [laughs].

337
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So when I got this .... - this trainer (31:06], he got it and he was just challenging me

338
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with motions I hadn't been doing for 9 years, with, like, using my arm and bringing it out ,

339
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and acting as if I'm lifting my dog and putting him on a shelf over here,

340
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which was a motion I didn't do, but - but from doing this, repetitively, for years,

341
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it's like now, I'm throwing medicine balls with my left hand, you know?

342
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And it's only because he's kind of a - he's an awesome trainer, because he's like -

343
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he's fun: we have fun, that's the best piece of it, you know, he makes games out of everything,

344
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and I being the athlete that I was, I wanted to be like, "No, I can do it (31:57)

345
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he's like, "You're done, you're done!" I'm like "No! I got to do it one more time,

346
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just to prove to myself I can do it".

347
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But ehm - so we got this elliptical machine and I just looked at it for months,

348
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like it's over there, and that's there for other people.

349
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And then finally, one day, he's like "YOu won't even try and ride this?"

350
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I was like: "Errh, I don't know, you think I can?" I mean, he has been -

351
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he got me to this point and I got on, and I was riding it, and it was the weirdest feeling in the world,

352
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because both my left and right were working simultaneously together,

353
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which never happened for not in - you know - 14 years [laughs].

354
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So yeah, it was pretty darned amazing. I was just like: "Holy -" I was freaking out.

355
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I'm surprised that I didn't start bawling in front of him. But I can - it was also awesome for him

356
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because he was like, "I'm doing my job and I'm good at it!" you know,

357
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And I have to give him credit because, you know, if I had been working out by myself all this time,

358
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I wouldn't have seen any of these improvements.

359
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But because I have this guy on my side that's lie pushing me and challenging me,

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and keeping me motivated,

361
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that's the biggest thing, like, I've got no motivation to go to the gym, I hate the gym,

362
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you know, I don't mind going to look at the sexy men, but there's a lot more unattractive men then sexy

363
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men [giggles with interviewer], so screw that!

364
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But you know, it's really about me and my personal gain.

365
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I just feel very lucky and blessed, and I think everybody needs to kind of take -

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take a moment and appreciate all the things they have, until you lose it.

367
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I wish I would have known, you know. If I would have known that was going to happen to me,

368
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I probably would have been playing my cello every day, multiple times a day, and doing all this stuff.

369
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But I was just a stupid kid and I didn't realize that any ...... that could ever happen (34:16)

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[Interviewer] Nobody knows, nobody.

371
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[Cohen] No, they don't, but they'd - I errh I think that I'm trying to -

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I'm trying to kind of change the face of MS. I'm trying to show the positive side.

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Not all these people in wheelchairs and all negative, becaus that really is the older generation of MS,

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and it's not like that anymore. I mean, the support group that's still running,

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I mean there's new people coming in every months, and they are all at different levels

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in dealing with their illness.

377
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Some of them - there was one girl a few months ago, who hadn't even been diagnosed yet,

378
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but she knew it, because her father had MS and she - she knew.

379
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And, you know, watching her go through that whole process of getting the diagnosis, having to adapt,

380
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taking the injections, and being there, knowing that,

381
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just being able to connect with other people about it, helps so greatly,

382
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like even that - the guy with progressive MS, I think one of our most binding moments

383
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was just standing in his kitchen and he fell, and he's like:

384
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"Damn! Don't you hate it when the earth moves out from underneath you!"

385
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And I go "Oh my God! I love this guy!", like I'd experienced that too.

386
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But' it's very rare that you're going to meet someone who has experienced that without being drunk,

387
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you know what I'm saying?

388
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And it's very - I know that guy and I are forever in each other's heart,

389
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because I think we were both like the first people who had the same illness you could relate,

390
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and he was like a track star and all this before the MS expected him (? - 36:11)

391
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So he also lost his passions but we also learned to adapt and you know,

392
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whether I was going to be this "rock star chalice (?)" or not (36:25),

393
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it's like, life has lead me in this direction and I can only do -

394
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go forward and spread the positive stuff, and that's what I'm trying to do,

395
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and I'm trying to affect people and let them know, "No, you're not alone.

396
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and there isn't a cure for this illness. So it would be nice if there was, you know.

397
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So help us get there and help - help"

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's interesting because I think more and more, now, if I say I've MS, somebody will say;

399
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"Oh, my sister has MS - my aunt has MS". Somebody knows somebody with MS.

400
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And I'm glad that's the case, because people, you know, 14 years ago, they didn't even know what it was.

401
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And it's nice to know that people actually are getting diagnosed faster,

402
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which is awful because they can get on drugs faster and avoid giant relapses, I guess.

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
............ (37:33)

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Interviewer] Did you have to change your diet at all?

405
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[Cohen] No [laughs] That was the one thing I was adamant about not doing.

406
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I'm like, "You can take away my cello, my bike, my snowboard,

407
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you can take away all those things, but I'm still eating cheese".

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like, as long as I was healthy, and I eat well, but I never eliminated anything in my diet

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because, you know, when I was first diagnosed, there were many theories, like she'd just - you know -

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
would go to a vegan diet, she would never have any issues, it would help.

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Or if she took all the mercury out of her fillings, because they thought that could be related,

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and so it was like, all these theories

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
After I think being bombarded so young with all these theories of ways to prevent stuff from happening,

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I was like: "No", you know, like "Whatever I'm doing," like, "it's fine." like,

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I can't control this illness so I'm not going to change my diet if it's not really in the way."

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like, I never adapted my eating any different things -

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and although at the same time, you know, a lot of people who - in the MS community -

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who have, and they said it's made a huge difference.

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But so, alright, I think everybody is different in that regard.

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'm not a person to change their eating habits, just because I like to eat

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I know I don't eat really poorly, so that's good. I'm pretty healthy.

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I really think that exercise has been the biggest help in my treatment, in my "healing" if you will,

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you know? I think that's the only way I could get to this point. So...

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Interviewer] How did your family understand the difficulties that you are looking at in the future?

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Cohen] Wow! The worst was being - my mom was a therapist for many years

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and she had had a client who had MS, who was a ballerina,

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and then all of a sudden couldn't do ballet anymore, and so - so my mother really knew more than anybody

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(laughs) about the illness and ..... (40:09)

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and at this point I think that - I'm trying to think - I think that her client probably had progressive MS

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I did not, so that was good, but so my mother knew the horrors of what this could mean

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and so, for her, it was way worse than for anyone else, because she knew all the bad stuff

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and she was like "Right, my daughter now must deal with all this."

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I think in that - in those initial (38:55)