When Megan C., 25, of Canonsburg, Pa., was in middle school, she found herself facing a juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) diagnosis. Though she hadn’t felt any pain, a lump on her right hand had appeared, which prompted a visit to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
There, Megan met Daniel Kietz, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist. Initially, Dr. Kietz treated her JIA with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, and methotrexate (MTX). After 18 months of that regimen, he prescribed her Humira, a medication that helps calm down the immune system’s attack on the joints. She received this medication as an injection every two to three weeks.
The lump subsided, and Megan was able to complete high school and college without any issues. Then, in August 2023, strange new symptoms began.
“It started as numbness in my feet during my walks,” Megan says. “Eventually, the numb feeling started spreading up my legs and into my hands.”
By the end of summer, the symptoms were affecting her daily life.
Flipping her head down to brush her hair would send a wave of pins and needles through her whole body, which she attributed to sciatic nerve pain. Then she began stumbling, struggling to walk, and having bladder issues.
“It always felt like I had to go to the bathroom, but then I’d struggle to actually go,” she says. “That’s when I really knew something bigger was at play.”
Searching for Answers
A visit to her primary care provider didn’t yield any answers, so Megan sought out Dr. Kietz once again. She already had years of experience working with him and trusted his advice beyond her arthritis.
Dr. Kietz referred her to the UPMC Neurological Institute at UPMC Presbyterian. After she shared her symptoms with the team, they ordered a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam.
“As my mom and I were driving home from the MRI, I got a call asking me to go to the emergency room as soon as possible,” Megan recalls. “That’s when everything got real.”
At the emergency department (ED), doctors ran several tests on Megan, including a lumbar puncture, and administered a high-dose steroid IV.
“I remember I had gone bowling the night before with co-workers and my feet had felt the most numb they had ever felt,” she says. “I could hardly feel the doctors taking off my socks and examining my legs.”
After an unsettling overnight stay with little rest, Megan was having a rough morning when attending neurologist Ingrid Loma-Miller, MD, came in to discuss her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis for the first time.
“I was exhausted and overwhelmed, which sent me into a panic attack,” Megan says. “I don’t remember much, but I do remember how understanding and lovely Dr. Loma-Miller was.”
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes the protective covering of nerves to break down.
This can cause:
- Muscle weakness or spasms.
- Numbness or tingling.
- Trouble walking.
- Vision problems.
If left untreated, MS can cause permanent nerve damage. Some people lose the ability to walk or function in life on their own.
Though MS can occur at any age, it is more likely to develop in women and young adults between the ages of 20 and 40. For Megan, receiving this diagnosis at 23 was not easy.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” she says. “I was so upset for months — in a bad place mentally and physically. It was so hard.”
Starting Infusion Therapy
After the ED discharged Megan, she did another steroid infusion at the MS clinic and met with Dr. Loma-Miller, who further discussed her diagnosis and treatment phases.
“She explained everything in such a great way, and she’s so encouraging,” Megan says. “I truly love her so much.”
First, Megan underwent plasmapheresis every other day for two weeks at UPMC Mercy.
During each session, a wide-bore IV enters one arm to draw blood out of the body. The blood then passes through a machine that separates the plasma — the liquid part of the blood — from the blood cells.
It then removes and replaces the blood with donor plasma before mixing it back in with the blood cells. Finally, the cleaned blood a standard IV in the other arm returns the cleaned blood to the body.
This procedure helps to remove harmful antibodies from the blood and replace them with clean donor plasma.
“It’s a rough procedure, and my arms were struggling in the end,” Megan says. “But I will remember the nurses there forever because of how nice and helpful they were. They made it so much easier.”
Next up for Megan’s treatment regimen was infusion therapy at UPMC’s MS clinic.
These sessions delivered medication directly into her bloodstream to reduce immune attacks and slow the disease progression. The first two sessions are the longest, lasting up to six hours each, and happen only weeks apart. After the first two sessions, Megan’s next infusions happened every six months, a schedule she continues to this day.
This course of treatment also helped to treat Megan’s JIA, which allowed her to stop taking the Humira.
At this point, Megan is confident in proclaiming herself symptom-free of her MS.
“My lesions are fading, and there aren’t any new ones,” she says. “I currently don’t feel any symptoms at all, and for that I am so thankful.”
The Impact of a Supportive Community
Beyond the medical procedures, Megan credits her support system and UPMC staff with keeping her spirits high.
“I give my parents a ton of credit — they were scared, too, but they stayed by my side every step of the way,” she says. “And the nurses at the hospital and in the clinics all genuinely love their jobs and care about you as a person, not just an illness. That made all the difference.”
A Focus on Holistic Health
For Megan, infusion therapy and a support system were only parts of the puzzle for her recovery.
“I knew I wasn’t going to fully heal unless I took care of my mental and physical health in other ways, too,” she says.
Lifestyle changes — such as eating healthier and focusing on whole foods — helped her lose 50 pounds. Daily walks keep her body active without causing flare-ups from overexertion.
And committing to therapy helped Megan process the trauma around her diagnosis and find positivity in her story.
“I have such a great outlook on life now — I cherish time with people more and feel like I’m living life to the fullest,” she says. “I want to show people that there are so many modern advancements with MS today that it is possible to thrive even with this diagnosis. I’m living proof of it!”