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Multiple sclerosis victim Eid providing support for others afflicted with disease
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
WEVER - Strength and courage have been Mary Eid's mainstay for the past two years. Eid of Wever was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001.
"It really hit me hard," she said as she was going through the area with brochures advertising support of the MS Walk in Burlington on Oct. 5.
"I'm a registered nurse and have my own home care business," Eid said. "I started in 1997. I have an office on Mount Pleasant Street in Burlington. I'd just moved in and my right arm went numb. I had trouble with my vision and headaches - that's what started it all."
MS is a central nervous system autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord, she said. It attacks the myelin on the body's nerves resulting in various symptoms.
No two people are affected by the same symptoms the same way, she said. Some of the symptoms include numbness and tingling ranging to paralysis, tremors, urinary and bowel problems, blurred speech, poor balance and coordination, fatigue and damage to vision.
Some symptoms are mild and some are severe, she said. And the symptoms can come and go getting worse or subsiding.
The symptoms of MS moved in swiftly in Eid's case. She walks now with a brace on her right leg and uses a cane for some extra support. She experiences tremors that have interfered with her ability to write, a must for recording patient data, she said.
The disease has slowed her down, but an undaunted Eid not only is forging ahead with her own life, but is helping provide support for others afflicted with MS. In addition, she is spreading the word that advances in research allow people who have MS to lead productive lives.
"I'm going around and educating people as much as possible," she said. "I became a support group leader because we need a support group in the area. There is no support group in Southeast Iowa except in Burlington."
Meetings of the MS support group are held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Burlington Rehab Center, Hawkeye Room, 1201 West Agency, in Burlington.
In order to continue her role as a wife and a mother of two children, as well as conduct her fight against the progressive disease, Eid has adopted her own unique approach to MS.
"I just act like I don't have it," she said. "I'm taking two different medicines and treatments. There are four drugs that help slow the progression of the disease and sometimes shrink the lesions. MS can either affect the brain or the spinal cord. My lesions are all in the brain."
Eid said that the effects of the disease are determined by the location of the lesions. A person with one lesion in the brain could be worse off than she is, depending upon the location of the lesion.
Having MS affects a patient's family and requires coping on both sides. Eid's children and husband have rallied to her support, for which she is very grateful.
"My best suggestion for people with MS is to get a support system, eat right, exercise, do water therapy and act like you don't have the disease," she said. "You can't die from MS, but you can die from complications. There is no cure but they are searching for a cure. Research is the key."
Last year Eid alone had 80 walkers in the MS Walk, including friends and family. Her team was called the Bubbling Buddies and had so much fun it's making a comeback this year.
To form a team for the MS Walk in Crapo Park, Burlington, gather a group of four people, register, request and collect contributions, turn in contributions at noon on the day of the MS Walk and begin walking at 1 p.m. on the three-mile route.
Special prizes are awarded for collected donations of $75 through $5,000.
Donations may be made to the MS Foundation and mailed in care of Bubbling Buddies, 2061 343 Avenue, Wever, IA 52658 or call 1-800- FIGHT MS to register a team and receive more information about the walk and disease.
Registration also can be done through the Web site nationalmssociety.org or by fax at 515-270-0337.
For more information about the MS support group for Southeast Iowa, call Eid at 319-372-3445.
There 3,500 people in Iowa with MS and 400,000 people in the United States with MS. Most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 to 50.
"It really hit me hard," she said as she was going through the area with brochures advertising support of the MS Walk in Burlington on Oct. 5.
"I'm a registered nurse and have my own home care business," Eid said. "I started in 1997. I have an office on Mount Pleasant Street in Burlington. I'd just moved in and my right arm went numb. I had trouble with my vision and headaches - that's what started it all."
MS is a central nervous system autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord, she said. It attacks the myelin on the body's nerves resulting in various symptoms.
No two people are affected by the same symptoms the same way, she said. Some of the symptoms include numbness and tingling ranging to paralysis, tremors, urinary and bowel problems, blurred speech, poor balance and coordination, fatigue and damage to vision.
Some symptoms are mild and some are severe, she said. And the symptoms can come and go getting worse or subsiding.
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The disease has slowed her down, but an undaunted Eid not only is forging ahead with her own life, but is helping provide support for others afflicted with MS. In addition, she is spreading the word that advances in research allow people who have MS to lead productive lives.
"I'm going around and educating people as much as possible," she said. "I became a support group leader because we need a support group in the area. There is no support group in Southeast Iowa except in Burlington."
Meetings of the MS support group are held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Burlington Rehab Center, Hawkeye Room, 1201 West Agency, in Burlington.
In order to continue her role as a wife and a mother of two children, as well as conduct her fight against the progressive disease, Eid has adopted her own unique approach to MS.
"I just act like I don't have it," she said. "I'm taking two different medicines and treatments. There are four drugs that help slow the progression of the disease and sometimes shrink the lesions. MS can either affect the brain or the spinal cord. My lesions are all in the brain."
Eid said that the effects of the disease are determined by the location of the lesions. A person with one lesion in the brain could be worse off than she is, depending upon the location of the lesion.
Having MS affects a patient's family and requires coping on both sides. Eid's children and husband have rallied to her support, for which she is very grateful.
"My best suggestion for people with MS is to get a support system, eat right, exercise, do water therapy and act like you don't have the disease," she said. "You can't die from MS, but you can die from complications. There is no cure but they are searching for a cure. Research is the key."
Last year Eid alone had 80 walkers in the MS Walk, including friends and family. Her team was called the Bubbling Buddies and had so much fun it's making a comeback this year.
To form a team for the MS Walk in Crapo Park, Burlington, gather a group of four people, register, request and collect contributions, turn in contributions at noon on the day of the MS Walk and begin walking at 1 p.m. on the three-mile route.
Special prizes are awarded for collected donations of $75 through $5,000.
Donations may be made to the MS Foundation and mailed in care of Bubbling Buddies, 2061 343 Avenue, Wever, IA 52658 or call 1-800- FIGHT MS to register a team and receive more information about the walk and disease.
Registration also can be done through the Web site nationalmssociety.org or by fax at 515-270-0337.
For more information about the MS support group for Southeast Iowa, call Eid at 319-372-3445.
There 3,500 people in Iowa with MS and 400,000 people in the United States with MS. Most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 to 50.
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