Jake and Tricia
Since the age of 12, Rancho Bernardo resident Tricia Chandler has experienced intermittent optic neuritis, eventually losing vision in her left eye permanently. It wasn’t until she reached age 24, and nine months after the birth of her son, Jake, that Tricia was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “Initially I was very scared – scared of the uncertainty of what MS might take from me,” says Tricia. Within three months, Tricia was a single mother living with this unpredictable, often disabling disease. View a video about Tricia.
Since her diagnosis, Tricia has experienced everything from left-sided weakness and numbness to slurred speech and bladder dysfunction. She says, “I cannot walk very far without my left leg going numb. I have cognitive dysfunction, mostly affecting my short-term memory.” For years Tricia lived with bladder retention issues, but shares, “now I have an implanted device that enables me to empty my bladder.”
Tricia no longer works due to her MS and has fortunately been granted Social Security Disability Insurance. “Though I sometimes feel isolated because I’m ‘sick,’ I get support and help when I need it,” says Tricia. Tricia has utilized the chapter’s equipment resources, received grants for independence and attended several chapter programs including educational seminars for newly diagnosed individuals as well as research symposiums.
“It’s important to me to support the National MS Society – they support everyone living with MS and fund research that will one day find a cure,” says Tricia who captains Walk MS Team Hope each April and has raised nearly $250,000 over the years. In the last few years Tricia has also gotten involved in Bike MS, seeking corporate sponsorship of the event, fundraising and personally riding a motorized Optibike bike 30 miles in October 2008. Tricia intends to continue her involvement in Walk MS, Bike MS and the MS Dinner Auction, held each November.
Tricia is an amateur photographer who specializes in photos of Jake, newborns and families. “I volunteer at my church as a youth leader, am an MS advocate (talking with others who share my disease) and am an ambassador for my implant – sharing my experience with others.”
Jake, now in high school, loves to play baseball and ride his motorcycle. Jake has always been by his mom’s side and says, “I know that Mom is a fighter and she will battle this disease until a cure is found.”
Though the cause of multiple sclerosis is not known, it is a disease of the central nervous system typically diagnosed in the prime-of-life years, ages 20-50. At least two to three times more women than men are living with MS, the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults. To learn more about MS, Tricia, chapter programs and services, fundraising events, sponsorship/underwriting chapter activities, or to donate, email Heather.Cavazos@MSpacific.org, visit www.MSpacific.org or call 1-800-486-6762.