from Donna Edwards:
In honor of World MS Day tomorrow, I want to share my personal story to raise awareness and acceptance of the disease I live with each and every day.
All my life, I’ve been active and healthy (save for the occasional sports injury). While in Congress, I rode my bicycle regularly to clear my head and ran a handful of 5K and 10K races—I played on the Congressional softball and football teams. I thought I was in great health. I was not.
One day, on an early-morning run, my legs felt like spaghetti. Assuming I had a pinched nerve or stretched tendon, I decided to see my doctor.
As a member of Congress, I had pretty decent health care that enabled me to see all the specialists I needed. I finally got my diagnosis after nearly two months of tests and analysis. It came on June 22, 2016 — the day of the House sit-in in support of gun-safety legislation.
Hours into our protest, the House attending physician called me to his office to tell me I had multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. At first, I couldn’t process what he was saying. I thought I had a pinched nerve; I didn’t know anything about MS. Confused, I blinked away my tears and went back to the chamber to continue our protest.
I’ve learned a lot about MS since that day.
I’ve learned that more than one million Americans live with MS, that it’s not fatal, and that it affects different people in different ways. I also knew that I was fortunate to be diagnosed relatively early and to have great health care coverage, which enabled me to take care of my medical needs without worrying.
After Trump won in 2016, I went on a road trip across the country to learn more about the problems facing Americans. I talked to people from all walks of life, and one issue kept coming up over and over — from insulin to cancer treatments, to heart medication — people told me they struggle to afford the medication they need to live. I told them about the cost or my MS medications.
This story, my diagnosis of MS, is not about me; it’s about them—Americans caught between buying groceries or paying for their medications. Prescription drugs in the U.S. cost around 2.5 times more than in other Western countries, and millions of Americans struggle to afford their prescriptions. No one should have to choose between paying for life-saving medication and other essential needs.
That’s why I am sharing my MS story, and that’s why I’m running for Congress. Because every American deserves quality, affordable health care, access to affordable prescription drugs, and the ability to live a healthy and full life.