As the mother of two small children and a registered nurse, Jane was an active, busy person with a full life. The only hint that anything was wrong was that sometimes, she would drop things.

“Jane was retraining after taking a break from nursing for a number of years, and she realized she couldn’t feel the pulse in her patients. Her fingers had no feelings.” John Holmlund explained. “So, her doctor referred her to a specialist.”

Doctors often determine whether a patient has MS by ruling out other potential causes for the symptoms – which can take up to two years, or longer.

40 years ago, at the time Jane was beginning to show symptoms, there were no MRI’s. Instead, a spinal tap was conducted and a diagnosis of MS was delivered.

For the Holmlund’s, the diagnosis came with little comfort.

“Basically, we were told, ‘Go home and live with it. There’s nothing that we can do.’ That was a real shock to us,” said Holmlund. “Jane had MS, but we said, ‘We’re gonna deal with this. We’re gonna make this work.” While Jane went through relapses of her disease that resulted in the loss of her vision or use of a limb, medication allowed her to manage the symptoms and remain active.

“Jane had MS and she was president of the figure skating club. She delivered meals on wheels for 25 years,” added Holmlund. “In the last ten years, her mobility has gotten worse but she’s still fighting. Everybody that knows her says she’s such an inspiration in their life.”