>>>
>>> DID
>>> DID YOU WATCH THE OSCARS LAST NIGHT?
LAST NIGHT? BECAUSE ONE OF THE MOST
TOUCHING OSCAR MOMENTS BY FAR
CAME FROM SELMA GLARE.
SHE MADE HER FIRST APPEARANCE
SINCE HER MS DIAGNOSIS.
SHE WORE A STUNNING DRESS, BUT
PEOPLE WERE MORE IN AWE OF HER
CANE.
CANE.
CANE. SHE
CANE. SHE WROTE THAT THOSE WERE GIFTS
FROM FRIENDS THAT HELPED HER
GET THROUGH A CHALLENGING TIME
WHEN HER BODY WON'T MOVE THE
WAY IT USED TO.
SHE WROTE ON INSTAGRAM, I
SOBBED, AND I APPRECIATED EVERY
SECOND.
SECOND.
SECOND. SO WE HAVE ADRIANA MARTIN HERE,
AND ALSO ERIN EWING TO TALK
ABOUT REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA.
TALK ABOUT THE IMAGE WE SAW
LAST NIGHT, AND ERIN, YOU'RE
LIVING WITH MS, AS A MOM, AND
SOMEONE LIVING WITH MS, WHAT
DID YOU THINK?
>> I DIDN'T SEE IT UNTIL THIS
MORNING.
MORNING.
MORNING. I GOT THE CALL FROM THE MS
SOCIETY THAT THERE IS INTEREST
IN SPEAKING ABOUT IT.
SO I LOOKED AT IT, AND I SAW
THE LIVE WALK AND I BROKE INTO
TEARS.
TEARS.
TEARS. IT
TEARS. IT WAS JUST, IT'S SUCH A
MIXTURE OF EMOTIONS OF THE DEEP
SADNESS THAT I FEEL FOR HER AND
WHAT SHE'S BEEN THROUGH TO GET
THERE, AND THEN JUST ULTIMATELY
BEING SO PROUD OF HER FOR DOING
THIS, AND BEING OUT THERE IN
HER TRUE SELF, NOW, GETTING
ADJUSTED TO WHO SHE IS WITH HER
DIAGNOSIS.
DIAGNOSIS. >> YOU'VE BEEN LIVING WITH MS
SINCE AT LEAST THE YEAR 2000,
RIGHT?
RIGHT?
RIGHT? >>
RIGHT? >> ALMOST 20 YEARS.
>> WHEN YOU GET A DIAGNOSIS
LIKE THAT, AND YOU SUDDENLY
HAVE TO CHANGE THINGS IN YOUR
LIFE, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
>> WELL, FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL
YEARS, MAYBE 10 YEARS, I HID MY
DIAGNOSIS FROM ALL BUT A VERY
SMALL GROUP OF FRIENDS, AND IN
THE BEGINNING, THE SYMPTOMS ARE
MANAGEABLE.
MANAGEABLE. IT'S FATIGUE.
IT'S FATIGUE. SOMEWHAT DEBILITATING FATIGUE,
BUT ULTIMATELY, IT CATCHES UP
TO YOU, SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE
CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE AS FAR AS
CHOOSING WHAT TO PARTICIPATE
IN, AND WHAT YOU CAN'T
PARTICIPATE IN.
PARTICIPATE IN. I HAD TO LEAVE MY CAREER IN
TECH, JUST BECAUSE THE STRESS
WAS TOO, I WAS HAVING TOO
EXTREME AFFECTS ON MY HEALTH.
SO, I MEAN, EVERY DAY IS
STRATEGIZING HOW TO MANAGE MY
FATIGUE.
FATIGUE.
FATIGUE. >> WOW.
>> WOW.
>> WOW. WOW.
WOW.
WOW. >>
WOW. >> I
WOW. >> I UNDERSTAND A LOT MORE
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO
LEARN HOW TO MANAGE THEIR
FATIGUE AND THE NEW CHALLENGES,
BECAUSE THERE'S A BIG HEADLINE
THAT CAME OUT.
>> THERE IS A RECENT STUDY.
WE DID A PREVALENT STUDY.
THERE ARE TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE
LIVING WITH MS THAN WE
ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
ORIGINALLY THOUGHT. THERE ARE 1 MILLION PEOPLE WE
NEED TO FIND A CURE FOR NOW.
>> WE DID THIS STUDY, AND FOUND
IT'S HARD TO DIAGNOSE MS. THE
SYMPTOMS ARE SO DIFFERENT.
IT'S HARD TO TELL, IT LOOKS
DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE.
SO WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER FIGURING
OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
>> AND WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO, IF
THEY'RE THINKING, I DON'T HAVE
MS, OR MAYBE I DO HAVE MS. I
GUESS THEY SHOULD GO TO THE
DOCTOR AND DEMAND A TEST?
>> I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERE
VISION PROBLEMS.
VISION PROBLEMS. I ALWAYS HAD 2020 VISION, AND
FOR TWO WEEKS MY VISION, I HAD
BLIND SPOTS IN MY EYES, AND IT
WAS JUST UNEXPLAINED.
I CAN GO BACK FROM THE TIME I
WAS, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 7 YEARS
OLD, AND THINK OF DIFFERENT
EVENTS THAT WERE EASILY
DISMISSED THAT THAT COULD HAVE
BEEN SYMPTOMS OF MS. BUT
THEY'RE GETTING SO MUCH BETTER
AT IDENTIFYING WHAT THOSE ARE,
AND SO MUCH QUICKER.
SO WHEN YOU GO IN FOR NUMBNESS,
OH, IT'S A PINCHED NERVE, AND
THEY MIGHT DIG A LITTLE BIT
DEEPER, AND YOU HAVE TO WAIT TO
FIND OUT.
FIND OUT.
FIND OUT. >> OH, MY GOSH.
REALLY QUICKLY, HOW DO YOU
INSPIRE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TO
KNOW THERE IS LIFE AFTER A
DIAGNOSIS?
DIAGNOSIS? >> WELL, I MEAN, THERE IS.
I WOULD JUST SAY THAT IT'S
PERFECTLY NORMAL TO BE
TERRIFIED, AND ANGRY, AND
SCARED, AND WANT TO CURSE A
LOT, BUT THAT YOU'RE NOT IN
THIS ALONE.
THIS ALONE. ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE MS
SOCIETY, AND AS SOON AS YOU'RE
COMFORTABLE TALKING TO FRIENDS
AND FAMILY, THAT EVERYONE'S
GOING TO BE THERE TO SUPPORT
YOU THROUGH THIS, AND YOU'RE A
LOT STRONGER THAN YOU THINK.
>> ERIN, AND ADRIANA, THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND