Thank you.
I get infusions.
I get TYSABRI once a month
because I have multiple sclerosis.
I was diagnosed about six years ago with the disease
and have since gotten care here at Rush.
Rush Multiple Sclerosis Center is the oldest in the region
and largest, as well.
And we have been on the cutting edge
of providing patient care
in terms of both pioneering certain treatments for MS
as well as being among the first or the first
to utilize novel therapies for people with MS.
MS or multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects
the brain and the spinal cord
and is a result of the person's immune system
attacking parts within the brain
and the spinal cord, causing inflammation.
And this inflammation can damage the ability of the nerves
in the brain and the spinal cord to get nerve signals,
either fast enough from one point to another
or not get them through at all.
And as a result, people can have difficulties
using their muscles or seeing properly,
having trouble with balance and coordination.
So, we're just basically preparing
everything that we're going to need
for when we go see the patient
to get their IV started, get their medication going.
It can be four, five, six patients in a day,
sometimes more, sometimes less.
Rush MS Center has a highly professional team
of health care providers at multiple levels
with neurologists, advanced practice nurses
or nurse practitioners, registered nurses,
physician assistants, MAs.
And we are all involved in providing high-quality care
to people with MS.
We have about 15 infusion chairs in the infusion facilities
within the suite of the Rush MS Center.
Getting an infusion here at Rush is just another day
in the life.
You know, it's routine by now.
It's my new routine having MS.
And once a month, I come and get my TYSABRI medication
which is an infusion.
I typically come in, I meet with the nurses.
They make sure that I'm feeling okay,
that I haven't had any major changes in my health,
any new symptoms.
And then, they administer the medication.
And honestly, while I'm getting the medication,
I go about my daily life.
I work.
I check my email.
I, you know, answer calls if I need to.
Once the patient is hooked up,
I usually come back to my computer,
and open their chart and do some additional charting.
I enter where I've placed the IV.
I'm going to get her lab paperwork and MRI paperwork ready
'cause she's due for those diagnostic tests.
And I'll be giving her that paperwork.
And I would go check on other patients as well.
At the time of my diagnosis I was very vulnerable.
I was very scared.
I didn't know what my future really held.
And after my first meeting with Dr. Stefoski,
I actually felt for the first time that
I was going to be okay,
that my life was going to be different
but that I would still have the life that I always wanted
to have.
He gave me the hope that I could still have a family,
that I could still work full-time,
that I could still have everything I ever wanted.
Because as a 20-something-year-old that's been diagnosed
with an incurable illness, you're obviously terrified,
and he made me believe from the start that I would be okay.
She has been on treatment with an intravenous medication
that is considered high-efficacy and high-potency,
and has done extremely well receiving this treatment,
to the point where she's very high-functioning
with virtually no limitations both privately
and professionally.
Mrs. Randall has a business of her own
that she successfully runs
and is one of those people that is an excellent ambassador
for not only Rush MS Center but also
for what can these days be provided to people with MS
in terms of successfully controlling the disease.
I've gotten to know the nurses very well over the course
of my time here at Rush.
I know them all by name, you know, Celeste,
Jenny, Laura.
I know that one has cats.
I know that the other has children.
I think they have been an exceptional part of my experience
here at Rush because they're just warm,
and they're comforting, and they take great care of you,
but they're people
and they treat you like you're a person, too.
And one of the nurses, Celeste,
I actually saw out one night in Chicago on a Saturday night.
And she was walking down the street
and she screams, "Angie!"
And I see her, and I run up to her, and I give her a hug.
And people are like, "Who is that?"
And I was like, "That's my MS nurse."
Rush MS Center, with its location
within the Rush Medical Center as a whole,
provides the possibility of any level of care
in case there's some adverse reactions
to any of the medications that we may
be administering people.
Its location on campus is such that it allows
for providing any level of care within matter of minutes.
I feel safe knowing that I'm
in the best place that I could be.
I'm under the best care.
They will do whatever they need to do
to make sure that I'm okay.
Being able to be involved in patient's care
on ongoing basis, year after year, is very rewarding.
helping people live better lives, more productive lives,
more satisfying lives, suffering less from the disease
such as MS which still has no cure.
It has good treatments that can help.
The reason to come to Rush is because it's the best place
for you to get your infusion.
And what I mean by that is you're
under the care of your neurologist.
You're under the care of qualified nurses.
They are looking out for you and your best interest
and are tracking the progression of your disease.
I feel hopeful for my future
with MS thanks to care that I've received here,
Simply knowing that if new medications come out
and new advancements are made that I'm going to be the first
to know, I will have access to everything I need
to really thrive with MS in the future.
And that is incredibly comforting
for me as a patient, as a person, as a mother,
to know that I'm really in the best hands.