Multiple personality

The “shoe shrine” in Lynn Baker’s Lake Lucille bedroom features her favorite pair of red patent-leather high heels under a small spotlight.

It symbolizes the inevitable passage of her professional life as the proud owner of a Valley title company to that of a stay-at-home wife and grandmother who wears slippers to the store.

“It finally hit me recently that I’ll never be able to wear high heels again because of my foot and ankle brace,” said Baker, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995 at age 34. “And I lived in high heels for most of my life, so that was a big deal to me.”

That same year, on the other side of the Valley in Palmer, Linda Grace received news that her sudden dizziness and slight numbness in her limbs also was MS.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Grace, a 47-year-old mother of eight. “I was always so healthy. And I was feeling fine except for the dizzy spells. It took me awhile to overcome the denial.”

Eventually, the reality of being struck with a mysterious, incurable neurological ailment that manifests itself in unpredictable ways from month to month began to set in.

MS is considered an auto-immune disease, in which the body misidentifies some part of itself as a foreign invader. In MS, the part of the body that is mistaken as an invader is the protective covering of nerve fibers — the myelin sheath — in the brain and spinal cord.

Those afflicted with MS develop lesions on their myelin sheaths, which causes a wide variety of reactions in their bodies, depending on the locations of the lesions.

“The worst part about MS is that you never know what part of your body is going to be screwed up because the lesions move around,” said Baker, who used to own McKinley Title Company but was forced to quit in 2007 when she began experiencing cognitive issues and severe fatigue. “Some people wake up blind and stay that way for weeks. Others lose the use of their legs or become incontinent. It’s just so unpredictable.”

The good news about MS, however, is that it’s not fatal. And that is enough to give Baker, Grace and thousands of other Alaskans living with the disease a reason to hope for better days.

“It could be worse,” Grace said. “I hate having to use a walker and to depend on others for help sometimes, but at least I’m here, I’m happy and I believe I was put on this earth to help others realize their importance in this life.”

Baker and Grace were among a dozen women and three men who attended an MS Support Group Friday at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center’s Outpatient Facility on the corner of Bogard Road and Crusey Street.

The monthly meetings offer an escape from isolation and an opportunity to visit with others experiencing the same frustrations.

But no one in the room was having a pity party. In fact, the room was abuzz with laughter and stories of the latest medicines and fads.

Baker and a woman next to her shared amusing tales about their fading memories, while Grace and a woman across the table discussed ways to get the word out about a new water treatment some swear by.

One 78-year-old man who used to run marathons said he’d been diagnosed only two years ago. Now walking with the aid of a cane, Sevard Wagenius was still counting his blessings.

“I have late onset, but I’m not complaining,” he said. “I know others my age have it a lot worse. I’m just happy to be alive.”

It’s that kind of attitude that makes meeting facilitator Stephanie Tinney smile.

Tinney, a Palmer mother who was diagnosed with a milder form of MS 10 years ago, loves the fact that she sees new faces at the meeting every month because it means more people are coming out of their shells and realizing they are not alone.

“My goal for the group is to be a voice for the people in the MS community in the Valley,” said Tinney, whose condition was made worse by a near head-on collision in Wasilla on the Parks Highway in January of last year when her right knee was shattered on the dashboard of her Subaru. “We all have our burdens, but together we can learn to make light of them and realize all that we have in our lives to be thankful for.”

Indeed. That’s why Grace is so excited about her multiple sclerosis blog and website and why Baker keeps showing up at the meetings — to inspire others.

Grace said she’s tried a variety of treatments, including bee sting therapy, where a friend carefully placed 20 honeybees on her body with tweezers three times a week for six months to no avail.

“I discovered that I just needed to change the way I looked at my disease,” Grace said as she opened her website LindaGraceOnline.com and explained how exciting it is to be able to communicate with others through her blog, on Facebook and with her Skype webcam. “I truly believe I can make a difference in the online community by reaching out to people all over the world. I ultimately want a site that is a one-stop shopping venue for MS where I can offer different types of resources.”

For Baker, just being able to brighten someone’s day at one of the meetings is satisfaction enough.

“So I wear a brace and walk with a cane and sleep a lot, but this isn’t so bad,” she said as her granddaughter Emma climbed on her lap and beamed up at her. “How can I ever be sad when you see Emma’s smile?”

For information about the Valley’s MS Support Group, contact Tinney at 376-4651 or e-mail at marigoldfuggles@yahoo.com.

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.