I'll start with a little information about myself.  I was diagnosed in November 2003.  My wife and I had just moved to Texas for my job promotion and the first day in the state I woke up and my feet were numb.  I thought it might be a pinched nerve from driving for 3 days from Yakima, WA but it persisted for 2 weeks so I finally went to the doctor.  My biggest fear now was that it might be diabetes and I would be forced to give myself insulin shots for the rest of my life.  I don't like needles very much so it's kind of ironic that I was relieved when it wasn't diabetes.

After the blood test ruled out a physiological problem my wife started researching the web for anything else linked to numb feet assuming now that it would be a neurological problem.  What she came up with was Peripheral Neuropathy and Multiple Sclerosis.  Being the eternal pessimist I had a bad feeling it was MS.

I asked the doctor for a referral to a neurologist and found one that specialized in MS.  After my first appointment he said that it was likely MS but would wait until after the MRI and Lumbar Puncture to be sure.  A week later he left a message on my answering machine that I did indeed have MS.

Since that time I've been on 5 different MS medications including 2 experimental drug studies.  What has worked for others seems to simply pass through me so I continue searching.

The idea for Veterans Fighting Multiple Sclerosis came to me after working for a 24/7 MS helpline (www.msfriends.org) and I noticed a large number of newly diagnosed patients were veterans.  Two of my closest friends in San Antonio are also veterans with MS and I've met several others locally who are as well.  It appears, at least anecdotally that there is a disproportionate number of new MS patients, compared to the general population, who are veterans.

My goal is to get information and aid to veterans with MS that they might not receive elsewhere.  Dealing with the Veterans Administration or Social Security can be very stressful and stress is one thing MS sufferers do not need.

VFMS is in it's infancy and as I am the only one involved it may take a bit to get everything up and running.  The paperwork is overwhelming and right now it is the biggest challenge.  None-the-less I am here to try and help.  If you need a shoulder to lean on or a shoulder to cry, on I'm here.

You've given freely of yourself for our great nation and while the nation is grateful sometimes it can throw obstacles in your path that are difficult to navigate.  Those of us who have already blazed a trail can hopefully make your journey easier.

Thank you for your service,
Mark Coen