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Lisa, patient's wife: It's been almost eight years since we've met. Very first date, he forgot his wallet.
Lucas, patient: I made a pretty good first impression. [LAUGHTER] I'm a lot better than I was 10, 12 years ago.
I woke up one morning with a numb left arm, like I just slept on it wrong, and then I could slowly feel it go down my leg.
The first time I came, it took my dad and a friend to carry me out of the truck to the emergency room. I couldn't walk.
Claudia Lucchinetti, M.D., Neurology: At that time it was clear that Lucas wasn't in great shape.
Lucas: And she came in, and she just seemed like she took control and I was going to be fine.
Dr. Lucchinetti: We thought at first that this was an unusual form of MS that's referred to as tumefactive multiple sclerosis.
But unfortunately, he kept getting worse as did his MRI scan. We needed to determine, ultimately, was this a tumor or not? The results of the brain biopsy, lo and behold,
were in fact consistent with our initial impressions, that this was a form of multiple sclerosis.
Lisa: One doctor described his MS as "road work" and that really helped me to understand the situation better. Where the roads are still there and everything still functions, it just takes longer to get there.
Dr. Lucchinetti: Once we could zero in on the diagnosis, we could bring around Lucas the kind of team he needed.
Lucas: The recreational therapist actually took me golfing. It had been about the first time I had stepped and walked. The therapy was a big part of it,
but with her catching what it was early enough and getting the treatment started, it helped that quite a bit too.
Dr. Lucchinetti: The Mayo Clinic is the place that takes care of typical MS, but it's helpful to know that your doctors have also seen these rare forms.
Lucas: The reason we came up here was because there were so many expert doctors here, the best in the world.
Dr. Lucchinetti: Over the years Lucas has done remarkably well, so it's always a pleasure to see when, my patients, I see them back, and things are pretty quiet.
Lucas: My therapy is walking and living. Graduated high school and went to college, and I graduated with my four degree. A couple of years later, we got engaged and we got married. It's just been a ride.
Dr. Lucchinetti: He's working. He's active. He's doing the kind of things he wants to be doing.
Lisa: A lot of people don't even realize that he has MS. He's constantly doing everything that everybody else does - being a part of the family and going out, doing everything that we do.
Dr. Lucchinetti: And it's comforting to see that despite the scariness up front that we were able to secure this diagnosis, get him on the treatments he needed, and hopefully continue to live a very long and productive life.
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