{"id":1056,"date":"2025-03-23T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=1056"},"modified":"2025-03-26T21:34:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:34:28","slug":"everyone-thought-i-was-tired-turns-out-i-had-a-brain-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/23\/everyone-thought-i-was-tired-turns-out-i-had-a-brain-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone thought I was tired, turns out I had a brain disease"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
The first few symptoms seemed to come out of the blue (Picture: Eleanor Whibley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u202fwas lying\u202fon my side in a hospital bed\u202fwhen a\u202fconsultant stood over me\u202fand asked: \u2018Have you heard of MS<\/a>?\u2019  <\/p>\n

I had\u202findeed\u202f\u2013 my friend\u2019s mum had it\u202fwhen we were in school<\/a>.\u202f Unfortunately, after her diagnosis,\u202fshe\u2019d become withdrawn and in a wheelchair<\/a> within a year.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not always fatal,\u2019 the doctor added, \u2018a nurse will come and explain more.\u2019 With that, he turned and left. But the nurse didn\u2019t actually come for three days. <\/p>\n

Fortunately, the girl lying in the bed next to me had overheard. She turned to me and smiled: \u2018It\u2019s not that bad, you\u2019ll deal with it.\u2019 <\/p>\n

This was May 2007\u202fand\u202fI was still in my early 20s.\u202fI just kept thinking to myself that\u202fI couldn\u2019t have a brain disease<\/a>. I was a mum\u202f\u2013 I didn\u2019t have time.  <\/p>\n

The first few symptoms seemed to come out of the blue.  <\/p>\n

Earlier that month, as part of our healthy mums’ fitness group<\/a>,\u202fI signed up for an assault course. I was doing a 10 km <\/strong>run in July so I thought this would be good practice \u2013 and great fun, too. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
Over the next\u202ffew\u202fdays, I started getting blurred vision (Picture: Kezia Kecibas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At one point, I crawled under a cargo net, then had to climb a wall. This is when things got weird. <\/p>\n

As I reached the top, I held on to the zip wire and I just froze. I couldn\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n

I\u2019d done this many times before so I didn\u2019t know what the problem was. My best friend caught up and encouraged me, \u2018go, go, what are you doing?\u2019 Seeing that I had physically frozen to the spot, she added: \u2018Hold on and I\u2019ll push you down.\u2019 <\/p>\n

I ended up finishing the race and didn\u2019t think much of it. But over the next\u202ffew\u202fdays, I started getting blurred vision. <\/p>\n

At the time,\u202fI was studying a holistic therapies course at my local college and it was a lot of coursework\u202fso\u202feveryone agreed\u202fthat, as a mum,\u202fI was probably just tired. At the same time, I was tripping over absolutely nothing and getting cuts and bruises from falling all through the house. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
The spinning continued and got so bad that it made me nauseous (Picture: Kezia Kecibas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within a fortnight,\u202fI decided to make an appointment to see the doctor. After explaining\u202fthat I\u202fkept losing my balance, he checked my ears and decided to prescribe ear drops because he thought it could be an ear infection that was causing balance issues. <\/p>\n

As days passed, the falls became more frequent\u202fso\u202fI went back\u202fto the GP,\u202fbut was told to give it time. I lay in bed, head pounding, and the room was spinning. <\/p>\n

On top of that, I couldn\u2019t think about food\u202fand\u202fI struggled staying upright. It felt like a hangover from hell. Even water made me throw up. <\/p>\n

The spinning continued and got so bad that it made me nauseous. I ended up calling an emergency doctor, who prescribed anti-sickness tablets.  <\/p>\n

On one particularly bad day,\u202fI put my\u202ftoddler\u202fson, Theo in his pushchair and wobbled down the street clinging on tightly, heading towards the doctor\u2019s\u202foffice.\u202fI staggered in.  <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m really not good,\u2019 I told\u202fthe GP, \u2018I\u2019m going to A&E.\u2019\u202fOnce admitted,\u202fI slumped in the wheelchair, holding tightly onto the arms as if it would somehow stop the spinning.  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
It felt like I had MS under control (Picture: Kezia Kecibas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had an\u202fMRI\u202f<\/a>that\u202ftook about 15 minutes but felt like hours.\u202fImmediately afterwards,\u202fI spotted a toilet, flung the cubicle door open, and was sick. <\/p>\n

Not long after this, the consultant suggested I might have multiple sclerosis (MS)<\/a>. I was shocked. I was a healthy person\u202f\u2013 how could this happen?  <\/p>\n

Eventually,\u202fthe MS nurse arrived with leaflets about medication. I just remember being told that\u202fthe condition\u202fgets worse, there\u2019s no cure, and they don\u2019t know why it happens.  <\/p>\n

In the meantime, I was put\u202fon a steroid drip,\u202fwhich\u202fstarted to work. The spinning stopped\u202fand\u202feverything\u202ffelt like it\u202fwas going to be fine; I could handle this. <\/p>\n

Thankfully, things settled down for a few years once I started medication. I had been plodding along doing weekly injections, but overall leading a happy life. It felt like I had MS under control. <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tWhat is Multiple sclerosis (MS)?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord.<\/p>\n

Some of the most common symptoms include fatigue, problems with your eyes or your vision, such as blurred vision or eye pain, numbness or a tingling feeling in different parts of the body, feeling off balance, dizzy or clumsy and muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness.<\/p>\n

There is currently no cure for MS but there are treatments that can slow the progression of it and help ease symptoms.<\/p>\n

They include steroid medicine to reduce swelling and help nerves work better, muscle relaxant medicine to help relieve muscle spasms, cramps or stiffness and medicine to treat pain, vision problems and other symptoms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This continued \u2013 even when I had my daughter, Layla, in March 2012. After chatting with my neurologist, <\/strong>I came off my medications. <\/p>\n

But after childbirth, I had a relapse with my MS symptoms<\/a> \u2013 as can often be the case. <\/p>\n

Once home from the hospital, my\u202fmum and stepdad\u202fcame over to\u202fsee the new baby. At the time, we were having work done on our house, so I tried to keep Theo entertained while making teas for the workmen, feeding guests and breastfeeding\u202fLayla. <\/p>\n

I was exhausted. As a result, my eyesight started blurring and I kept dropping things. <\/p>\n

I rang my neurology consultant and was told to stop breastfeeding. <\/strong>I was then initially put on oral steroids and began bottle feeding, but the medication didn\u2019t seem to actually be doing anything. So after a few weeks, I underwent an infusion every 28 days. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
I came out to the world as having MS (Picture: Kezia Kecibas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This worked beautifully, so I stayed on this treatment plan for over five years. Unfortunately, then it started wearing off. <\/p>\n

So\u202fI made YouTube videos of my daily struggles. I filmed myself in the aftermath of having a fall. I described how much of a struggle cooking and cleaning was and even did some on the way to physio and neurology appointments. <\/p>\n

Essentially, I came out to the world as having MS. <\/p>\n

In December 2018, my annual neurology check-up came around. I was tired, so I slumped into the chair in the specialist\u2019s office\u202fas\u202fhe told me the medication wasn\u2019t working anymore.\u202f\u2019Sadly, there\u2019s nothing else the NHS can do for you.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tRead Kezia's book\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Kezia has written about her journey in her debut book Rose-Tinted: M.y S.tory<\/em>, out now.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I was devastated and angry. Then a lifeline came along. <\/p>\n

Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) was something I\u2019d heard of to treat MS, but I found out that AIMS \u2013 the Autoimmune and Multiple Sclerosis charity \u2013 was giving a presentation just down the road so I decided to go along. <\/p>\n

Essentially \u2013 according to the MS Society \u2013 it \u2018aims to \u2018reset\u2019 the immune system to stop it attacking the central nervous system\u2019. I immediately knew I wanted to try it, but the cost was 45,000 Euros (around \u00a338,000 at the time). <\/p>\n

So I started a JustGiving page and began fundraising. Complete strangers saw my social media videos and donated \u2013 it was incredible. I managed to raise over \u00a328,000 so I was able to book the treatment in Moscow for July 2019.  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kezia\t<\/div>
I\u2019m now living my best life (Picture: Eleanor Whibley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the clinic, I went through several days of testing to make sure my body was strong enough to cope with chemotherapy. For the procedure, I had various tubes and lines inserted to harvest my stem cells and replaced with healthy ones. <\/p>\n

I was petrified and excited all at the same time.   <\/p>\n

In the aftermath, my body felt so weak so I used a walker<\/a> to move. As my immune system developed, I got stronger.   <\/p>\n

After four weeks in Moscow, I headed home to the UK. Throughout it all, people were more supportive than I imagined. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m now living my best life \u2013 with no injections or infusions.\u202fI sometimes get tired, but doesn\u2019t everyone? I still work as a holistic therapist in my garden and love every minute. I have oxygen and physio every week and I try to eat good food. <\/p>\n

But most importantly, I\u2019m staying positive, being my own advocate, and laughing often. <\/p>\n

At the end of the day, I want to tell people with MS that you should\u202fnever be ashamed of disability.  <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t suffer from MS. I just happen to have it.\u202fThere\u2019s no guarantee that things won\u2019t change, but I\u2019m going to keep on smiling.  <\/p>\n

Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first few symptoms seemed to come out of the blue (Picture: Eleanor Whibley) I\u202fwas lying\u202fon my side in a hospital bed\u202fwhen a\u202fconsultant stood over me\u202fand asked: \u2018Have you heard of MS?\u2019   I had\u202findeed\u202f\u2013 my friend\u2019s mum had it\u202fwhen we were in school.\u202f Unfortunately, after her diagnosis,\u202fshe\u2019d become withdrawn and in a wheelchair within a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1056"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1065,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056\/revisions\/1065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}