32 msfocusmagazine.org Life With MS My Two Support Heroes by Marianly H. Primmer “It was scary listening to them tell me what happened to me.” Gwen Roundtree said the last thing she remembered was sitting on her porch, “I was told I just wandered off.” Gwen says it’s “brain fog” from her multiple sclerosis. Her husband LeRoy came home from work and found her cell phone on the porch, but Gwenwas gone. He called everyone in a panic, but no one had seen or heard from Gwen all day. The couple lives in a wooded area in the country. After searching for her, LeRoy found his wife on the other side of their property. She was far enough away that she had to be brought to the house in a vehicle. That’s when Gwen’s family decided she needed even more support to tackle her MS. Gwen’s husband LeRoy Roundtree has been by her side from the beginning. Now, her baby sister Pamela Wilson stepped in too. “I feel like I’m a very special person. I’m truly blessed to have two wonderful caregivers.” Gwen is surrounded by support, but at the moment of her diagnosis she was alone and devastated. Gwen was a corporal at a juvenile correctional facility and was working a late shift when she felt the left side of her face go numb, followed by tingling on her left side. After waking up with blurry vision the next day, she drove herself to the emergency room after her husband left for work. Aneurologist in the ER told hershe had MS. Gwen remembers the doctor’s dire prediction, “You’re going to be in a wheelchair within a few months. You are not going to be able to do anything for yourself. Your family won’t be able to take care of you.” “Thenursescouldn’tbelievethathedropped thatdiagnosisonmewithoutafamilymember.” Gwen called her husband. He was at the hospital within minutes. Gwen said LeRoy got in her hospital bed and told her, “We are going to have faith.We are going to pray about his and we are going to trust in God.” LeRoy immediately took on the caregiver role. Together LeRoy and Gwen learned about MS. From the time of her diagnosis, Gwen’s symptoms came on all at once. At 53 years old, she couldn’t walk or even inject her MS medication by herself, “There are days I can’t comb my hair.” Gwen said having a loving caregiver made all the difference. Having supportive caregivers is so crucial to people with MS that Biogen partnered with MS Focus and otherMS organizations to honor caregivers in celebration of National MS