b"MS Focus Activities Producing Joy from Within Professional crossroads led Hannah Garrison to teach art.By Kimani HendricksThe creative path seemed destined for Texashappening. Even after getting glasses, my vision native Hannah Garrison, who descends fromdid not improve. In fact, it was changing all a string of artists. While her relatives eitherthe time, but people would tell me that I had strummed,drummed,tickledtheivories,to get used to wearing prescription lenses. Hannahs artistry took a different form. I neverEventually, my vision improved for a while, picked up on musicianship like the rest of mybut in retrospect, I was experiencing optic family, but I had paper and utensils; I was theneuritis, she said.quietkidthatpeoplewouldasktomakeCollecting symptomsdrawings in school. At an even younger age,Over the next two and a half years, Hannah my mother would dote on me to others aboutworked as a medical coder, worked on her art, how quickly I recognized colors. Art was alwaysand sadly, lost her pet rat. At that time, Hannahs the goal without me ever telling myself, she said. symptoms worsened. It all came to a head when UnderstandingthepotentialscarcityofPokka died in late 2016; that little creature consistent and lucrative future work as an artist,was part of my soul. After that, symptoms Hannahs mother initially encouraged her tosnowballed in intensity and quantity; it felt pursue architecture. I guess she gured it'd be alikeI wascollectingthematthatpoint good t since sketching was involved, in additioneverything from foot pain to anxiety, balance to making good money. But, honestly, thatand bowel issues, cog fog, dizziness, and the particular eld never interested me, so afterresurfaced optic neuritis that caused color graduating from a magnet high school, I majoredblindnessinoneeye,whichdefinitely in ne arts during college, which resulted incomplicates things as an artist. I kept making my receiving a bachelors degree in 2014,excuses, though, until I couldnt anymore and Hannah said.sought medical attention, Hannah said.Before graduation, however, Hannah beganAfter two months of specialist visits and experiencing symptoms she now believes weretesting and three years of experiencing and directly linked to multiple sclerosis. I knewdisregarding signs, Hannah was finally something was off, but because I was younger,diagnosed with MS in June 2017. Nobody I thought Id bounce back from whatever waswants to be told they have an incurable chronic msfocusmagazine.org 36"