No one in her family had ever had the autoimmune condition, and it had been difficult to diagnose.
asserted
it → have → condition
Doctors had first thought she had optic neuritis because her symptoms were in her eyes.
asserted
symptoms → think → eyes
Then they suspected lupus.
asserted
they → suspect → lupus
After a spinal tap, she was diagnosed with MS.
asserted
she → diagnose → MS
At the time, Amerson had never heard about the condition.
asserted
Amerson → hear → condition
She had just graduated from college and expected to be in the prime of her life.
asserted
She → graduate → life
Instead, she had to give herself daily shots to treat the condition.
asserted
she → have → condition
"I was mad, I was hurt, I was nervous, confused, all the things," said Amerson.
asserted
Amerson → hurt → ?
But over the years, her perspective changed.
asserted
perspective → change → years
As MS treatment evolved, she moved from daily shots to a monthly infusion.
asserted
she → evolve → infusion
A port was placed in her chest to make the medication easier to deliver.
asserted
medication → place → chest
She engaged in advocacy and fundraising through the MS National Foundation.
asserted
She → engage → Foundation
She got married and welcomed two daughters, and worked as a school administrator.
asserted
She → marry → administrator
Even as her condition threw curveballs, including the occasional relapse, she "just kept going."
asserted
she → throw → relapse
Amerson attributed those relapses to the progressive nature of MS.
asserted
Amerson → attribute → MS
Her doctors never suggested otherwise.
uncertain
doctors → suggest → ?
Then, in 2019, she had a significant flare.
asserted
she → have → flare
Amerson immediately went to the hospital, missing her daughter's birthday party.
asserted
Amerson → go → party
In the ER, she began to feel pressure in her eyes and began vomiting.
asserted
she → begin → eyes
An on-call neurologist examined her and ran a specialized blood test.
asserted
neurologist → examine → test
Eventually, Amerson's condition stabilized, and she was discharged.
asserted
she → stabilize → ?
A few days after returning home, she received a call from the neurologist.
asserted
she → return → neurologist
The doctor believed she had a rare autoimmune disorder and recommended she see her neurologist.
asserted
she → believe → neurologist
Amerson was horrified to receive that diagnosis on top of her MS.
asserted
Amerson → horrify → MS
When she saw her neurologist, he sent her to a specialist.
asserted
he → see → specialist
Follow-up testing by the specialist revealed something shocking: Amerson had never had multiple sclerosis at all.
asserted
Amerson → follow → sclerosis
The risk of MS misdiagnosis
Dr. Robert Bermel, the director of the Mellen Center for MS at Cleveland Clinic,
that large studies looking at the risk of MS misdiagnosis have found that between 15% and 20% of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis are eventually found to not have the condition.
asserted
15 → look → condition
The topic burst into the mainstream earlier this month, when
announced on her MeSsy podcast that she had been incorrectly diagnosed with MS for nearly five years.
asserted
she → burst → years
Applegate, who uses mobility aids to walk, said doctors are what's causing her symptoms.
asserted
what → use → symptoms
Dr. Josef Gutman, the director of NYU Langone's Long Island Comprehensive MS Care Center, previously told CBS News that the wide spectrum of symptoms that can be attributed to multiple sclerosis makes the condition
.
asserted
that → tell → condition
Both Bermel and Gutman said there are a number of autoimmune diseases that can mimic MS.
asserted
that → say → MS
A misdiagnosis is usually found when someone's symptoms do not respond to MS treatment, spurring more specialized tests.
asserted
symptoms → find → tests
Typically, a misdiagnosis occurs because abnormalities on a brain scan are misinterpreted, Bermel said.
asserted
Bermel → occur → scan
New diagnostic criteria, published in 2025, are trying to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis.
asserted
criteria → publish → misdiagnosis
Gutman said the process often requires some interpretation by a person's doctor.
asserted
process → say → doctor
"It's sort of the story, combined with MRI imaging, combined with other markers like spinal fluid, that help us make the MS diagnosis," Gutman said.
asserted
Gutman → combine → diagnosis
"It's not like diabetes, where there's one blood test and if it's above this number, it's diabetes, if it's below this number, it isn't.
asserted
it → be → number
"Here comes something different"
asserted
something → come → ?
Amerson had sometimes wondered if she was on the right medication for her MS, but she had never thought she might not have the condition.
uncertain
she → wonder → condition
It had been a part of her life for so long that she took it as a fact.
asserted
she → take → fact
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
