Welcome to MS Warriors, where we showcase people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) who inspire us. Young, old, male, female, these incredible individuals are fighting MS with everything they have - and we want to celebrate their fight.
Allie and fellow MS Warrior Jon Franko
At first glance, Allie Wolff seems like your average 28-year old. The Missouri-native is newly married and loves yoga, biking, wine, anything on Bravo!, and of course, her goldendoodle, Milo.
But Wolff isn’t your average 28-year old. Two years ago, Allie lost vision in her right eye. She was told it was Optic Neuritis, and began to undergo tests, MRIs and spinal taps. In April 2016, Wolff was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“I [fell] into an awful cycle of feeling stressed, stressing out because I knew stress was bad for my MS, and back again,” says Wolff. In between doctors’ visits and infusions and battling overwhelming fatigue, Allie was also in the midst of planning her wedding and struggling with her career. She needed to find a way to fight back.
So she started doing yoga and joined a support group. “Find a way to control your stress,” she advises newly diagnosed MS patients. Her support group offered guidance and advice, and helped her start to regain control. She also cut out saturated fats, looked for a less demanding job, and began to learn her limits.
Wolff also advises new patients to “find a doctor who will listen to you, make you feel comfortable and also be an advocate for you.” She visited two different doctors before finding her current one, and is glad she continued to look.
Now, with the support of her family, friends, and now-husband, Allie is living her best life. She recently participated in Walk MS St. Louis, where she and co-captain Lindsey Paunovich led “Strollin’ With My Homies,” a team of 150 (pictured below), and raised over $20,000. The secret to their success? Social media - which is how we found her and her Missouri Home T!
Allie says she feels better now than she did before her diagnosis. Currently enrolled in a clinical trial, she also continues to experiment with food, exercise, and holistic treatments. She’s enjoying her newlywed life and a new career, and on the heels of her success at Walk MS, she plans to participate in Bike MS in September.
Want to help? We donate 10% of our profits to MS research. To find out more about how you can get involved, visit The National Multiple Sclerosis Society.