By Lisa Margerum

            In 1998, Rochune Scroggins began having seizures. Soon, she began to experience other changes in her body, such as numbness and tingling in her extremities and blurred vision.  Although the sources of the changes were initially unknown, she was diagnosed one year later with multiple sclerosis.
            Multiple sclerosis, or MS as it is commonly called, is a type of autoimmune disease. Dr. Allen Bowling, the medical director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center, describes it as a disease of the immune and nervous systems.  The central nervous system, which includes the brain and the spinal cord, communicates through nerve fibers called axons.  These axons have an insulating cover called myelin.  With MS, the immune system cells cause inflammation, which damages the axon and myelin.  As a result, scars or “sclerosis” form on the nerves. When the central nervous system is attempting to send messages to the body, the nerve impulses may be short-circuited or blocked by these scars – hence the name multiple sclerosis or multiple scars.  Physically, the body may respond through neurological symptoms, which may range from difficulty walking, muscle stiffness and weakness to name a few.
            When Scroggins was diagnosed with MS, she turned to the Rocky Mountain MS Center for support. This center has served the MS community since 1978, providing the King Adult Day Enrichment Program, hydrotherapy programs, rehabilitation, counseling and support services, education programs, a resource library, a brain tissue bank, and donor program.
            The center also offers the Complementary and Alternative Medicine program, directed by Bowling with the assistance of Thomas Stewart.  This program provides an interactive Web site where information concerning complementary medicine (therapies performed in addition to conventional FDA- approved medication) and alternative medicine (therapies used instead of conventional medicine) can be researched. Bowling compiled information about these medicines and MS to author a book entitled Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Multiple Sclerosis, as well as a book co-authored by Stewart, entitled Dietary Supplements and Multiple Sclerosis. 
            According to the Rocky Mountain MS Center, the disease has five classifications.  The first is relapsing-remitting MS, which is described as attacks followed by some recovery of function.  The second is secondary-progressive MS in which a patient experiences ongoing progressive and worsening of symptoms.  The third is primary-progressive MS, which evolves as a progressive disease without attacks and generally occurs in adults ages 40 to 60.  The fourth is the progressive-relapsing MS in which attacks progress but occur on occasion.  The fifth and final classification is benign MS, which is described as mild relapsing-remitting MS followed by a near complete recovery.
            While MS is not considered a fatal diagnosis, its symptoms are considered chronic. Statistics from the MS Center estimate 350,000 to 400,000 Americans have MS.  Women are two to three times more often diagnosed with it, and racially, it is most common in Caucasians of northern European descent. Research at the University of California has found that 73 percent of all MS patients diagnosed are women. One theory is that a decrease in estrogen levels predisposes a woman to develop MS.
Many factors are being researched to determine the origin of MS, focusing on a combination of environmental and genetic factors.  Studies are finding that people can be genetically exposed to MS, but may never develop the illness unless they are also exposed to environmental factors. Possible environmental factors include toxins from cigarette smoke, viruses such as Epstein-Barr, and mononucleosis.  Other possible infections under investigation include Chlamydia, pneumonia, human herpes virus 6, measles, mumps, and rubella.
            A continued list of other possible environmental factors under investigation include decreased vitamin D and sunlight exposure, diets high in animal fats (saturated fat), and lack of exposure in childhood to viruses and parasites, which results in an underdeveloped immune system thus predisposing patients to MS. 
            According to Bowling, the three primary tests to diagnose MS include a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the head, a neurological evaluation, and a blood test to rule out other diseases that mimic MS.  If those tests are inconclusive, an MRI of the spinal cord, a spinal test and a second blood test are recommended.
            According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the FDA has approved five medications to treat MS. All of these are administered in some form of injection.   They include Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, Rebif, and most recently Tysabri.  While the manufacturer of Tysabri voluntarily suspended this medication due to severe adverse reports in 2005, it is still being used with strict patient monitoring guidelines. 
Stewart found that while there are no oral medications approved by the FDA to treat MS, clinical research is in the process of searching for an oral therapy. 
            For Scroggins, her diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS began a new journey physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually. Initially treated with Avonex, she had to cease working. Between 1999 and 2001, her health deteriorated from walking, to cane use, to walker, and finally to a wheelchair.
Two dear friends, Marian Jones and David Lewis of the Atlantic Star, assisted her in visiting Voice in the Wilderness Mission. This Christ-centered restoration center in Savoy, Mass. provided a 10-day cleanse, which progressed from a salt-water solution to combine with supplements and raw foods. Scroggins says she went in a wheelchair and came out walking. She visited the center once a year for three years.
In 2005, she began to have mild MS attacks and was hospitalized with steroid treatments.  By 2007, she was back in a wheelchair. 
            Scroggins describes June 26, 2007, as the true turning point in her life. Jones and Lewis introduced her to the power of juicing through a center in Long Branch, N.J. As a result, she was able to minimize her dosage of conventional medications, and by December 2007, she found herself running on the beach, which she credits to regularly drinking the nutritional supplement, Bazi Juice.
            Scroggins say all patients struggling with MS must have faith in God, decide you can be healed and commit to the process. Though she has no medical training, her experiences have led her to recommend a treatment combining the mind, body and soul, which includes the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. She urges people not to give in to the deadly emotions of stress, pain, anger, bitterness, and depression, but to walk in your obedience. She spells out her philosophy in the acronym, “NEW START,” meaning: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance in all things, Air, Rest, and Trusting in the divine power.
Along the way, she established the Rochune E. Scroggins Foundation for MS.  Each year, a host of volunteers joins her in organizing a gospel concert to bring awareness to MS and to host an honoree to receive treatment. She also established the MS Support and Prayer Line.
Another resource to learn about and get assistance related to MS is the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Colorado Chapter. This nonprofit organization with chapters nationwide, promotes research, education an advocacy. The Colorado Chapter houses the national call center for information, research and referrals. They provide information for resources such as physician referrals, support groups, financial assistance and educational programs, to name a few.  The state chapter, which reports a registration of 8,600 individuals with MS, has four area offices: Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Grand Junction. 
The chapter hosts an annual MS Walk and MS Bike Tour. This year’s walk is scheduled for May 3 at Denver’s City Park, and will be the 20th Anniversary Celebration Walk with an expected 10,000 participants and a goal to raise $1.5 million. The 23rd Annual Great-West Life Bike MS Tour is scheduled for June 28-29.  This two-day, 150-mile ride attracted 3,000 participants and raised $2.5 million in 2007.
Another way to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is through the Tax Check-Off Voluntary Contribution Program on the Colorado state income tax form, Line 45.
According to Colorado Chapter President Carrie H. Nolan, 10,000 people donated $10 each last year, which raised $100,000. Many dollars raised for MS end up going toward research for improving treatment and finding a cure.
            Many options are being researched and coming down the pipeline to diagnosis and treat MS, says Bowling of the Rocky Mountain MS Center, who emphasizes the main message to all patients with MS is hope.

Rochune E. Scroggins Foundation
303-322-5469
E-mail: rochune44@yahoo.com

Rocky Mountain MS Center
303-788-4030
www.mscenter.org

Complementary and Alternative Medicine
www.ms-cam.org

National Multiple Sclerosis Colorado Chapter
1-800-Fight MS
www.curemscolorado.org

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