Woman overcomes MS, helps others with disease

It's a disease that affects everyone differently, and more than 2 million people suffer from its symptoms. Multiple sclerosis nearly cost Caroline Kulinski her hopes and dreams, and she's now making sure others won't suffer the same fate.

In 2004, Kulinksi, who loved to play the piano, was a successful realtor who had just gotten married.

"We'd just started house hunting and our plan was to find a house, and then start our family somewhere around three years after marriage," said Kulinksi.

One fateful morning, she woke up with double vision. Her dad, a pediatrician, had a feeling it was serious.

"I could tell immediately in his voice that that was not good. He couldn't disguise it. He goes, oh, let me call you right back," said Kulinski.

A spinal tap showed that Kulinski, a music-loving, vibrant young woman, had multiple sclerosis.

"Neurological diseases, you don't realize it's everything. The central nervous system affects everything your body does. It can be bladder problems, it can be walking. It can be hands. It can be your memory. It can do whatever it wants," Kulinski said.
 
The lesions that formed on her brain caused her to lose function in her legs and one of her arms. She was forced to re-think her family plan, and he could no longer do what she loved -- play the piano.

"Really? Can I care for a child with one hand? And that hand is holding a cane all the time. I mean, how can I make that happen," asked Kulinski.

But years into her disease, a new drug gave her hope and much of her control back. Now she has what she's always wanted, a family.

"It's still surreal. She's 3 months old and just with everything we've been through over the past six years, I still can't believe it actually happened and she's actually here," said Kulinski.

She's also back to playing the piano, and annually leads a team of walkers at the Walk MS in Piedmont Park, raising money so that everyone affected by this uncontrollable disease can have their dreams come true. Her team, named Wearing Red Shoes, has grown from 23 people to more than a 100 people walking in the annual walk.

The Atlanta walk is Saturday, April 13 at 9 a.m. in Piedmont Park and the Marietta Walk is Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m. in the Marietta Square.  For more information, click here!