What does it take to live well in the face of lifelong illness? For Tessa Rushton, the answer has been equal parts discipline, advocacy, and hope.
Hello and welcome to Hope and Health. I'm Matthew Embry and today we're going to be talking to Tessa Rushton. Tessa is an MS advocate. She's on the board of MS Hope and she's been living with multiple sclerosis for 40 years. Tessa, thank you so much for joining us today.
Tessa: You're welcome, Matt. I'm excited to be here.
Matt: Now, Tessa, you look fantastic. So, you're obviously doing pretty well with the disease. Can you share with us when you were diagnosed and how you came to that conclusion?
Tessa: For sure. I had my first real exacerbation when I was 22 years old. Went to a neurologist. At that time, they didn’t have MRIs in Calgary, so I had a CAT scan and a few other tests, and they didn't know what happened to me. I got better within a couple of days.
Fast forward, I’m almost 30, living in Winnipeg, and had an attack similar to my first one. A colleague knew the top MS neurologist in Winnipeg, got me an appointment, I had an MRI the next day, and was diagnosed with MS the following day.
Matt: Let’s talk about attacks… What was it like for you?
Tessa: I was at work carrying a file. The file dropped, I couldn’t feel my hand. My foot dropped on the left side, left side of my face dropped… looked like Bell’s palsy. I called my doctor, referred to a neurologist. Two days later, I was better.
Tessa: The doctors prescribed oral prednisone. I had a standing prescription. If something came on, I’d take a few and feel better.
During the O.J. Simpson trial, I lost vision in both eyes—fuzzy, like looking through gauze pads. I was off work for eight months, just taking prednisone, resting, hoping for the best. Later, I tried Copaxone but didn’t notice a significant difference. By mid-2000s, attacks returned. Prednisone caused osteoporosis in my hips and spine.
Matt: For people who don’t know, the first 5–10 years are often manageable, but 10–15 years is when things often worsen.
Tessa: Yes, exactly. Fatigue was extreme. I could sleep 19 hours and still feel exhausted, used a cane, balance off, dizzy, heavy head.
Matt: What changed in 2009?
Tessa: I watched a show on W5 about CCSVI (Chronic Cerebral Spinal Venous Insufficiency). An Italian doctor had success treating MS patients by opening veins.
Matt: What exactly is CCSVI?
Tessa: It’s insufficient blood flow from the brain and cerebrospinal fluid down the spinal cord. In my case, both internal jugular veins were collapsed and twisted, and the azygos vein was 90% blocked.
Matt: And the treatment?
Tessa: Venoplasty—like angioplasty but in veins. They balloon the veins open. I had hard stenosis, so the veins stayed open beautifully. My body had created little collateral veins across my back to compensate—like angel wings.
Tessa: Initially planned for Florida, but the FDA shut it down. Two friends had gone to Bulgaria successfully. I went to Sofia, Bulgaria to Dr. Petrov’s team.
Matt: What was the outcome?
Tessa: Dramatic. My head felt lighter, left leg dropped less, dizziness gone, fatigue disappeared. I walked without a cane. Heat sensitivity was gone.
Tessa: I wanted to share this with every MS patient feeling hopeless. I did interviews, stayed involved in the CCSVI movement, advocated for treatments in Canada. Not everyone had success, but some relief is still valuable.
Matt: Did you face pushback?
Tessa: Yes, negative reactions from some in the MS community. Called a liar, disbelief, accusations of ignoring neurologists.
Matt: When did diet become important?
Tessa: Not mentioned by doctors. Learned about it from Matt’s dad and the Best Bet diet—gluten-free, dairy-free, low-fat, low-sugar, low-sodium. Started making personal changes: vegan, raw vegan, keto-vegan, ketogenic, and ultimately a carnivore-based Lion Diet (ruminant meat, water, salt).
Tessa: It was transformative—healing skin, hair, cognitive function, brain health. High-fat diets helped my myelin and brain function.
Matt: How important is self-advocacy?
Tessa: Critical. Learned from my mom with ALS. Always look for answers, try solutions on myself first, work with supportive doctors.
Matt: Benign MS diagnosis?
Tessa: My neurologist now calls it benign. I believe I made it benign through CCSVI, diet, exercise, and persistence. No new MS symptoms since 2010.
Tessa: I tell new patients: explore diet, stress reduction, therapies, and alternative treatments like CCSVI (where available). Best Bet diet is a good starting point. Find what inflames you, work with practitioners, meditate, and manage stress.
