It was New Years Day 2024 when Kiana was convinced to go to the Dartmouth General Hospital’s Emergency Department by her then-fiancé Nick.
“I had some blurry spots on my right eye. I thought I had just scratched it playing with my parents’ dogs over the holiday break, but when it started getting worse, we got scared.”
At DGH, Kiana saw Dr. Peter Leighton who couldn’t see anything wrong, aside from a few small scratches. He recommended an appointment with the Eye Clinic at the Victoria General Hospital to rule out anything major. This process would be the first step in Kiana’s diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.
“Optic Neuritis is a somewhat common issue with MS,” explains Kiana. “It progressed from some small blurry spots to a complete, yet thankfully temporary, loss of vision in my right eye in less than a month. Then a partial loss of vision in my left eye. I’m so happy that we went into DGH that night and had some kind of game plan as it started getting worse. It was scary enough as it was!”
Now, two years later, Kiana has been back to DGH many times for blood collection, diagnostic imaging, and visits to the Emergency Department.
“It’s so nice to know that DGH can handle a lot of my health needs, it makes it easier having access to this closer to home. I’m so happy that DGH is innovating and always getting more and more things that patients need. That’s the thing about a chronic illness like MS, it’s always going to be there so knowing that DGH is able to help me is a huge comfort.”
Kiana is no stranger to the innovation happening at DGH – she works as a Communications and Marketing Manager for the DGH Foundation, helping raise funds for the hospital and share stories about the importance of new equipment and technology.
“It was so cool to have an MRI in the machine that I spent two years of my life helping fundraise for. It felt like a very full circle moment. I took a selfie with the signs in the waiting room, and I don’t think they’ve ever had someone so excited for a brain scan.”
Now, Kiana is happily married, learning her “new normal” as someone living with MS, back to work at the Foundation, and intent on sharing her story from a professional and personal perspective.
“I felt like I knew a lot about the healthcare system from my career, but being on the other side as a patient gave me a whole new perspective and a sense of responsibility to the people that let me share their healthcare experiences with the public. I’ve always felt very honoured that people want to share their story and help raise funds for the hospital, but now I understand just how much it means to share some of the scariest experiences in your life in order to make someone else going through the same thing feel less alone.”
