On September 29, 2015, I was in the hospital. I had been there for 24 hours, had two MRIs, an Echocardiogram, and given 13 vials of blood. That evening, a neurologist pulled up an image of my brain on a computer and pointed to some spots. When he was finished, he said, “I think you have Multiple Sclerosis…” I don’t remember if he said anything else. I just remember him walking out of the room and my eyes finding my husband’s as we tried to absorb the news. I remember Brian praying over my brain tissue, the nerves in my brain, our future… and then I remember being alone. Brian went home to look after our children and I had to face this diagnosis for the first time by myself. I was scared.
That night, I thought about what my life would look like in a year, five years, ten years…
And then I remembered a Bible verse… in Psalm 22, King David begins with a lament: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?…” but then, David quickly shifts his focus. He goes from despair to praise when he says, “…Yet, you are Holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” When the chips were down and all seemed lost, David worshipped. I had read those words just days before my diagnosis and marveled at David’s response to his circumstances. And in that moment of dealing with a lifelong debilitating diagnosis, I wanted to respond the same way.
I broke into song. In that hospital bed, without a care for who would hear me, I praised God in song. And then I prayed for Him to use this disease for His glory.
As I approach ten years since diagnosis, I have been reflecting on all the ways my life has changed since September 29, 2015. I had envisioned so many horrible outcomes. But instead, God has used this disease to introduce me to hundreds of new friends. I’ve had the honor of being mentored by some amazing humans and then leading others who were facing this diagnosis.
I became a runner. I ran 6 half marathons and 1 full marathon. I created this blog and website and wrote 214 blog posts, recorded and published 37 episodes for the Not Today, M.S. Podcast and and I got to share my story with dozens of newspapers, podcasters and one national magazine. The story of what God has done for me has been shared to thousands of people and that absolutely floors me.
But, best of all, my relationship with my husband grew deeper and better as we prioritized time with God and with each other and made healthy decisions. My trust in God grew. I grew as a wife, mother and woman.
Genesis 50:20 says “You intended to harm me, but God meant it for good.” God used my diagnosis for good. And I am so grateful.
I want to celebrate what God has done for me. I will be spending every day of September in praise, thanking God for how He has helped me these past ten years since diagnosis. I won’t post about everything I’m doing, but I do want to share some things and challenge you all to join me where you can. I am not able run long distances these days, but there is a lot I can do. And I can celebrate what I am able to do and give back to God in service to others. Stay tuned for ways you can join me in screaming #10yearsNotTodayMS.
And I want to exceed my fundraising goal for my Finish MS Fundraiser for the National MS Society. If you don’t know, each year I, along with my Running Team, Run a Myelin My Shoes works to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We’re one of the top fundraising teams and we’re pretty proud of that. I would love to raise $1,000 this year. It’s a lofty goal. As of the date of writing this post, I am sitting at $40 raised for the year. ANY amount is helpful. I will take all the $1 donations! Just help me make my fundraising goal, please! Head to this link to donate today: https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participants/Nora-Gocking-2025
Let’s go. We’re going to celebrate #10yearsNotTodayMS for all of September!
Not Today, MS 