Year of Diagnosis: 1998
Country of Residence: USA , California
Occupation: Photographer

Amelia Davis

I have always been an active individual who liked to play sports, ride bicycles, walk long distances and work out at the gym. I remember a beautiful, sunny day and thinking I should walk to my classes at UC Davis instead of riding my motorcycle. It was a hot day and I started to sweat. By the time I got to my class, my feet were tingling and my eyesight was a little blurry. I thought nothing of it except how hot I was and that I should have ridden my motorcycle instead of walking to class. The next day I was fine. Looking back, I should have been diagnosed with MS in my early twenties when these subtle signs of the chronic illness first appeared. Only, I didn’t know this at the time.

I have always been very nearsighted since the age of ten and have had to wear either glasses or contact lenses to see anything. So, when I was sitting in a drawing class and all of a sudden the model looked fuzzy, or I was looking through my camera lens and couldn’t seem to focus, I thought I needed a new eye prescription. I was used to pulling all-nighters to get an art project finished or to write a final term paper, so when I felt fatigued and had trouble remembering things the following few days, I thought I needed to get more sleep.

Having all of these symptoms come and go during my college and young adult life on a regular basis seemed normal to me. When I woke up one morning and felt the left side of my body tingling, I thought it was nothing unusual. I must have slept funny and pinched a nerve - it would go away, it always had. But this time it didn’t. I decided I needed to get myself checked out. I explained all of my past experiences with tingling and blurred vision, and how they had always gone away, to the doctor. So this time was unusual. He told me that it sounded like MS and wanted me to get an MRI to confirm his suspicion. The MRI showed a lesion the size of a quarter on my brain. My doctor then told me that I had remitting relapsing multiple sclerosis. I was 29 years old.

After my diagnosis, I was devastated. I thought that my life and work were over. As a professional photographer, I have always used my eyes and hands to show the world what I see and feel. But now I felt that I could no longer trust my hands or my eyes to translate my vision to the world, that my own body was somehow betraying me.

The general public has no idea what MS looks or feels like and when it comes to a chronic illness, society doesn't want to know. People don't want to look at reality.


I decided it was time for society to look instead of looking away. And so I have published a photographic book My Story: A Photographic Essay On Life With Multiple Sclerosis about people and their care partners living with MS. By looking at a photograph, the viewer can become a part of that world for a moment and share in its emotions. They get a glimpse into a world that they would normally not be a part of.

As an artist, I know the impact and importance an image can have, and I realized that by using people with MS as my subjects, I could have a positive influence on the way people viewed those living with the disease. Also, I hoped these photos could serve as a touchstone for those of us who continue to live with MS. It was not until I got involved in this project and did my own research on what MS was that I found out that all of my preconceived images were wrong. There is no one "face of MS". Instead there is a group of individuals who share the challenges and limitations that MS has imposed upon their lives. And even though our stories are not exactly alike, we share the same emotions of fear, disbelief and ultimately acceptance.

We need to challenge societies’ views of people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Those of us who have MS need to speak out and be active in educating the newly diagnosed and the general public. It is only through knowledge that we can discredit the stereotypes of what a chronic illness looks and feels like and start to recognize each others challenges as positive rather than negative and push the negative stereotypes away.


Through my photography I try to educate and inspire others about our differences by embracing our differences and facing them head on. It is through knowledge that we can conquer fear of the unknown.


By living my life with MS, I have learned that there is life after diagnosis and that we are all a part of the same family and that family is life. Life does go on and we all learn to live that life together and we must help those who cannot help themselves. This is just the start of my quest to expose the falsehoods of what life is like living with a chronic disease or disability.

There are two quotes from “My Story” that I think address the duality of living with MS.

The first is from author and former TV producer Richard Cohen

“My constant companion in life is not my mate, nor my loyal dog. It is my illness, touching everything I do and defining who I am. My gaze into the mirror reveals nothing. Sickness cannot always be seen, but I am ever aware that I am not alone. It is there."

The second quote is from Lisa Peck a professional cyclist and a lawyer; "Some days success may mean winning the race. Yesterday it just meant finishing it."


All these pictures accompany stories in Amelia Davis's book My Story: A Photographic Essay On Life With Multiple Sclerosis. Which can be found in any major bookstores, Amazon.com and at www.demosmedpub.com



If you would like to contact Amelia please send your message to info@msif.org and we will pass on your e-mail.