Striking women between ages 20 and 40, Multiple Sclerosis hits women at the prime of their lives.

As careers and families are developing, MS begins to work against a body, creating difficulties with walking and vision and extreme fatigue.

While there is no cure, artist Jo Ann Rothschild says there is no reason to stop living life to fullest.

Her paintings sell for thousands of dollars, but in her early 20s MS threatened her artistic vision.

The disease began as a blind spot in Rothschild’s left eye and progressed to her being unable to hold the paintbrush. "I wanted to prove I could paint whether I could see with both eyes or not," she says.

Striking women between ages 20 and 40, Multiple Sclerosis hits women at the prime of their lives.
Connie Easterling, ARNP, a multiple sclerosis nurse in Orlando, Fla., says, "[A woman with MS] has to reevaluate her ability to care for children, care for her home, and whether or not she can continue working in her occupation depending on her level of disability."

Because MS starts in the brain, damage to crucial nerves eventually puts many patients in a wheel chair. Even so, most women, like Rothschild continue to work, taking medications to help with more serious symptoms.

Another treatment is to stay cool, raising the body’s temperature by one degree makes the symptoms flare up.

Rothschild is lucky, intensive treatment has meant no debilitating attacks for eight years. She attributes part of this to her passion for art. "I also think when you're in difficulty, it's important to have something that doesn't concentrate on the difficulty," Rothschild says.News 14