Leopard-print canes and antigravity treadmills: How one woman overcame the BS of MS

Lisa Cohen had recently “escaped” her career as a lawyer to pursue her passion — being a photographer — when she was hit with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2001. The Montclair, New Jersey, native was saddled with problems, including vision loss in one eye (known as optic neuritis) and fatigue. “Great, I'm a photographer and I can't see,” she shares with Yahoo Lifestyle. A steroid treatment helped her regain her sight. But eight years later, Cohen suffered another setback: muscle spasticity, which leaves her leg muscles continuously contracted. “It makes it harder for me to stand. It makes it harder for me to walk,” she says. At first, she let fear take over, limiting what she did to stay “safe.” But Cohen, who describes herself as a fighter by nature, realized there was no reason to let MS rule her life. So she decided to live her life like a “rock star.”