In 1997 Rachel Polsky was at the top of her game. She worked for Wendy’s corporate offices, and had an infant son and a new house. She had planned out her future years before and everything was going according to schedule. Then she started having trouble remembering names. Within hours she was also experiencing vision difficulties and was taken to the hospital. She and her husband Erick were interrogated to determine what illicit drug she was on. Nobody believed that something was really wrong until a CAT scan revealed what later turned out to be MS.
By the end of the week, Rachel had lost all language, along with the use of her right side. She had never heard of aphasia. Her son Ben celebrated his first birthday while visiting her in the hospital. She was told she would never walk again and that her language would probably not improve after a few weeks of therapy…