MUSKEGON, Mich. — Most people learn to walk around their first birthday, and they keep the skill for the rest of their lives.
At 26 years old, Samantha Pastucha learned to walk for the second time.
In April 2023, Pastucha woke up with a plugged ear. Shortly after, she lost hearing in her left ear. A few days later where she worked at a pharmacy, she began to forget things.
"I knew I had asked the patient what their address was because we also highlight it for that touch point as well," said Pastucha. "I could visually see the highlighted address right here in my hand, but I couldn't remember asking him. So, I kept repeating the question, 'Can you verify your address?' I knew the guy was looking at me and getting a little bit frustrated with me."
She told her boss something was not right. That was when she began getting sharp, shooting pains in her head. Her arms began flailing and she was losing control of her limbs. Pastucha's sister picked her up and took her to the hospital. There, they told her she had anxiety. While she knew that wasn't the case, she went back to work.
A few weeks later, she began getting more shooting pains in her head.
"Very disorientated, very weird," said Pastucha. "I couldn’t make sense, couldn’t make any words, almost like I didn’t have any thoughts to grasp."
She lost all strength in her legs and she fell. Another hospital visit began a round of testing.
"There were multiple active lesions on my brain and spinal cord that reflected a demyelinating disease," said Pastucha.
Later, doctors told her she had multiple sclerosis (MS). She spent five days at Trinity Health Grand Rapids before being transferred to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.
"I had been waiting for that," said Pastucha. "For me, that was a start."
At that point, she had difficulty moving and doing many basic life functions. However, she set a goal to walk out of Mary Free Bed in two weeks. A physical therapist quickly humbled that goal. She told her she would leave the rehab hospital, but in a wheelchair.
"That was a tough pill to swallow at 26," said Pastucha. "Because you know, I already learned how to walk once and I'm learning how to walk again."
She spent a month at the rehab hospital before moving home and working at the Mary Free Bed location on the lakeshore in Muskegon.
"I think it hit a little bit closer to home when Sam came in and she was our age," said Megan Doornbos, her occupational therapist.
She began the tough work. Doornbos helped her with thermal regulation, relaxation strategies, pain management, core strength, range of motion and so much more.
"Not only does it take away all of the physical aspects and everything that I had worked for, but my whole life," said Pastucha. "I had my apartment, I had my dog and my car, I manage a pharmacy. It took all of that for me."
Over time during occupational and physical therapy, she put in the work and made major strides.
"You've got to get mad," said Pastucha. "You've got to get mad and take your life back because MS will take your life and keep it."
She said one day she did get mad, threw down her crutches and wheelchair and decided to walk from there.
"That's what made the biggest difference is that she was putting in the time effort every day hours at a time," said Doornbos. "And then when she would show up here it was 'Alright, what can we do? This is what I tried. This is what I did. This is what worked and this is what didn't, how are we going to improve?'"
Now, Pastucha is walking and doing many of the things she set out to do months ago.
"I was blown away," said Doornbos about Pastucha's improvement. "Absolutely mind blown."
Now, she's coming up on a year since her first symptoms and thinking back to how much she has grown in that time.
She said she hopes more people are aware of MS and can treat those who have it with a little more kindness.
March is MS Awareness Month, and Pastucha wanted to share her story to inspire others going through it.
"The way I think about it coming up on the year is: empowerment," said Pastucha. "I can get through absolutely anything. At this point in my life, anything that life is going to throw at me, I know I can get through because I went through the hardest year of my life and came out of it with a smile on my face stronger than I've ever been before and more level-headed than I've ever been before."
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