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<\/p>\nA bodybuilder who noticed her hands and feet were going numb during workouts thought she was just low on electrolytes, but after her condition continued to deteriorate, an MRI scan changed everything.<\/p>\n
Kelsie Cohen, 31, has always lived an active lifestyle. From being a bodybuilder, a personal trainer and a single mom to a toddler, her routine was non-stop. Cohen, from Long Island, New York, told Newsweek that she was \u201cincredibly regimented\u201d and she did not allow anything to get in the way of her goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach day was about training clients, getting my own lifts in, getting my steps in, meal prep, all while making sure my son was happy and healthy. Looking back, I think I was putting more stress on my body than I realized,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
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As her routine was so habitual, Cohen found it easy to explain the numerous symptoms she started to experience in early May 2026. It started with noticeable loss of strength during workouts, but Cohen brushed that off as a normal part of her bodybuilding preparation as she was getting lower calories and doing more cardio. <\/p>\n
Before long, Cohen also started to notice weakness and cramping on the left side of her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe symptoms came on fast and furiously. The most distressing were episodes of numbness in my left hand and foot, which only lasted about a week before I ended up in the hospital,\u201d Cohen continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, the symptoms were easy to explain. It’s common to feel exhausted when you’re dieting and doing a lot of cardio, and on top of that I was raising my toddler. The numbness episodes were more concerning, but I convinced myself I had an electrolyte imbalance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The episodes gradually became more frequent and severe, to the point where Cohen could no longer ignore them. The symptoms would occur multiple times a day, causing her to feel unsafe when driving. She would lose sensation on the left side of her body whenever she stood up, and if she did not have anything to hold onto, she often fell over.<\/p>\n
Cohen initially went to urgent care about the numbness in her hands and feet. They warned her that it could be serious and told her to go straight to the emergency room.<\/p>\n
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At this point, she still believed it was just an electrolyte imbalance that required IV fluids at most.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never crossed my mind that there could be something wrong with my brain. When you’re young, healthy, and training like an athlete, you feel invincible,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
Doctors at the hospital did bloodwork and requested a CT scan, if only to rule out anything neurological. When the results came back an hour later, Cohen was pleased to hear that her bloodwork and electrolytes were fine, unfortunately, the CT scan revealed something far more shocking. It uncovered a mass on the right side of Cohen\u2019s brain which was initially believed to be cancer.<\/p>\n
Cohen was transferred to a larger hospital for further assessment. Within hours, she went from thinking she just needed electrolytes, to thinking she had brain cancer.<\/p>\n
An MRI scan showed numerous lesions on the brain, shifting the diagnosis from cancer to a demyelinating disease. This led to an MRI of Cohen\u2019s spine, revealing even more lesions and a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis<\/a> (MS) in late May. <\/p>\n Cohen said: \u201cWhen the doctors told me, they were relieved because it wasn’t cancer, and they expected me to feel relieved too. Instead, I was devastated. They were telling me I had an incurable disease that caused significant pain and took me away from the things I loved most.\u201d<\/p>\n In the hospital, Cohen\u2019s condition deteriorated rapidly. She experienced severe dizziness and frequent leg spasms. Medication was eventually prescribed and Cohen saw noticeable improvement. <\/p>\n
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