Flora was no stranger to MS when she was diagnosed with the disease on her 25th birthday; her mother had lived with it for years. But receiving that diagnosis herself, at 25, with a full life still taking shape, was something else entirely.
“Having watched my mom navigate MS, I already had some understanding of what it meant,” says Flora, who lives in Franklin Lakes. “But there’s a difference between knowing about something and living it. I had a choice in how I was going to show up for myself every day, and I chose positivity.”
Like her mother, Flora turned to Mary Ann Picone, MD, medical director of Holy Name’s MS Center. After experiencing vision issues that led to her diagnosis, she tried a series of injectables and oral medications before finding Ocrevus, the infusion therapy she remains on today.
“I’ve tried not to let MS affect me physically, emotionally, or mentally,” she says. “It’s something that I have, but it doesn’t define who I am. Medicine can only do so much. The rest is about controlling your mindset, and choosing, every single day, to focus on what’s good.”
That mindset extends to the practicalities of treatment, too. The busy mother of three has found an unexpected silver lining in her infusion schedule.
“I have a 15-year-old, a three-year-old, and a one-year-old. I work full-time, so I kind of look forward to it because it’s a nice break,” Flora says.
Building a Family and a Community
Today, Flora’s vision issues are gone, and she feels great. She loves to travel and cook, walk the dog, practice Pilates, and chase two toddlers, which she cheerfully describes as a workout in itself. But what energizes her most is the community she’s building for others who are just starting their MS journey.
Flora plans to launch Pour It Out, a support community built around honest, real conversations about life with MS. The format is intentionally informal: one-on-one coffee meetups or small group gatherings, each week centered on a new topic, from navigating newly diagnosed life to managing relationships, staying active, and starting a family with MS.
“I was very fortunate to have an incredible network of doctors who helped me not only manage MS, but build my family through IVF [in vitro fertilization],” she explains. “I know how overwhelming it can feel when you’re newly diagnosed and trying to figure out what your life looks like now. I want to be the person in someone’s corner who has actually been through it.”
Pour It Out draws on the relationships and expertise Flora has cultivated over nearly 15 years with MS: her specialists, experience with IVF and family planning, and understanding of how to keep living fully with a chronic illness. Whether someone needs a one-on-one conversation or wants the energy of a group, she wants to meet them where they are.
“You’re going to have really bad days, and then you’re going to have really awesome ones. It’s all of the wonderful, small moments on those good days that make up the bigger picture of who you are,” she says. “You need an incredible support system, and if you don’t have one, I’m happy to be that for you.”
Flora can be reached at [email protected].
