MS diagnosis didn't keep Everett derby skater down for long

EVERETT, WA — While skating in roller derby matches, Stephanie Colunga of the Jet City Rollergirls expects to take a few hits.

Some knock her to the ground. When they do, she gets back up and skates some more.

The hit that knocked her down during a Jan. 21 scrimmage against the Rat City Rollergirls, was just one more hit. After she got back up, Colunga, who goes by her derby name of Indy Pendant, kept on going.

"I didn’t think anything of it until the next morning when I woke up and my fingertips were numb,” she said. “I just assumed that maybe I jolted something in my neck and it would be fine in a couple of days, and the next day my fingers were even more numb."

Colunga, who lives in Marysville, tried to ignore the problem but it continued to get worse. She couldn’t feel the texture or the temperature of things she touched.

Colunga, 31, visited her doctor, who told her she appeared to be healthy and wasn’t sure why she was experiencing numbness in her hands. He told her not to worry and scheduled an MRI for the following week.

The numbness spread.

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