BOSTON -- The first lady of the Commonwealth has found joy in riding horses for many years. But, like Paul Revere, Ann Romney is now riding with a message -- a message of hope for people with Multiple Sclerosis and of education for those who may not understand the disease.

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It is something she understands first hand.

NewsCenter 5's Anthony Everett reported that Ann Romney is now talking about how she discovered she has the disease.

"I woke up one day in a foreign body. Nothing was working. I felt a profound weakness and terrible fatigue," Romney said.

It was in 1998 when Ann Romney first realized something was wrong. Soon she had a name for what it was: Multiple Sclerosis.

"I was relieved for the diagnosis, and then realized, this is serious," Romney said.

Describing it as a frightening time in her life, she made a decision -- to seek out that which brought her joy. For her, that was getting back on a horse.

"I didn't ride when I was raising the children, and when I got the diagnosis and said, 'I better go back and get on before I am unable to,' and strange things started happening. I started getting stronger," Romney said.

With her horse, Baron, she has found a unique relationship. He has been gentle when she was weak, and strengthened as she did, bringing her unbridled joy -- a therapy she recommends for all.

"It doesn't have to be horseback riding. It can be kayacking, mountaint climbing, art -- find your passion and what bring you joy," she said.

There are a number of drug therapies to treat MS. Ann Romney has instead chosen a combination of riding, acupuncture and reflexology -- what she describes as a mix of easter and western approaches.

"Everyone has to find their own way. For some, the drugs are miraculous. I wish we had a cure," Romney said.

To find one, she is supporting this year's three-day, 50 mile, MS Challenge Walk on Cape Cod in September, urging people, as she did last year, to walk and to help. And as her for her husband, the governor, she says he has been tremendously supportive.

Right now, Ann Romney says, life has dealt her a difficult hand, but she's not about to give up.

"I wasn't going to fold. And everyone deals with it differently. And some are dealt a much tougher hand," she said.

It is her goal now to help those people, and everyone with MS, by encouraging people to raise money in the MS Challenge Walk.