A Brantford woman who travelled to New York state early this month for treatment of vein blockages in her neck is revelling in renewed energy, restored balance and an absence of other symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis.

"I got more than I was hoping for," said Dawn Skinner, 43. "It's been wonderful. Now I've got my life back."

Skinner, who was diagnosed with MS last March, had suffered repeated attacks since an initial frightening episode in October 2009 that left her with numbness to her right side, along with difficulty talking and swallowing.

Over the course of the past year, her health deteriorate. She developed leg and hand tremours, was unsteady on her feet and experienced difficulty holding a pen to write.

Skinner underwent tests in August at the Toronto Centre for Medical Imaging that revealed her left jugular vein was completely blocked. She made arrangements to travel to a clinic in New York state on Oct. 1 for a one-hour angioplasty procedure to open the blocked vein.

"It wasn't painful at all," she said, adding that "there was just a bit of pressure" when doctors using a probe opened a tiny balloon to widen the vein.

Some results were immediate, Skinner said.