Former Rockette, Miss New Hampshire uses MS diagnosis to raise awareness

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A Former Radio City Music Hall Rockette is taking on a new life challenge that at least 8,000 other New Yorkers already face. And her latest journey is putting her back in the spotlight.

Standing on a stage was always a dream for Michelle Tolson.

"I remember watching Miss America with my mom," she said. "And when our first black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, won, I knew right then and there I wanted to be Miss America."

Her Miss America competition talent was tap dancing, and she won the New Hampshire crown in 1996. The following year, she became Rockette, basking in the spotlight at Radio City.

"The first time out on that stage takes your breath away," she said. "Especially a small town girl from New Hampshire."

She currently teaches dance all over the Tri-State Area, but about a year ago, she had a blurry left eye and went to the doctor.

"St. Patrick's Day of 2014, it came back conclusively, you have MS, at 40, and I thought my life was over," she said. "And I have taught dance 25 years. When I think of MS at the time, I think wheelchair, walker, I'm not going to be able to teach anymore. I'm going to lose my balance. I'm going to lose my independence."

Instead, she found hope with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and she gets monthly treatments at NYU with no side-effects and a positive prognosis.

"This is the new face of MS," she said. "It doesn't mean your life is over. It's just beginning for me. I'm just looking at it in a different way and taking my journey somewhere else."

Tolson says her future may include lobbying, and she's already raising money at the MS Walk this weekend. The fundraisers are expected to raise $2.4 million for more research and new treatments.

To donate please visit: www.walkMSnyc.org

For more on the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, CLICK HERE.