Based on a comprehensive review of the evidence, including Claimant's testimony, the expert medical opinions and deposition, the vocational opinion and deposition, and the medical records, as well as my personal observations of Claimant at hearing, I find:
1) Claimant is a 43-year-old, currently unemployed individual, who last worked for The Boeing Company (Employer) as an engineer until she left that employment in 2005.
2) Claimant graduated from SIU-Carbondale with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1989. She testified that she is currently trying to complete her Master's Degree in Systems Engineering through an on-line course offered by the University of MissouriRolla. She is taking one class at a time, but is finding it difficult to complete the work because of her memory and concentration problems.
3) Following graduation from SIU-Carbondale, Claimant first worked for The Boeing Company in Washington from 1989 to 1993 in retrofit engineering.
4) In 1992, Claimant was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She was noticing numbness in her fingers and toes, and a ringing in her ear. Claimant testified that initially the doctors just watched her condition, but did not provide any significant treatment. She said that her MS had no effect on her work in Washington and she was not using any assistive devices during this time.
5) Claimant left The Boeing Company in 1993 and took a job with American Airlines in Texas, where she worked as an avionics engineer. Claimant testified that the heat in Texas intensified her MS symptoms. She developed tunnel vision and a lack of bladder control. She experienced weakness, a lack of energy and a "bad attitude." Still, despite these problems, Claimant testified that she was not using any assistive devices, like a cane, to get around. Claimant ultimately left the job in Texas because of the problems she was having related to the heat.
6) After leaving American Airlines, Claimant worked as a contract engineer for Aerotech for about six months, and then she began full-time employment with The Boeing
Company in St. Louis in 1999. Claimant testified that her work for Employer was basically performed at a desk in front of a computer. She said the heaviest thing she had to lift was a ream of paper.
7) Medical treatment records from Dr. Sherry Ma (Exhibit H) document the treatment Claimant received from her for her MS starting on July 17, 2001. In that first report, Dr. Ma notes that Claimant was first diagnosed with MS in 1992, when her symptoms of tingling and numbness in all four limbs surfaced. An MRI of the brain in 1992 showed demyelinating process. According to the report, her first MS exacerbation occurred when she was in Texas due to the hot summer weather. Claimant lost her peripheral vision, had poor balance, gait disturbance, vertigo and dizziness, and required treatment with prednisone. The report notes that she had several such exacerbations up until 1997, when she started Avonex immunomodulation therapy. Because of that treatment, Claimant had no MS exacerbations from 1997 until the time of the July 17, 2001 report. At the time of this examination, Claimant continued to complain of some tingling and numbness, some muscle spasm, tightness of the muscles especially in the lower extremities, fatigability, urinary incontinence and loss of sexual function. Her memory was fine and she was not using any assistive device for walking. Dr. Ma diagnosed MS still in relapsing-remitting stage, which was probably in remission at the time of this examination. She diagnosed a neurogenic bladder, which is common for MS patients, but no profound cortical atrophy on MRI findings. Her EDSS score was about a 4, which was described as a rather mild stage. She was continued on her once-a-week Avonex injection and given Detrol for her bladder condition. At her follow-up appointment on September 10, 2001, Claimant's condition was about the same. H