It’s a weirdly heavy feeling one gets when watching television with family & friends and a commercial comes on touting the newest prescription drug for MS. Even worse when it’s the medication YOU take! Everyone in the room knows you have MS. And many know it’s your drug of choice. Happens to …
As one with multiple sclerosis, you may be familiar with the pre-appointment health assessment. It’s basically a series of questions about your current condition, mood, symptoms, lifestyle…stuff like that. The health assessment gives your caregiver a better understanding of where you are as a patient, how you are coping with your condition and alerts …
Ever wonder whose job it is to compile those seemingly mindless sports statistics? On-base-percentage of lefties vs righties on overcast days in April? Odds of first-down during a defensive blitz by a running back with a reverse mortgage? Multiple sclerosis is no different. There are boo-coo figures on every aspect of MS. And …
Sappy music and sounds of people losing their lunch can mean only one thing. Another sad commercial from Sarah McLachlan & the ASPCA? No, but close. It means time for episode #3 on the only (thank God) soap opera created for those with multiple sclerosis (thank God again). This is…..”As The Myelin …
I was looking at a calendar when I realized the date. Time to schedule a prostate exam with the doctor? Well, yes, but that’s not what I was referring to. I remembered it was my MS anniversary. The date, way back in 1996, when my life changed forever. With that I thought I would …
There were only four of us in the infusion room on this particular day. Four of us with arms exposed. IV’s in. Drip, drip, dripping away. All four of us sharing the dreaded ick, multiple sclerosis. But how different each of us were when you really thought about it. There was …
It pains me to admit since my MS diagnosis in ’96—-I am different. REALLY? How did you come to that conclusion, Einstein? Was it the wheelchair? Rollator? Hand controls on your car? Or was it the half dozen canes scattered throughout the house & garage? No no no, of course I am different physically…heavier, flabbier, …
It doesn’t take much to make a difference. One small act of kindness. But on this particular day who was helping whom? It was a typical hot & humid, dog-day of summer…and I was panting. I eased the car into a spot at the grocery store and began unfolding my limp body from the …
The fortune cookie is the most anticipated part of a Chinese meal. The cookie-part sucks, honestly. It’s the paper fortune inside that we seek most. The message usually leaves us scratching our head for meaning, but often is worth sharing with our table mates. Some folks even keep their fortune, tucking them away in …
I may get somewhat preachy here–so beware. Every single one of us looks for the magic pill…the infusion-palooza…the divine answer to slaying the MS monster. We know a cure doesn’t exist yet we search anyway. (No harm in looking, right?) Because MS has a mind all its own, best you can do is …
