It is tough when dealing with MS. You don’t want to be the burden and the boil on someone’s bum. But, you also don’t want to seem stubborn in not asking for help. The winds of MS are blowing at each other. I get it.
Sadly we have to buffer the winds. Bad hair days from those winds are common. Keeping calm in the wind storm is hard. MS is a strong contender. Being calm can help avoid a flare.
Not easy to please others by asking for help, keeping your Continue reading
I woke up this morning thinking about the past five years of my life. I get discouraged sometimes thinking about everything that has happened. I have days when I feel as if multiple sclerosis has flipped my world upside down and inside out. That my life, plans, dreams, and hopes have all changed more than I ever thought possible and I wasn’t prepared for the changes.
Many people go through life wishing they lived a life much like a scene from a movie where everything falls perfectly into place. Where they have Continue reading
Living with a chronic illness is not easy. Living with an invisible disease is not easy. Living with an unpredictable disease is not easy.
Living with MS is hard.
To add insult to injury, I sometimes feel guilty for the extra burden it places on my family and friends.
After my diagnosis I felt like I lost the certainty I believed I had over my health. Of course, none of us has a guarantee with health, but an MS diagnosis definitely Continue reading
In recent years, MSAA and other organizations have adopted the term care partner vs. caregiver to help reflect the grown team approach people use to understand and navigate life with MS. Join us, as we present:
“The Partnership of Care: Redefining Caregiver to Care Partner”
Monday, March 18, 2019
8:00 pm (Eastern)
From helping someone newly diagnosed learn about treatment decisions, to making Continue reading
A friend told me one time that life is war. It is a battle between good and evil a fight between right and wrong. If that is the case, then multiple sclerosis is a beefed-up war on steroids AKA Solu-Medrol. This situation means that you should not go into battle with just anyone by your side.
You should load your ranks with individuals who will Continue reading
Each year, MSAA features the work of artists affected by multiple sclerosis in the annual MS Ability and Four Seasons Art Showcases, including highlighting one artist each month as our Artist of the Month. This month, we are proud to feature Bean Fairbanks of Seattle, WA:
“Into the Deep”
About the Artist Continue reading
I woke up in tears yesterday. No reason. Nothing bad happened to me in the middle of the night. I didn’t wake up from a nightmare, my goldfish didn’t die and I wasn’t in a lot of unbearable pain. My emotions just went haywire all on their own. I hate when that happens. I take meds to help keep my emotions stabilized, but yesterday’s dose must have been a dud.
Multiple sclerosis has this way of messing with a person’s emotions. Sometimes there’s a Continue reading
Couples living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can often experience challenges in their relationships, levels of intimacy and changes in roles and expectations. Join MSAA, as we present a new webinar on relationships and MS:
“Intimacy and Family Planning with MS”
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
8:00 pm (Eastern)
To help strengthen and foster healthy relationships, MSAA invites couples affected by MS to Continue reading
They go together like milk and cookies, peas and carrots, Forrest Gump and Jenny.
Emotional and physical wellness go together like shoes and socks (or socks and sandals on middle aged males).
You can’t have one without the other.
But how so? Aren’t they two different things, some may ask?
I used to think Continue reading
I used to feel such relief that I was married and didn’t need to be out in the dating world. It sounded horrible, and I enjoyed having my relationship set with the expectation there’d be no divorce. Then I started having health issues and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after 15 years of marriage.
When a married person is diagnosed with MS, the rate of divorce is about the same as the general population, but the gender disparity is enormous. A study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center1 found that Continue reading