I was blessed that I went years without big changes. By the time my youngest was in second grade, I had to use a cane and a walker a few months later. The change snake bit me again a few years later.
A wheelchair became my new fashion accessory. I like crazy shoes so, I applied that to my assistant devices. My chair is Continue reading
You, with multiple sclerosis, fall-in, and listen up! You’ve got a battle to win. It’s time to step up and fight!
As you know stress is your enemy in this war. Your silent, invisible, debilitating nemesis.
Now, stress is Continue reading
It’s Friday, August 14th on another sauna of an afternoon in Texas. I’m hot, yes, but there’s something else to it, too: I’m stressed.
After a moment, I push away from my work desk and decide to shift gears. It’s been an eventful few months, but I’d learned fairly quickly that corona wouldn’t matter if my atria weren’t functioning right. So, I take a break and call a good friend of mine. Continue reading
Stress is one of the many symptoms that come with living. It isn’t a root problem, although it can feel like one. Stress is the indication that there is something else going on, and it isn’t always bad. The excitement of an upcoming event causes stress, and I wouldn’t want to skip over the feelings of anticipation and accomplishment that come with looking forward to or working hard for something.
That said, it would be great Continue reading
This, unfortunately, is a battle most MS folks fight daily. I do. Each situation requires a custom battle to fight stress. We have to adapt. Change our warrior armor based on the battle ahead.
I find a day might be needed to access the situation, if multiple days of Continue reading
Nothing up my sleeve! It is magic I tell ya!
Magic how a disease like multiple sclerosis works from the inside-out. Hiding your symptoms from those around you.
MS uses deceptive tricks to mask your illness, prompting some to ask the dreaded, cringe-worthy question… Continue reading
One of the most significant issues with multiple sclerosis is the many hidden symptoms that lead to accusatory statements. The invisibility of these MS issues means that many times others do not see, perceive, or believe that they even exist. The two primarily posed comments are you do not look sick; you must be fine or, I know someone with MS, and they do not complain like that. These statements drive MSers insane and can cause us to stand our ground in defense vociferously.
I have been a member of several local MS support groups and currently Continue reading
By Penelope Conway
Every week when the nurse comes to my house I’m always asked the same questions. Am I experiencing any pain? What kind of pain? How does it feel? How’s my appetite? Bowel movements? Swallowing troubles? Breathing? It takes the entire visit to explain everything. Pain shifts moment by moment from Continue reading
Those secret symptoms wreak havoc and party hard in our body. They high five each other as they go to torture some part of us. I swear there is some kind of party in my left arm involving fire.
It is not a calm “kumbaya” bonfire. It is more like a concert with pyrotechnics and lava. Every night the burning visits me, like a ghost. It sneaks up on me. It lights my Continue reading
Many health conditions and symptoms are never seen by others and remain unknown to the people in our lives until we talk about them. Even then, what our friends and family members see and what we tell them don’t match. The disparity between how we look and how we feel makes it hard for others to believe it’s as much of an issue as we say.
Some of my invisible symptoms are widely shared by many people with multiple sclerosis. There’s fatigue, Continue reading