You take the meds, see your doctor and hope your annual MRI doesn’t show disease progression.
Seriously? That’s all you got?
Multiple sclerosis is laughing at you, man. Snickering at your lackluster effort. You cannot afford to sit back and wait. You must put up your dukes and fight back every single day.
MS doesn’t take Continue reading
Mental wellness? Wait. When given my MS diagnosis years ago, all talk centered around the physical side. No one mentioned anything about the mental challenges of MS.
For this reason, I renege my contract with multiple sclerosis! (Wish it was that easy, right?)
Fact is, in my experience, mental wellness is WAY harder to manage. I have AFO’s to help with foot drop. A rollator to Continue reading
Change is inevitable. It’s a part of life. Change is how we learn, cope and grow. Change excites, directs and motivates.
Me? Hmm, not so much. And for that I blame multiple sclerosis.
You see, pre-MS, I was casual. Nothing shook me up. Change was brushed off like crumbs on a table. But now after a couple Continue reading
I’m a sound guy. I like to listen (though my wife would disagree). My affinity comes from a long background working in radio. Using words, sound effects and music to evoke emotions – that was my gig. It also helps having ears the size of a satellite dish. And no, I cannot get Direct TV – hardy har har.
Since relaxation is the August theme of MS Conversations, I found it fitting to compile a list of Continue reading
You made it! You are halfway through summer without a hitch. Okay well, beside searing your thighs on the hot lawn chair, you made it.
Here are a few pointers to get your through the rest of the season…
Hit The Floor
You don’t need a gym membership to exercise. Just get down on the floor (carpeted, by the way). Roll around. Lift your legs. Flail your arms. Sit up. Twist side to side. Push yourself up, over and get back down again. How you move doesn’t matter—just move! You’ll give yourself the perfect Continue reading
April’s theme of “Staying Organized” draws a collective “yeah right, when pigs fly” from most.
Adding your multiple sclerosis to the mix makes it even more overwhelming.
So, I say let’s break it down into something smaller. Something attainable. And simply become a “creature of habit.”
By that I mean make it a habit of putting your stuff in the same place every day.
Here on the counter is where Continue reading
Okay, I hear you saying “you got this”… “no problem”… or the hackneyed, overused phrase “I have MS but it doesn’t have me.”
Yeah, I hear you tough guy/tough gal.
I hear you because I used to say the same. When I was diagnosed back in 1996, I thought MS didn’t know what it was messing with. I didn’t need any help. Didn’t need advice. Didn’t need to talk about it and burden someone else with my belly-aching. 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
Almost a month into 2019 and thank God all the chatter about resolutions and fresh starts is winding down.
The reason my undies are in a bunch about this topic is because resolutions fail and fresh starts, though better, are often postponed. Continue reading
By Doug Ankerman
Wearing the sash as one newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is an overwhelming experience.
Mind spins. Heart races. Limbs tremble (that being the MS part).
Diagnosis may bring closure to some questions. But now new challenges arise. Continue reading