September 2016 - The MS Wire

Laugh with Ads That “Get” Disabilities

Posted on September 26, 2016

[This post first appeared as one of my columns on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] You don’t see people with disabilities very often in TV ads. And when you do, the person with the handicap is usually playing a secondary role, or the ad uses the disabled person for an emotional appeal. It’s not real-life. It’s not us. So, a tip of my hat to the candy company Mars Chocolate UK for producing some…Continue Reading

MS Marathoner: 1 Continent Down, 6 to Go

Posted on September 20, 2016

Cheryl Hile running a marathon as a workout.

Cheryl Hile runs a marathon in South Africa. Pic courtesy C. Hile

(This is an update of my column posted last week on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com) Tripping, falling and bloody knees. Been there. Done that. (Who with MS hasn’t)? But this wasn’t me. This was Cheryl Hile and it was happening to her as she was running a half marathon in Carlsbad, California. Cheryl had been running marathons for half a dozen years when, in 2006, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She says…Continue Reading

A 9/11 Re-visit

Posted on September 11, 2016

Today, on the 15th anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, I’m re-posting a story that I posted a few months ago. It’s about a trip that I made to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City last Spring…a trip that will resonate with anyone who makes it. And I encourage everyone to make it. ** I grew up in Lower Manhattan. Though I’ve lived…Continue Reading

Can you measure how tired I am?

Posted on September 6, 2016

[This post first appeared last month in my column on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com] Feeling tired? No surprise there. Fatigue is as much a part of living with Multiple Sclerosis as sand is a part of the beach where I live. It’s interesting, then, that neurologists seem to have no good system for measuring levels of MS fatigue or any treatments that are really effective over the long term. Physiologists at Colorado State University…Continue Reading

"People newly diagnosed with MS will truly benefit from this book, while those of us who’ve lived with MS for a while will wish we’d had it ourselves!…Neurologists should consider keeping a copy of this book in their waiting room because their patients are going to need it." - Tamara K. Sellman, reviewing for Multiple Sclerosis.net.

The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox is designed for MS "newbies" but it's great info for everyone. I combine more than 40 years of living with MS with some easy to understand info about diagnosis, treatments, visiting the neuro, relationships, mobility aids, travel and more…a lot of what you get in this blog. A paperback and an e-book are available on Amazon.