July 2017 - The MS Wire

If My MRI is Stable, Why is My Walking Getting Worse?

Posted on July 30, 2017December 13, 2018

During a routine exam with my neurologist recently, I asked her a question I’d never thought to ask before: “Why do you order regular MRIs of my brain, but not of my spine?” Interestingly, within a few days of my exam, a Harvard Med School study was released that addressed a similar question: Is there always a link between the level of physical disability in some MS patients and the…Continue Reading

The Ogo: 21st Century Wheels for Your MS, but with a Hefty Price Tag

Posted on July 24, 2017

About a year ago, I first wrote about something called an Ogo. It was just in the development phase then, but it was the neatest thing I’d ever seen for getting around when your legs can’t do the job. You don’t need to use your arms, either. Just bend in the direction that you want to travel, like riding on a Segway, and off you go. It could be great…Continue Reading

Ocrevus, Hope and a Suicide Postponed

Posted on July 10, 2017

Several months ago, I wrote a column in Multiple Sclerosis News Today about Andrew Barclay. Barclay died in an assisted suicide in December. He’d had multiple sclerosis for many years. Colin Campbell is a 56-year-old MS patient who lives in Inverness, Scotland. He also wanted to die. In fact, he was scheduled to end his own life, with help, on June 15 at a suicide clinic in Switzerland. But he…Continue Reading

My Lemtrada Journey: 6 month report

Posted on July 3, 2017

It’s been a little over six months since I completed Round 1 of my Lemtrada infusions, so it’s time again to ask myself, “How am I doing?” The answer: I’m not sure. For many years, my brain MRI has remained unchanged. I can’t remember the last time I had an exacerbation (something bad enough to require steroid treatments). It was, literally, in the last century. But my walking has slowly,…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.