News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

She Has #MS and She Just Hiked 500 Miles!

Well, 460.75 miles (741.5 km), to be exact. When I wrote about April Hester in late September, the headline on my post was “She Has MS and She’s Hiking 500 Miles.” Well, she did it, hiking the Palmetto Trail from Walhalla, in the South Carolina mountains, to Awendaw, on the coast. With husband Bernie alongside, April completed the hike on Nov. 3. The couple had expected the hike to take…Continue Reading

She Has MS and She’s Hiking 500 miles

April Hester has MS. She was diagnosed in 1996, just after she turned 20 years old. Like many of us, April has balance and fatigue issues. Her legs can become tired, her foot sometimes drops and she falls a lot. But unlike many of us, April and her husband Bernie are in the middle of a walk. More accurately, it’s a hike — a 500-mile hike, from Walhalla in the…Continue Reading

Pilates for M.S.?

(This post first appeared as one of my columns on www.multiplesclerosistoday.com) Have you tried Pilates to improve your mobility?  When my wife and I tried it, a few years ago, I thought that it was sort of like doing yoga stretches using exercise equipment.  It felt good and, for the short time that I did kept it up, Pilates seemed to improve my flexibility, somewhat. Pilates is a stretching and…Continue Reading

MS Marathoner: 1 Continent Down, 6 to Go

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

Exercise for MS – I’m starting a 14 week plan

I’m about to start a new adventure:  Exercise. Well, it’s not really new. I swim some laps most days in the summer, weather permitting.  In the cooler months I do some upper body strength exercises a couple of days a week, my spirit permitting.  But, in all the years that I’ve had Multiple Sclerosis I’ve never really had a structured exercise program.  Today I’m investigating a way to start down…Continue Reading