The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Living with MS

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Helping Hands for People with MS

I was just monkeying around while on vacation a few weeks ago, amazed that the animals jumping between my wife and myself were actually listening to the commands of their owner. I knew that chimps and apes were smart, but seeing monkeys respond to commands was new to me. I had no idea how well some monkeys can be trained until I read an article in Neurology Now. There, I discovered…Continue Reading

Dancing in the Rain

When writing about the challenges of MS I often share some advice that’s printed on a wall-hanging my wife picked-up a few years ago: “Life isn’t about hiding from the storm, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” This dancing isn’t in the rain but this video, from the French TV show “Got Talent,” gives true meaning to those words: (You’re invited to follow my regular columns on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com)…Continue Reading

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

Have a Say About Accessible Parking

If you have MS it’s probably happened to you. You have trouble walking but the few accessible parking spots in the lot are full. You find an accessible spot but someone is parked in the hash-marked area and there’s no room to get your chair or scooter out of your van. There are parking spots but the curb cut to the sidewalk is blocked. So, you mutter a few words…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

Walk-testing the New Bioness L300 Go

L300 Go

I’ve been using a Bioness L300 for just over five years to counter my foot drop. Without the L300 strapped to my left leg, it’s difficult for me to walk more than 25 or 30 steps, even with two canes. The L300 is a functional electronic stimulator (FES). Each time I start to lift my left leg to walk, it sends a low-intensity electrical pulse down a nerve that runs…Continue Reading

Walking the Dog, An MS Adventure Story

It’s 7 in the morning and it’s raining cats and dogs. I need to walk our dog and the thought of it is not very appealing. We live in a condo, so this activity requires getting dressed, squatting down to feed Joey, squatting again to get him hooked up with his leash, getting my rain gear on and going down the elevator. Not a big deal for most folks, but…Continue Reading

When Do MS Symptoms Become a Relapse?

Am I having an MS relapse? I saw that question asked the other day on one of the social sites I follow. At first, I thought, “Gee, doesn’t everyone with MS know when they’re having a relapse?” Then I realized that for several years after I was diagnosed, I was never sure if what was happening to me was technically a relapse and worth a call to the doctor. I’d wind…Continue Reading

Questions About Health Insurance for Your MS?

A lot of people on the various MS social media groups that I follow are worried about their health and drug insurance…losing it, not being able to afford it, etc. The National MS Society and Can-Do MS have scheduled an insurance webinar this coming Tuesday and it looks like it will provide some good info. You can register by clicking the “RSVP” tab below: Common Health Insurance Problems in MS:…Continue Reading

Are You Doing OK?

It’s one of those questions that all of us with MS get. And it’s one that most of us with MS don’t like to answer. How do you respond when someone asks you “are you doing OK?” #1 You can say “Yes, I’m fine, thanks,” even if you’re dragging and defiantly not OK, and be done with it. #2 You can be honest about how you’re feeling and open up…Continue Reading