The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Posts

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

Flu Shot or No Flu Shot for MS Patients?

It’s that time of year again. The time of year where I keep seeing posts on MS social media sites asking, “should I get a flu shot?” In my honest opinion, yes, definitely! There are certainly different opinions about this, but I think that my opinion is the same as that of nearly any doctor that you’ll ask. For example, here’s a what a couple of doctors have to say…Continue Reading

Specialty Drugs Mean Specialty Prices

If you have MS, you’ve probably used a specialty drug. My first was Avonex, which I began to use about 1998. Several others followed. There’s no formal definition of a specialty drug, but these therapies have several things in common. First, they’re expensive. According to the vice president in charge of specialty drugs at CVS Pharmacy, the average monthly cost is $3,000. A CVS website article says that’s about 10…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

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