March 21, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister I’m a disabled veteran, but sometimes it’s hard to explain I have not been kind to my body over the years. I was very active in my old life, although I was a little clumsy even before multiple sclerosis (MS) started affecting my balance. Active and clumsy aren’t…
March 14, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister When you have multiple sclerosis, let assistive devices assist you Aside from a few unpleasant moments, I enjoyed my time as a medic in the U.S. military — so much so that when I began to slow down noticeably, I decided to continue in that field by applying…
March 7, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister What do the principles of patrolling have to do with multiple sclerosis? The U.S. military loves abbreviations and acronyms. So many of these are learned during a soldier’s first year that, to civilians, a conversation between service members might sound like a foreign language. It can be amusing, but the intention…
February 29, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Your perception of multiple sclerosis probably isn’t my reality There are several good reasons why you won’t see me in television commercials for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments anytime soon. For one, I’m not much of an actor, despite my brief moment of high school fame. For another,…
February 22, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How to ask for help — and offer it Just three years before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), I was on what was to be my last overseas tour with the U.S. Army. One day while dozing during a lull in a mission,…
February 15, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Caesar taught us about the importance of taking the next step Last month, I told you that while I’m not a psychologist, I’m fascinated by the subject. I should probably make a list of things I don’t do but still find interesting. One of those professions we can add…
February 8, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister A decade with multiple sclerosis demands an anniversary celebration Valentine’s Day is less than a week away. If you haven’t gotten anything for your significant other yet, let me add to the holiday’s commercialization by reminding you that time is running out. It really wasn’t my foremost intention…
February 1, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How sleep apnea and multiple sclerosis cause me relentless fatigue I feel like I’ve written a lot of negative, maybe even depressing, columns lately. While multiple sclerosis (MS) can be a pretty negative and depressing subject, I’m normally a bit more upbeat. We’ve been having cold and gloomy…
January 18, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, the lesser of two evils is the one you choose My father taught me to play chess when I was barely old enough to say the names of the pieces. I wasn’t a child prodigy or anything like that. I never joined a chess club…
January 11, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister My nonprofessional take on the psychology of multiple sclerosis I’m not a psychologist, but if you’re a regular reader of my column, you know that I’m intrigued by the subject. I seem to be particularly drawn to unusual conditions and making amateurish comparisons to multiple…
January 4, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How good surveillance can help detect the early signs of MS About four years before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), someone else inadvertently “diagnosed” me. This person wasn’t medically trained, probably had no personal knowledge of MS, and didn’t actually use the words “multiple sclerosis.” Still,…
December 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister This New Year’s, I resolve to express more gratitude — just not for MS The new year is nearly upon us, so if you’re planning to make any resolutions, you should probably narrow down the list. As I said last year, I’m not in the habit of making any, but I did…
December 21, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister When you have multiple sclerosis, be sure to cast the right shadow I’m not very good at this sort of thing, but depending on whether or not you count today and the 25th itself, we’ve got about four days left until Christmas. If I still needed to get my wife anything,…
December 14, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister A lesson from my military days helps me manage holiday plans When I was in the military, I wore several different hats. A U.S. Special Forces team has only 12 soldiers, so we couldn’t afford for anyone to know just one trick, no matter how good that trick might be.
December 7, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, a little guilt might be under the Christmas tree Counting today, there are only 18 shopping days left until Christmas. Unless you’re one of those annoying people who did all their gift buying months ago and won’t stop talking about it, the clock is ticking. I guess that…
November 30, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Is multiple sclerosis everywhere, or am I just more aware of it now? I encountered multiple sclerosis (MS) for the first time in a Valdosta High School math class. Before my geometry teacher was diagnosed, I had never known anyone with the disease and, in all likelihood, was completely ignorant…
November 16, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Understanding multiple sclerosis’ ‘demotivational’ flash points I’ve warned you in previous columns that you might have to endure a rambling story or two from my military past. It’s just that there are so many lessons from the experience that pertain to my multiple…
November 9, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister My multiple sclerosis has made me more suspicious As I’ve mentioned a time or two, my wife and I have three boys. Although they’re all under the age of 12, they’ve started to talk like the budding teenagers they are. As they mingle with peers more than…
November 2, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, the right caregiver is everything There are a lot of things that I’m afraid of. That seems to come with the territory when you have a chronic disease like multiple sclerosis (MS), or when you’re a parent. At the same time, I don’t…
March 28, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis awareness is for people with MS, too