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 about it. I would hear the name again about 10 years…
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 sclerosis (MS). It was supposed to rain later that evening, so…
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 their parents, their vocabulary in particular becomes less like ours every…
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 have any phobias that I’m aware of. To date, I…
October 26, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Pretending to be well so we don’t look like we’re faking being sick Halloween is five days away, and if you have kids, you’re running out of time to have your costumes ready. My wife and our three boys have everything figured out, minus some finishing touches ā unless I want to dress up, of course. Fortunately, I wasn’t planning on it because…
October 19, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With a diagnosis of MS, you learn to expect the unexpected I try not to let my life revolve around multiple sclerosis (MS), but there’s no escaping the fact that the disease affects every part of it. That’s a bit of a conundrum and often frustrates me to no end. If there’s a bright side to be found, it’s that…
October 12, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How the 5 types of impostor syndrome can affect those with MS With my kids in school, me being retired, and, of course, the limitations of my multiple sclerosis (MS), I have a lot of free time on my hands. I’d like to say that I always use it productively, but thatās far from the truth. I putter ā if you…
October 5, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How do you describe your multiple sclerosis to others? Back in spring, I wrote about the fatigue that accompanies multiple sclerosis (MS) and how difficult it was to describe and for others to understand. That’s true, of course, but really, the entirety of MS is difficult to explain. Factor in the variety of symptoms and the…
September 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, don’t worry about asking stupid questions I ask a lot of questions. I have to, because I’ve come to realize that I don’t actually know that much. Asking questions (even to myself) is the only solution. Oddly enough, though, learning new things doesn’t completely scratch my itch, as the answers just keep showing me how much…
September 21, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Learning the hard way that with MS, no infection is routine I’ve never been one to worry too much about what my purpose in life is. It’s not that I’m incapable of being philosophical, or that I was ever too egotistical to think I needed one. I suppose I just thought that if I had a purpose, it’d work…
September 7, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How do you define defiance while living with MS? Recently, I was asked about the design on the left side of my “Chairborne” banner. A friend from my previous occupation humorously noted that in the original graphic, there’s a skull in the center where the wheelchair now resides. I pointed out that in my current state, a wheelchair…
August 31, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, hindsight is accurate āĀ and often unkind “Being diagnosed later in life is like watching a TV show with a huge plot twist revealed at the end of the season and then rewatching it with this new knowledge, picking up on all the foreshadowing and getting upset that you didn’t see all of it before.” ā…
August 24, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Living with MS can often feel like being lost in the woods Years before joining the Army crossed my mind, I was a Boy Scout. We learned all sorts of skills, earned merit badges, and, of course, spent lots of time hiking and camping. I have many fond memories of those scouting years, but one lesson I remember in particular was…
August 17, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Parachuting my way through this life with MS Ten minutes away from the drop zone, we stood up and began the final preparations for the jump. The aircraft flew in anything but a straight line as it turned, banked, and swiftly changed altitude. This unpredictable flying technique was tactically sound, as it made the plane difficult to target,…
August 10, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis makes it tough to deal with the heat of the dog days I like to look up. No, I’m not referring to my disposition, although I do consider it to be an improvement over what it once was. I’m actually pretty sunny, if you happen to think of “sunny” as burning, harsh, and damaging when you’re exposed to it. What I…
August 3, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister As my kids head back to school, I must prepare for inevitable illnesses This morning, at an unholy hour, our family awoke to the sound of alarm bells. Well, not bells, but rather the gentle yet insistent sound of one of Alexa’s alarms. Actually, we changed the name of our bedroom device to Ziggy, so we can’t simply roll over, still…
July 27, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Why it’s strangely comforting that MS doctors don’t know everything I’m not a doctor, just a patient. And depending on whom you ask, I’m not a very good one, either ā unless you happen to be fond of lots of questions. I was a medic in the U.S. Army ā a time buyer, as I refer to it…
July 20, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister In life with multiple sclerosis, self-care is anything but selfish About three years before my multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis and subsequent retirement, I found myself in Iraq preparing for a mission. I was going out with a different team from another branch of the U.S. military, and the planning and briefing process wasn’t as detailed as I was…
July 13, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis has made my once-dominant hand less so I am not left-handed! No, I’m not channeling Westley or Inigo from “The Princess Bride,” just clarifying a common ā and fair ā assumption. While I now do nearly everything left-handed, including eating, drinking, and even typing this column, my right hand was dominant for most of…
July 5, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With a disabling condition, seeking help is part of independence I must look like I need help all the time. I donāt own a shirt or any other article of clothing that says so, and I donāt think I have a helpless look on my face, either. I smile often, sometimes genuinely and sometimes with my mouth formed in…
June 29, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Living with MS is not just ‘all or nothing,’ but I kind of wish it were A few ā OK, many ā years ago, I played the lead in a production of “Oklahoma!” Donāt get excited; it wasnāt on Broadway or anything like that. It was a high school production, and I suspect I only landed the role because I could sing ā and probably…
June 22, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister The right support is essential when you have multiple sclerosis I didn’t seek support immediately after my diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). To be fair, MS was just an annoyance to me at the beginning. It was simply a set of symptoms, and I was initially happy just to have an explanation for them. To be…
June 15, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister It’s not what I expected, being a parent with a disability Einstein said that time is relative, and as I age (gracefully, I hope), Iāve found that to be true. For example, I frequently find myself referring to events that occurred a decade or more in the past as happening ājust the other day.ā In my mind, I’m still…
June 8, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister The best lessons on MS come from the experience of people with MS In the not-too-distant past, a friend shared a video clip from a competitive event with a few of us. One of the competitors had a shock of gray hair and was slowed by a noticeable limp. “Watch how smooth this guy is,” he said. As we all expressed our amazement…
June 1, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With MS, giving it your ‘some’ adds up to enough Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) ā a training program for entry into the U.S. Army Special Forces ā is rare, even among military courses. It has grueling physical aspects, but the majority of it is mental. It’s really one long test to gauge a participant’s ability to work…
May 25, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis deserves to be complained about My shoelaces keep coming untied, my compression socks are bunched up, I bumped my shins with the vacuum again, and the shower was too hot this morning. Confused? Don’t be. I’m just getting in the spirit of National Wine Day by ā oh, wait, I might have read…
May 18, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis is unique and requires personalized care I’ve always liked the phrase “go with what you know.” I suppose I understood it to mean “stick to what you’re good at” or simply, “stay in your lane.” Recently, though, I stumbled on a slightly different meaning that I like even better. āUse knowledge you already have as a…
May 11, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis and speech are not on friendly terms for me I used to sing ā a lot. Donāt worry, I didn’t miss my true calling. I could carry a tune, but that was about it. I was loud, and just like arguing, volume can make up for a lack of skill. My voice might not have been the best,…
May 4, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Fatigue from MS is hard to both explain and understand Everyone’s multiple sclerosis (MS) is unique to them. The different disease types, lesion loads, and lesion locations are a few reasons why our symptoms are so variable. We with MS all live in the same neighborhood, just in different houses. If there were such a thing as…
April 27, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Our treatments for multiple sclerosis aren’t cures, but vital time-buyers Note: This column describes the authorās own experiences with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have my 13th infusion of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). I’ve been approved for the fast infusion rate, so…