August 22, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Donating to the Rocky Mountain MS Center Tissue Bank Brain donation for multiple sclerosis research optimizes the chances that a cure might be discovered. It might result in a vaccine or other preemptive strike to prevent the disability from starting in the first place. As addressed in a previous column, there is a shortage…
August 8, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD There is a Shortage of Anatomical Donation of MS Brains Multiple sclerosis damages human brains, so MS researchers often study mice brains. How can multiple sclerosis be cured or prevented without studies of human brains? Researchers need the anatomical bequests of MS brains. Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center Harvard University specifically collects and studies brains (and brain tissue),…
August 1, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Accessible, Affordable Housing Is Not Optional Accessible housing is not optional for people with disabilities. Poverty and disability too often combine for too many people. It is one thing to know this double whammy exists intellectually. To see the impact in a person packs a visceral punch that cannot be denied. Think of how profoundly…
July 11, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Disability Resources, Activism Need to Focus on Accessible Housing My disability rights activism includes housing issues. Affordable housing gets a lot of attention (no solutions, but attention, at least). Accessible housing, not so much. Like the invisible symptomsĀ of multiple sclerosis, the need for affordable ACCESSIBLE housing remains hidden. Accessibility needs to be part of the dialogue I…
June 20, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD MS and Catheterization, Part 2: Outside the Hospital Catheterization training in the hospital did not prepare me for how to manage on a daily basis. In my last column, I described how I ended up in the hospital unable to urinate at all. In this column, I will cover more details about what I learned along…
June 6, 2017 by Patricia Silva, PhD MS and Catheterization, Part 1: Bladder and Urethra Malfunction Solution Catheterization was one of my biggest fears when first officially diagnosed with MS in 1994. As the years went by I thought I might be one of the few patientsĀ who do not experience malfunction in the urinary system. Then, in 2012, something changed. I went from having to…
May 30, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD ‘Disabled? You Seem Perfectly Fine to Me!’ The casual remark, “You seem perfectly fine to me!”Ā bothers me (and others) becauseĀ eligibility forĀ Social Security Disability benefits requires proving we are not fine. In fact, we must prove that we are disabled, which is no small burden when we “seem perfectly fine.” ‘Looking’ disabled An acquaintance of mine…
May 16, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD The Importance of Garages in Accessible Housing What makes housing accessible? I thought I knew all of the features that would make a dwelling accessible. Turns out I didn’t. The Department of Housing and Urban Development report on housing stock in America has a table that covers an extensive range of…
May 5, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Disability Activism Beats Doing Housework I now introduce myself as a disability rights activist. I began to pay attention to local politics and related activities last fall. Our city redevelopment plans are charging along, without any city staffer to pay attention to the needs of the disabled. As such, I’ve been making the…
April 21, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD The Cluttered Consequences of Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue Multiple sclerosis causes debilitating fatigue. The following photographs show,Ā without censorship, what my fatigue leaves undone. The homes of everyone I know have living rooms without sweaters tossed over the back of chairs. Their floors are not an obstacle course. They do not have piles of mail, notes, drills,…
April 11, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Importance of Elevators for Universal Housing You might think that the Fair Housing ActĀ required multifamily buildings to have elevators, but no, it doesn’t. A multifamily dwelling of four units that does not have an elevator is not required to have one. However, the ground floor units must be fully…
April 7, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD ABLE Act Improvements Reintroduced in Congress The ABLE Act improvement bills were reintroduced into CongressĀ this week and referred to committee on April 4.Ā The billsĀ died in committee in 2016 before an active campaign could garner enough attention in that election year. I urge all readers in the U.S. toĀ call yourĀ representatives and senators to encourage them to…
March 28, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Dedicated Handicapped Parking is About Availability, Not Cost Being disabled by MS does not have many advantages. One ā free city street parking in California ā is likelyĀ to end soon.Ā In the rush to garner parking revenue, though, the lack of concurrent discussion about providing dedicated handicapped parking (DHP) is troubling. The widespread abuse…
March 15, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Walk In, Roll Out: The Conundrum of Cardio Exercise with MS In pursuit of an answer for breathing difficulty The MRI of my cervical and thoracic spine showed no active lesions last week. That was good news. Other…
February 21, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Exploring Methods to Manage MS-Related Fatigue FatigueĀ isĀ the bane of my existence. Clutter qualifies as my lifestyle. If I can’t see something it may as well beĀ lost. I spend about 50% of my day trying to find things I have put “someplace safe.” The other half I spend looking for something IĀ just had…
February 7, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Removing Barriers to Accessibility Requires Planning, Persistence Lost in the delights of the library; 10 minutes over meter limit Yes, they chalk-marked the tires and I got a ticket. I was furious. Once again,…
January 17, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Like the ADA, the ABLE Act Has Significant Potential When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, there seemingly were as many opponents as there were proponents. All these years later, the standards and expectations of that landmark legislation have become second-nature in mainstream America. Concerns about costs and consequences were…
December 6, 2016 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Support the ABLE Act Amendments: Press Your Lawmaker for a Vote There are very few days left this year.Ā But in order for the amendments toĀ the ABLE Act not to die in committee, they need to be brought to the floor for a vote. (If you need a refresher on the ABLE Act and pending amendments, I wrote about them in…
November 4, 2016 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD ABLE Act Webinar Set for Nov. 15 The National Disability Institute manages the website www.ablenrc.org that has good information. I watched all the āwebinarsāĀ and found them informative. A new one is going to be broadcast Nov. 15, 1:00-2:30 CST Ā (event number 660 742 928), Ā and likely will be archived with the rest of…
November 3, 2016 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD ABLE Accounts: Comparing Plans in 3 States Open to All ABLE AccountsĀ and Amendments In my previous column, I introduced the exciting new program for people with disabilities, called the ABLE Act (Achieving a Better Life Experience Act). The final bill, signed into law in 2014, deviated substantially from the original proposal and that needs to be…
October 12, 2016 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD The ABLE Act: A Tax-free Benefit for People with MS That Could Be Better Disability from multiple sclerosis develops, on average, within 10Ā years of diagnosis. Financial catastrophe was often the consequence, until Congress passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) ā signed into law on Dec. 19, 2014, by President Obama. This act allows you or anyone to…
August 22, 2016 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Feldenkrais: Awareness of Movement for Those with MS In a fair world, reading books would burn the most calories, eating ice cream would be chock-full of antioxidants and vitamins, and no one would have multiple sclerosis. But, like many other people, I have MS and have to live with fatigue, cognitive issues, trouble walking, and so much more…