Making a Difference - a Column by Cathy Chester.

hope

Cathy Chester is an award-winning health advocate and freelance writer whose flourishing blog, www.anempoweredspirit.com, focuses on staying positive despite a diagnosis of MS. Diagnosed with RRMS in 1986 (before any approved medications or the internet) Cathy knows how frightening this unpredictable disease can be. Today she helps others manage their MS journey by using her unique skills as a writer, patient, and certified health advocate. Her work has been featured in the National Multiple Sclerosis Societyā€™s Momentum magazine, NARCOMS Now, MSAA, and in countless online publications including Midlife Boulevard, BetterAfter50, The Mighty, BlogHer, SheSpeaks, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop and The Huffington Post. Cathy lives in New Jersey with her loving husband and son, plus two adorable cats.

The Past Gives Us Hope for the Future

The times weā€™re living in feel surreal to me. Iā€™m not talking about the current state of U.S. politics, though my opinions could fill a book. Iā€™m talking about how I feel when I read about advances that have been made since my diagnosis three decades ago, and…

Ageism in Clinical Trials and Healthcare

The idea, they say, is to keep having birthdays, and I agree. I see aging as a precious gift, and when you live with multiple sclerosis (MS), that gift is even more golden with each passing year. We earn every wrinkle, gain new…

Dealing with Seizures and Multiple Sclerosis

When youā€™ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for as long as I have, you sometimes forget or block out negative experiences youā€™ve had over the years. AsĀ The Rolling StonesĀ put it, “Time is on my side.” One particular memory seems distant, but…

Here’s How to Honor the First #ProgressiveMSDay

Weā€™re all familiar with the yearly observance of MS Awareness Week and MS Awareness Month to raise awareness about multipleĀ sclerosis. Considering that so many rare diseases, such asĀ Graves’ disease or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, go largely unnoticed, the MS community is blessed with its fair…

Teach Your Children Well

As an advocate for the multiple sclerosis community, people often ask me what itā€™s like being a mother while living with MS. My quick response is, “Joyous!” But I understand the questioner is looking for something more. They want to know how to…

How Searching for Silver Linings Can Help Ease Your Way

Itā€™s frightening to feel sick most of the time. Frightening, scary, overwhelming, unnerving, and hellish. Whichever negative words you choose are the right ones to describe how it feels to live with MS. People with MS are snowflakes, and our emotions are quite often the same. After three-plus…

6 Tips to Enjoy This Merry Month of December

Whenever I turn the pages of my wall calendar to December, I look at the word itself ā€• DECEMBER ā€• and my heart fills with joy. And admittedly a little dread. Joy, because my husband and son have birthdays a week apart, itā€™s…

New Video Series Features ‘It Takes a Team’

Thereā€™s a difference between being lucky and being blessed. I learned that difference in 1992, after giving birth to our son. Once the doctors counted 10 toes, 10 fingers and we heard the babyā€™s first cry, I remarked to my husband how lucky we were.

New Video Series Aims to Lift the MS Community

When youā€™re living with multiple sclerosis, itā€™s important to surround yourself with a community of people who give you the kind of support and understanding you need. When I was diagnosed in 1986, there was no internet to help me find a community,…

How to Survive Summer Heat Intolerance

With summer right around the corner, itā€™s time to start making plans. We all love spending time outdoors during the long hours of sunshine and warm temperatures, donā€™t we? Well, not everyone does. If youā€™re reading this, youā€™re probably living with multiple sclerosis. That…