Columns

I’ve written several times before about how unpleasant it was to catch giardia while serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, but I wasn’t the only person to get sick from drinking contaminated water. On one mission, we’d gotten up far too early to make coffee and had some…

The beginning of the new year is an opportunity for a fresh start, change, and personal growth. Even before I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, I struggled deeply to allow myself moments of rest and peace, and that continues today. I’m aware of those struggles, but until now…

Happy New Year! Did anyone make resolutions? I’ve always tried to make one resolution every January, though I missed a few years when I was in a rut. At the time I’d thought, what’s the point? I knew I wouldn’t stick with it. That’s because my resolutions used to feel…

I think cold weather affects me every bit as much as hot does. The difference is that instead of turning into a weak puddle, I stiffen into a rock. It doesn’t get that cold where I live, but when we do have a few chilly days in a row, I…

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is disorienting. I don’t quite know what day it is or what I’m supposed to do while packing away a holiday and bracing for the next year. It was quiet after Christmas last month, almost as if time stood still and the…

We’ve begun a brand-new year, and normally that would mean resolutions, but as I’ve said before, I’m not exactly a resolution kind of guy. I don’t have anything against them and I do intend to better myself, but I don’t want the disappointment of failing to meet a stated goal.

For someone like me, who is retired and has three preteen children, the days surrounding Christmas and New Year’s feel like a liminal space. With no school or job to be at and no real schedule to keep, the days seem to run together without anything to orient them.

Being born and raised in south-central Texas, I’m no stranger to the heat here that dominates most of the year. But even after 25 years of living in Texas, I don’t think I’m used to it. While some people embrace and enjoy warmer weather, my body rejects it altogether, especially…

I’m losing control. I don’t mean that I’m out of control or spiraling in that direction, but I definitely feel like I have a lot less of it these days. That’s a real problem for me because my therapist said that one of the primary issues contributing to my depression…

I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis at 17 years old, during my senior year of high school. At that time, the diagnosis was the least of my worries because my top priorities were senior year activities and college preparation. The truth, however, was that I didn’t comprehend what…

Between celebrating my birthday and Christmas, December has always been a month for gifts. If my wish list when growing up featured a relatively expensive item, my birthday and Christmas presents would give way to one special present celebrating both. One year my great-aunt took me shopping to pick out…

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2014. Over the past 10 years, my MS has been managed by five healthcare providers. That’s not how I envisioned my MS care. I’ve had the same primary care provider for almost 20 years, and I naively thought I’d be…

My wife and I both have medical backgrounds. She is a registered nurse and has actual credentials that have to be renewed periodically. At one time I had a card that said advanced tactical practitioner, but even when it was current, it didn’t count for much outside of…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to help others in any way I could. As early as middle school, I tried to identify a plausible and realistic career where I could fulfill this desire, and eventually landed on therapy as a possible career path. I wanted to…

When I attended the selection process for Army Special Forces, I had a number of obstacles to overcome, among them a psychological evaluation, a handful of physical tests, long-range land navigation, and assessments of problem-solving and time-management skills. I also faced literal obstacles, in the form of a 2-mile course…

While most people dread the longer nights of autumn and winter, I embrace every single minute of darkness added as we crawl toward the longest night of the year. As darkness takes over, that’s my cue to gather up all the energy I expended during spring and summer to…

As this is published, I’m surrounded by family. Some are cooking with passion and purpose. Some are critiquing and giving advice that always seems to start with the phrase “Now what I like to do is,” going on to suggest a better way of stuffing, or how many minutes per…

In the middle of my freshman year of high school, I experienced a bad case of optic neuritis, which I now know was my first episode of multiple sclerosis (MS). According to my neuro-ophthalmologist, I was legally blind in my left eye. My vision was mostly recovered thanks to…

Ever since I learned how, I have enjoyed reading. My tastes have changed a little over the years, as has the way I read. I like the feel and smell of a real book, but I mostly use electronic devices these days because I can more easily see them, hold…

Too often, I’d find myself amid joyful moments with loved ones, struggling to keep irritability at bay. At those times, my mind would stagger between living in the happiness of the moment or an overwhelming sense of overstimulation, annoyance, and frustration. Most of the time, the irritability took over. When…

In recent months, while seeking to balance work, home life, family, and well-being, I’ve sought strategies to help me tackle perfectionism. On the health front, I’ve faced major struggles with my relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, secondary adrenal insufficiency, and avascular necrosis. However, to this day, my perfectionism is the most…

My last column described how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects my feet, so today I’m writing about how it affects my hands. I don’t believe MS has affected my wrists or palms, but my fingers and thumbs aren’t “normal” anymore. My most prominent symptom is loss of sensation,…

About a decade ago, I got caught up in the home brewing craze. I don’t know that I qualified as crazed, but I had a lot of fun with it and felt that since it was probably encoded somewhere in my Hofmeister DNA, I should at least try it. One…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) brings both highs and lows to my life. Sometimes these moments will fluctuate throughout the day, while other times, the highs and lows can last for days at a time. When I experience a sustained low, I’ll find myself stuck in bed with no energy…

The first time you try something should not be the moment you absolutely need it. During my time in the military, I often applied this concept to both performing a critical task with my nondominant hand and using certain medical equipment. In both cases, the logic of “I’m sure I’ll…

As a native Floridian, I’ve been through my fair share of hurricanes. Because they’re so familiar, I’m probably a bit too indifferent to them. But in many ways, hurricanes parallel my life with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS); each involves preparation, weathering of the storm, and adjusting to the aftermath.

Being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis doesn’t necessarily mean that other health complications or conditions won’t arise. According to an article published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have significantly higher rates of comorbidity and morbidity than people who don’t have…

Music and dance have always been my medicine. From decompressing during medical school to adjusting to life with multiple sclerosis (MS) or getting through motherhood, music and movement have never let me down. We all have that friend we dream with, making preposterous plans. For me, that friend was…

I had a run-in with a nasty, mostly waterborne parasite years ago in Afghanistan. I managed to catch it by, you guessed it, contact with infected water — not by actually drinking it, but by washing my hands off in an irrigation ditch and then sticking them in my mouth.

The company I keep has changed over the past 10 years. I used to associate with people who were much like me. We had a similar way of thinking and faced many of the same challenges in life. I was a part of an upper tier of the U.S. Army,…