Columns

June is a special month for me. Eight years ago I had an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) in Moscow to treat my multiple sclerosis (MS). On June 22, I celebrated my eighth stem cell birthday! A stem cell transplant, or “stemmie day,” is when patients…

Dear younger self, As I sit down to write this letter, I can’t help but tear up at the thought of you. First and foremost, you’re an amazing soul, full of life and with a bright future ahead of you. But you’ve just received life-changing news, and it feels…

I spent a few of my years in the Army working as an instructor. It was never boring because I think I learned as much from teaching as my students did from being taught. My students weren’t new to the Army. For the most part, they were my peers…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. In June 2016, I traveled to Moscow with two friends. The first evening we were…

My mom always wished for a son and a daughter. Ten years after I was born, her dream became a reality with the arrival of my baby brother, Michael. Because I was the only child for so long, I had never considered becoming a big sister, nor did I understand…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with high-dose steroids to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. My first experience treating an MS relapse with intravenous steroids was interesting.

I received a copy of “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” for Christmas two years ago. It provides names for emotions that need defining, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed leafing through it. I’m not particularly sorrowful, and I don’t really find the majority of the text to be sorrowful, either.

I have a doctor’s appointment coming up soon. It isn’t with my neurologist or another specialist. It’s a routine visit with my primary care physician and, other than the regular schedule, isn’t really routine at all. There’s a lot more to me than my multiple sclerosis (MS), a fact…

In previous columns, I’ve shared that I’m a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, but what exactly does that entail? Almost every time I tell someone I’m pursuing a doctorate in educational psychology, I’m met with the question, “What do you do?” Let’s unpack the answer.

I’d tricked myself into thinking I was a night owl for decades. Studying came more easily during those dark, quiet, and still hours. So did going out to nightclubs to dance, meet strangers, and feel a little more anonymous and a lot less self-conscious. When that phase of around-the-clock studying…

By the time this column is published, I’ll be at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers‘ annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m honored to be attending as a representative of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Multiple Sclerosis Committee. Along with the other committee members, I’ll help spread…

I try not to attribute every new symptom I experience to multiple sclerosis (MS). When I was younger, I had an easier time attributing the cause of a new symptom: It was MS or something else. As I age, this differentiation is becoming more difficult. Recently, I experienced new-onset…

As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, I’m now pursuing a doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Given that work, 99.9% of my day revolves around typing, despite my multiple sclerosis (MS). My journey as a typist began in high school, when I enrolled…

If I haven’t warned you that bits of my past in the military would sometimes leak into my present as a Multiple Sclerosis News Today columnist, consider yourself warned. I was in the U.S. Army for almost 22 years, so it’s bound to happen occasionally. If I’d become an…

There have been so many times I’ve started something but was unable to finish it. There have been so many things I’ve intended to do, but somehow never followed through on them. The gate of my mom’s backyard privacy fence is broken. Half of it is missing. A dear friend…

Recognizing and valuing authenticity is an aspect of life I began to grasp only a few years ago. During the peak of quarantine restrictions due to COVID-19, I was forced to move back home to San Antonio from my on-campus dormitory at the University of Texas at Austin. Like many…

I turn 49 next week. The fact that I’m in middle age already is unbelievable. I don’t think of myself as old. My mileage might be a little high, but I’m not old. I suppose I could consider myself to be vintage, like clothing, or perhaps even classic, like a…

I have several big milestone events coming up, all within a week. My son is graduating from college and my daughter from high school. Additionally, we have my son’s nurse pinning ceremony, a graduation lunch, two graduation parties, Mother’s Day, and lots of family and friends in town for these…

Many of my personal breakthroughs and discoveries occurred during college, when I was living in a new city as a young adult with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). One of those “aha!” moments was understanding that saying no takes practice, but it’s a necessary aspect of life. A few…

Before multiple sclerosis (MS) took the normal functioning of my limbs, I enjoyed being in the kitchen — not merely to be underfoot or lick spoons and bowls, but to actually cook and bake. I won’t claim to have been a gourmet chef or anything like that, but I…

Is there something you now have that you once hoped and prayed for? I’ve been struggling with the demands of a new job for the past few weeks. As a virtual dietitian, I heavily rely on computers to meet with clients and do other necessary work. But staring at a…

I feel like I’ve been in this exact place, saying exactly what I’m saying right now. Have I done this in a past life? Did I dream it and am now subconsciously acting it out in reality? Or is my brain performing a fact-check on its memory system and signaling…

When I was initially evaluated for multiple sclerosis (MS), I was asked if I had a family history of the disease. To my knowledge, I did not. Once I received my diagnosis, one of the first things that crossed my mind, after recovering from the initial shock…

What’s a reliable way to wreck your mood? Fighting your circadian rhythms. I’m a recovering night owl. I used to get more done between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. than I did in the other 20 hours of the day. I routinely studied past 2 a.m. during college and…

Even as a small child, I enjoyed watching nature shows. They didn’t come on television often, but when they did, I absorbed every word. At school, I might not have been able to recite the Pythagorean theorem, but I could say with confidence that butterflies taste with their feet. That…

Upon commencing my undergraduate studies at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, I pursued a major in prehealth neuroscience. I had decided to pursue this degree shortly after my diagnosis of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2016, during my senior year of high school. My hope in choosing the…

Training to become a U.S. Army Special Forces medic included all the things you might expect, as well as some you might not. Although trauma was our primary focus, we also had to be well versed in routine medicine and have a working knowledge of other aspects of healthcare.

The title of my column is “Delicate Balance,” though I didn’t pick that name. I was telling my family about the opportunity to be a patient columnist for this site and mentioned that I needed to name my column. Immediately, my husband said, “The title is ‘Delicate Balance.'” I…

My graduation ceremony at the University of Texas at Austin had just ended, and there were swarms of people everywhere I looked. I was sweating profusely in the summer heat and overstimulated by the large crowds. Thankfully, my mom called to tell me where my family was waiting for me.

In case there was any confusion, “Chairborne” is not an advice column. Well, not the kind of advice that comes from raw wisdom, anyway. Most of my lessons are closer to cautionary tales than anything else. The only reason I can suggest avoiding any mistake is because I’ve already…