Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

March 27, 2020March 25, 2020

Do They Know It’s Not Christmas?

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Quarantine sure feels like Christmas. The shops are stripped bare. The streets are empty. Family homes are stuffed with everyone returning home. In our case, my wife rescued my ... Read more

March 20, 2020March 19, 2020

Let’s All Take a Deep Breath

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Take a deep breath, and I don’t mean the kind promoted by fake memes infecting the web to “prove” that you don’t have COVID-19! My deep-breath moment was in ... Read more

March 16, 2020March 16, 2020

What New Hell Is This?

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned bacteriological pincer attack to take your mind off impending death. I’m not exaggerating about the impending bit. A friend/colleague was supposed to fly ... Read more

March 6, 2020March 4, 2020

You Know Things Are Bad When the Banks Tell You to Wear a Mask

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I know the new strain of coronavirus is bad, but in the face of impending doom, I’m likely to find humor. Anyone who has had more aggressive disease-modifying therapies ... Read more

February 28, 2020February 26, 2020

The World Turned Upside Down

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Being disabled constricts what my body does — but I’m still me. For a long time, I was trapped as I could no longer self-propel my self-propelled wheelchair. Then ... Read more

February 14, 2020February 13, 2020

And the Biofilm Goes to …

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

The medical profession must be sick and tired of patients diagnosing themselves via the wonders of the internet. But as a patient who’s sick and tired, you eventually have ... Read more

February 7, 2020February 6, 2020

This Story Has Legs — One Leg, At Least!

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

This is the story of how I became a patient columnist. Three years ago, I was still walking. Shambling, anyway. I could get up and down stairs but had ... Read more

January 31, 2020January 30, 2020

Here’s My ‘Veganuary’ Report

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I’m well aware that new converts can be bores. I started an increasingly trendy vegan lifestyle back in December. It’s only been two months, but it seems like a ... Read more

January 24, 2020January 23, 2020

The Mind-Body Interface

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Well, this is one way of showing that I attended first-year philosophy seminars: Draw on the thoughts of Plato and Aristotle, then leap two millennia to Descartes. I never ... Read more

January 17, 2020January 15, 2020

It’s Only a Matter of Time

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

There was a time when I didn’t have deadlines. I’d finally finished academia. No more essays ever! In theory, I still had seven essays to write. Luckily, those essays ... Read more

January 10, 2020January 9, 2020

Lo, on the Very First Vegan Christmas

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Only 347 shopping days to go! So don’t dismiss this as a column about last Christmas (though that’s what it is!) but as possibly the first on the planet ... Read more

January 3, 2020December 20, 2019

Keep Taking the Tablets

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

What did I write about last New Year’s? As usual, it was related to a bodily function: urinary tract infections (UTIs). Then, readers almost unanimously recommended methenamine hippurate. I ... Read more

December 20, 2019December 18, 2019

Santa Is on a Secret Mission

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

This would be Santa’s third year as a disabled, magical creature. He seemed to be the only one but took some comfort that even the mighty Avengers had taken ... Read more

December 13, 2019December 12, 2019

Stop in the Name of Leukocytes

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I rolled onto the neurology ward of the hospital that has been dealing with my disease from the beginning. The nurses, whom I’ve met innumerable times, opened with their ... Read more

December 6, 2019December 4, 2019

How ‘The Terminator’ Changed John Connor

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

With “The Terminator” involved, it’s fair enough that this tale starts out as a father-son thing. My son, Jack, kept needling me to watch a film on Netflix U.K. ... Read more

November 15, 2019November 13, 2019

This Could Be the Last Time

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Fear grips me. Marijuana relaxes, eases pain, and helps my body work better. It also stirs paranoia, but only when you let it. In bed, a fretful waking dream. ... Read more

November 8, 2019November 7, 2019

MS Really Enjoys Hitting Below the Belt

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I didn’t file a column last week due to medical reasons. It’s a perfect excuse for a patient columnist — we don’t need a dog to blame for eating ... Read more

October 25, 2019October 24, 2019

Pip, Pip, Hooray! Months of Work and Worry Pay Off

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

By 2017, over 50,000 people with disabilities in the U.K. had lost their accessible vehicles due to reassessments required by Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a financial assistance program for ... Read more

October 18, 2019October 16, 2019

This Week, I Feel Like I’m Growing Up Again

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

As I sit down (nothing unusual there — all I do these days is sit down!) and write this, I’m 62 years and one day old. On Saturday morning, ... Read more

October 11, 2019October 10, 2019

I’m a Big Boy Now

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Many of us live with a reality that we’re too embarrassed to talk about, even with medical professionals. Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevents us from pooing properly — no matter ... Read more

October 4, 2019October 2, 2019

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: A Weekend of UTIs

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

For the last few months, urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been the main subject of this column. My current disease-modifying therapy, Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), has had a significant impact on ... Read more

September 27, 2019September 25, 2019

After Hitting Rock Bottom, I’m on My Way Back Up

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I’ve been whinging for months now about struggling on through near-constant urinary tract infections. This week’s joyous occasion was finally having a poo (hurrah), but then not having the ... Read more

September 20, 2019September 18, 2019

I’m an Old Hand at Dealing with MS Mishaps

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

“Events, my dear boy, events.” Because of my own political proclivities, I don’t tend to quote old Conservative prime ministers, unless, of course, it’s Winston Churchill. In his semi-youth, ... Read more

September 13, 2019September 11, 2019

Going Mobile, Part 2: I’m Powering Around the House

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Ah, the sequel. Back in April, I wrote about getting an electric wheelchair and then spending hours working out how to get it going. Six months later, I may ... Read more

September 6, 2019September 4, 2019

Under Pressure

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

There’s always something. The trouble with a mélange of complex medical issues is that one good action often can lead to a bad secondary one. It’s like a game ... Read more

August 30, 2019August 28, 2019

My Disabled Wheelchair

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Things had been going well with my electric wheelchair, but now I found myself out of control, heading toward the TV. I put my one good foot down in ... Read more

August 23, 2019August 21, 2019

Life Is Better with a Local MS Nurse

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I was struck down by sclerosis in 2006 — literally. I was playing tennis and ran to return a drop shot. I never made it, but I did drop ... Read more

August 16, 2019August 14, 2019

Up Peristeen, or How to Beat the Blockade

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

The joys of MS are never-ending. One area that gets disrupted by this disease of the central nervous system is our pelvic regions. That affects bladder, bowel, and sexual ... Read more

August 9, 2019August 7, 2019

An Open Letter to a Newly Diagnosed Patient

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I’ve been a co-moderator on the MS News Today Forums for a couple of months now and recently wrote a reply to a newly diagnosed patient, Jono. He’s only ... Read more

August 2, 2019July 31, 2019

Hell Week: Record Heat Teams Up with a Sneaky Infection

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Last Thursday was the hottest day ever recorded in U.K. history at 101.6 degrees F. Heat sensitivity is enough to reduce me to the puddle I described last week. But ... Read more

July 26, 2019July 24, 2019

Beaten by the Heat: Oh, What a Night!

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It’s 1 p.m. in the U.K., and it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I can hardly move due to the heat. My left hand is typing this. The rest of my body ... Read more

July 19, 2019July 17, 2019

I Survived My ‘Home Alone’ Weekend

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

OK, this was my first test. Accomplish this and Day One should be a breeze. The trick is not to panic. You’ve crossed a continent with your thumb — ... Read more

July 12, 2019July 10, 2019

Eight Days a Week

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It was such a jam-packed week that the flavor was definitely multi-fruit! It included a meet-cute with a barber inspired by Richard Curtis (rom-com writer of “Notting Hill” and ... Read more

June 28, 2019June 26, 2019

A New Drive for Life: Renovations Let Me Come and Go on My Own

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It’s taken over a year to conceive, organize, and plan, but yesterday, I was able to leave the house on my own. I even checked that I had my ... Read more

June 21, 2019June 19, 2019

Nearly Thwarted by a Step

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Even in my able-bodied days, I was hardly Channing Tatum — who is? Model, actor, dancer, singer, and he even has the audacity to be funny. There might not ... Read more

June 14, 2019June 12, 2019

What the Falck Is Going On?

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Stranded. Not on a desert island but in an empty hospital ward. Earlier, it had been filled with fellow MSers getting their Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) infusions. I write “fellow,” but ... Read more

June 7, 2019June 5, 2019

Thank You for Sharing

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

“Thank you for sharing” is a clichéd phrase I never expected to use, or indeed have used toward me! However, it is often bandied at the end of these ... Read more

May 31, 2019May 29, 2019

A Wee Trip — But Not Like in the Past

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

I looked at the road, then west to the horizon. It was the Trans-Canada Highway. I was standing just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. A 23-year-old intending to hitchhike the ... Read more

May 24, 2019May 22, 2019

Years of Laughter: It’s Been a Mammoth 40 Years

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

Last Monday night, I was strangely in the audience at London’s Comedy Store. At a rough calculation, I have directed about 1,500 shows there, have been in the audience ... Read more

May 17, 2019May 16, 2019

Sunday Morning

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It was a sunny Lower East Side of Manhattan Sunday morning. The bulbous New York Times was shoved, just about, under my arm. I drank a coffee in the ... Read more