July 18, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister When living with MS, don’t let your hope turn toxic Like so many others, I have a bedtime routine. There’s bedside water to fill, sleep attire to change into, and bedtime stories to read. These days I’m not much more than a bystander, as nearly everything I do requires…
July 11, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Why I use a speech therapist to help me with swallowing problems I’ve been betrayed by my breakfast cereal. Other than eating it, I’m not sure what I did to deserve this. I always liked cereal and thought we had a good relationship. The only disagreement we’ve had was when I…
July 4, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Will you join the revolution against multiple sclerosis? I was once very good at getting out of the way. This skill served me well in dodgeball games when I was younger, and then later during my military career. Given my various injuries, you might be skeptical about…
June 27, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister MS complicates everything, even recovering from shoulder surgery I had surgery on my right shoulder last month. I didn’t write about it at the time because compared with a shoulder replacement, the quick arthroscopic clean-out procedure wasn’t a big deal. The orthopedic surgeon removed some loose material…
June 20, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Our approaches to managing MS may be different, and that’s OK 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…
June 13, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Rowing toward the future, but directed by the past 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…
June 6, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Obsessing over MS can sometimes distract from other health concerns 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…
May 30, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister A tactical crossbody bag helps me stay involved in life with MS 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…
May 23, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How Army terms help orient me, even today 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…
May 16, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister If our MS lives were like Hollywood, what makes a movie a classic? 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…
May 9, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Everyone with MS uses their own ‘recipes’ to cope with symptoms 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…
May 2, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister There’s comfort in putting a name to a multiple sclerosis symptom 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…
April 25, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Finding safety while living with the constant threat of MS progression 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…
April 18, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Learning how to write a ‘SOAP’ note feels different after an MS diagnosis 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…
April 4, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Why the difference between empathy and sympathy matters 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…
March 28, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis awareness is for people with MS, too The Cambridge Dictionary defines awareness as “knowledge that something exists, or understanding of a situation or subject at the present time based on information or experience.” That definition perfectly matches the stages of my personal awareness of…
March 21, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister I’m a disabled veteran, but sometimes it’s hard to explain I have not been kind to my body over the years. I was very active in my old life, although I was a little clumsy even before multiple sclerosis (MS) started affecting my balance. Active and clumsy aren’t…
March 14, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister When you have multiple sclerosis, let assistive devices assist you Aside from a few unpleasant moments, I enjoyed my time as a medic in the U.S. military — so much so that when I began to slow down noticeably, I decided to continue in that field by applying…
March 7, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister What do the principles of patrolling have to do with multiple sclerosis? The U.S. military loves abbreviations and acronyms. So many of these are learned during a soldier’s first year that, to civilians, a conversation between service members might sound like a foreign language. It can be amusing, but the intention…
July 25, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Disability pride is a tricky concept for me to relate to
July 22, 2024 Columns by Desiree Lama Reflecting on my weekly battle with multiple sclerosis-related migraines