Sharing the Experiences of Others During MS Awareness Month

It’s nearly the end of MS Awareness Month. 

Previously, I spoke about helping out with the 31 Days of MS initiative by MS News Today and its parent company, Bionews, to help raise awareness of MS. As the month unfolded, it brought with it inspiration every single day.

Being part of it has been so special, and the people involved are extraordinary.

My role was to find inspiring MSers to share their stories, experiences, and life lessons with the rest of the community. When you’ve run a podcast crammed with inspirational people, it became pretty easy to find stories. 

If you’ve been following along, you may wonder why many more women than men took part. The reason for this is simply because of the ratio of diagnosed people. According to the MS Trust, MS is “nearly three times more common in women than men.” 

Immediately, I scrambled to make a spreadsheet to keep track of everyone involved, and wrote down what we had received from them and what we still needed, so that all team members could see our progress. It finally felt like I was putting my organizational skills to good use!

Next was assigning each person to write up to 400 words on any topic they felt passionate about. Being flexible with the topic allowed us to receive varied and interesting stories, some of which we never could have predicted.

Topics ranged from MS life lessons, marathon running, comedians, stem cell transplant, pole-dancing, starting a support group, diet, fitness, sex, and intimacy. It’s been great to read through all of these stories, and I feel I’ve learned so much. 

What’s better, stories came from all over the world, from people of various ages, different backgrounds, and diverse interests. We wanted to represent everyone. 

The people involved included bloggers, podcasters, TV news anchors, doctors, advocates, and more. I met many of them through awareness events and podcasting. 

Some of my favorite stories included those of Hayley Crowther, who opened up about her pole-dancing journey, Cheryl Hile, who ran more than 50 marathons, and Colin Hirst, who reminded us that we know more about our bodies than anyone else. 

On Wednesday, March 31, join us live at 10:30 a.m. CDT on Instagram to discuss how we put together the 31 days project, how I found these MS heroes, and what I learned during the process. 

 If you’d like to share your story in the future, please email me at [email protected]. 

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Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Multiple Sclerosis News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis.