January 10, 2020 Columns by John Connor Lo, on the Very First Vegan Christmas 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 about the next one. Luckily, I quite like nut roast.
January 3, 2020 Columns by John Connor Keep Taking the Tablets 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 had tried several times to get the medication…
December 20, 2019 Columns by John Connor Santa Is on a Secret Mission 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 a few casualties. Not a Christian thought for someone…
December 13, 2019 Columns by John Connor Stop in the Name of Leukocytes 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 normal jolly, “How are you?” I can never resist, “Well,…
December 6, 2019 Columns by John Connor How ‘The Terminator’ Changed 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. called “The Game Changers.” My wife had also watched…
November 15, 2019 Columns by John Connor This Could Be the Last Time 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. This is a problem when you actually have something…
November 8, 2019 Columns by John Connor MS Really Enjoys Hitting Below the Belt 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 our homework. The multiple sclerosis dog is more than happy…
October 25, 2019 Columns by John Connor Pip, Pip, Hooray! Months of Work and Worry Pay Off 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 people with disabilities. Motability Scheme is a…
October 18, 2019 Columns by John Connor This Week, I Feel Like I’m Growing Up Again 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, it felt like I still had a few days to…
October 11, 2019 Columns by John Connor I’m a Big Boy Now 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 how much fiber we consume or how much water we…
October 4, 2019 Columns by John Connor Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: A Weekend of UTIs 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 my multiple sclerosis (MS). The only downside is…
September 27, 2019 Columns by John Connor After Hitting Rock Bottom, I’m on My Way Back Up 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 energy to do anything about the result (boo). I’d…
September 20, 2019 Columns by John Connor I’m an Old Hand at Dealing with MS Mishaps “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, he crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party…
September 13, 2019 Columns by John Connor Going Mobile, Part 2: I’m Powering Around the House 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 have cracked the challenge of driving it without putting…
September 6, 2019 Columns by John Connor Under Pressure 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 of consequences that unfortunately not only injures your psyche, but…
August 30, 2019 Columns by John Connor My Disabled Wheelchair 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 a feeble attempt to delay what seemed inevitable. Somehow, the…
August 23, 2019 Columns by John Connor Life Is Better with a Local MS Nurse 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 myself and rupture my right shoulder. It was so severe…
August 16, 2019 Columns by John Connor Up Peristeen, or How to Beat the Blockade 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 function. I’ve written about all of this in previous…
August 9, 2019 Columns by John Connor An Open Letter to a Newly Diagnosed Patient 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 had MS for a month. I found myself…
August 2, 2019 Columns by John Connor Hell Week: Record Heat Teams Up with a Sneaky Infection 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 it doesn’t explain the shaking of my body…
September 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, don’t worry about asking stupid questions