I’ve noticed over the past three years that I choke more frequently. I did a little internet investigating and believe it may be associated with my multiple sclerosis (MS). I was surprised by that, as most of my MS symptoms are in my extremities. I hadn’t thought about…
Coping methods
I’ve been afraid many times during my life, but I’ve almost always managed to get past the fear. One fear I haven’t gotten past comes with being handed a newborn child for the first time. Every birth might as well be twins: One nurse should hand you your child while…
With just four more summers with all my kids still living at home, I’ve been making the most of our time together by throwing everyone in our trailer to visit state and national parks in the U.S. This summer we’re overseas in Europe, experiencing the lesser-known sights only accessible by…
I almost didn’t write this column. It might be a sensitive topic, but I’m not afraid of offending anyone. Even if I do, it’s not intentional. It’s not that I don’t understand the subject, either. I think I do, but I’ve been having a lot of trouble putting it into…
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 the help of another person. I suppose I should really say…
A disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for multiple sclerosis (MS) is a form of treatment that alters how the disease develops over time. DMTs have the potential to impede the progression of MS and decrease the number of relapses a patient experiences. In MS, the immune system is…
Let me paint you a picture of a scenario that has stuck with me for years. It was my sophomore year at the University of Texas at Austin and I was having lunch with my best friend at the time. We were discussing my journey with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis…
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 from the joint area and cleaned it up without having to…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
It took years for Gregory Sonn to receive an MS diagnosis. He first noticed symptoms while traveling in his 20s. (Photo courtesy of Gregory Sonn) Day 31 of 31 This is Gregory Sonn’s story: My name is Gregory and I’m currently living in the unincorporated area of Roseville, near…
Lynne Denise, right, and her dad, Don Collins, attend last year’s MS walk in Edwardsville, Illinois. (Photos courtesy of Lynne Denise) Day 30 of 31 This is Lynne Denise’s story: Hello, multiple sclerosis (MS) warriors! My name is Lynne Brush, and I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting…
Day 29 of 31 This is Mike and Jenn Powell’s story, as a conversation: Jenn and Mike Powell stand with their dog, Skye, in Laguna Beach in November 2023. (Photo by Vicki Shequin) Jenn Powell: My husband, Mike, hates multiple sclerosis (MS). There was a…
Kelly Earley teaches family and consumer sciences at a middle school. (Photos courtesy of Kelly Earley) Day 28 of 31 This is Kelly Earley’s story: I have been living with multiple sclerosis (MS) since I was 17 years old but was only officially diagnosed when I was 24…
Jen Willis treks to the Lobuche high camp in the Everest region in Nepal. (Photos courtesy of Jen Willis) Day 27 of 31 This is Jen Willis’ story: It was June 12, 2008. I was 37 years old and had given birth to my third child just six days…
Kristin Hardy considers herself happy and healthy — absent 22 years with PPMS, of course. (Photos courtesy of Kristin Hardy) Day 22 of 31 This is Kristin Hardy’s story: In 2001, I started experiencing symptoms of what rapidly manifested as primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Like a…
As an active 3-year-old, I spent every minute of recess on the monkey bars. I was hyperfocused on getting to the other side. I’d fall and try again until my hands blistered from the hot metal in the Florida sun, and then repeat this cycle the next day. Grit is…
Cathy Chester has been living with MS symptoms for more than 40 years. (Photos courtesy of Cathy Chester) Day 17 of 31 This is Cathy Chester’s story: My story with multiple sclerosis (MS) started more than 40 years ago when a car accident left me with a concussion,…