independence

Here in the U.S., today is the last day that someone out there will have all 10 fingers. It’s probably wishful thinking to suggest that it’ll be only one person, but I’m trying to be optimistic. In anticipation of the holiday tomorrow, fireworks sales started picking up about a month…

I stopped driving nearly five years ago. That was probably six months or more after I should have. By that point, I was doing it mainly by using my truck’s cruise control and occasionally having to use my gradually weakening arms to lift my right foot off the accelerator and…

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to relearn how to walk. Learning to walk is a milestone accomplishment. But as you age, life finds ways to knock you down. Injuries, sprains, or broken bones may keep you immobile while you’re waiting for your body to recover.

At the age of 40, I’ve never passed my driving test. I know that’s shocking. Here in the United Kingdom, we must pass two sections to be licensed to drive: a theory test and the practical test. I’ve passed the theory part three times but was never able to pass…

About a month ago, I embarked on what might have been my last-ever solo outing. You can file it away with my other lasts: sitting down and getting off the sofa on my own, walking without mobility aids, doing a controlled Frankenstein’s monster stumble into my bedroom, putting myself to…

My mobility scooter died last week. I can walk 100 feet or so using a pair of canes, but my wheels are usually my legs. So when I turned the key and discovered those “legs” were powerless, I was in a bind. This breakdown couldn’t have happened at a worse…

I must look like I need help all the time. I don’t own a shirt or any other article of clothing that says so, and I don’t think I have a helpless look on my face, either. I smile often, sometimes genuinely and sometimes with my mouth formed in…

The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform BeCare Link has introduced a mobile application to help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients be more active in their care and ensure clinicians have the data to treat them. BeCare MS Link, the platform’s first subspecialty product, is touted as the most comprehensive…

Owen Mumford‘s Aidaptus auto-injector, which lets a wide range of under-the-skin medications to be administered, has won a Red Dot Award in the Product Design 2023 category. Launched in 2021, Aidaptus is a disposable auto-injector whose design fits multiple-sized prefilled glass syringes without changing parts. This could provide…

Have you ever heard of an ABLE savings account? I hadn’t until a couple weeks ago. The acronym stands for the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2014. It created special savings accounts that allow disabled Americans, including people with…

“I thought it would never happen to me.” I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone utter that phrase during my four decades in the news media. Last week, it happened to me. About three years ago, my wife and I bought a condo as a…

My eldest son just started high school, which makes me feel both incredibly old and somewhat proud of myself for surviving this long. People have been telling me the teenage years are the hardest, but I have a leg up since I used to be a high school teacher. The…

Degree Deodorant wants people to have the confidence to persevere in the face of obstacles or self doubt. To that end, the leading antiperspirant company is introducing its Not Done Yet Marathon Team, composed of individuals, including a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient, who did not finish their marathon.

The last few months have been a bit stressful, to say the least, and with the thousand and one worries and distractions I was facing, I couldn’t help but think of the opening lines of a William Wordsworth poem: “The world is too much with us; late and…

For the few of you lot lucky enough not to know about intermittent catheterization, it’s shoving a thin bit of plastic up the old (in my case) urethra so that you can pee. I am well aware of how bad plastic is for the planet, but in my open-and-shut…

Sports was a huge part of Armand Thoinet’s life, and when he was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) one week before his 19th birthday, that life turned upside down. He could no longer engage in activities that mattered greatly to him, such as rugby, tennis, and skiing. “I…

I was tryin’ to find lots of things to do while being trapped at my desk because of a wheelchair mishap. Apologies for my adaption of Bing Crosby’s rendition of that happy-go-lucky song “Busy Doing Nothing.” I was trapped because at 8 p.m. last Friday night, the wire that…

The Accessible Product Design Alliance has released a statement calling for changes in products and packaging design to assure equal accessibility among consumers, including those with disabling disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Composed of 11 nonprofit health consumer organizations in Australia and New Zealand — including MS…

I watch my multiple sclerosis progress. I see it progress in moments of defeat. I think of it when I fall. I curse it when I break or can’t open things. I grieve over it when my body fails me. I watch as my independence slips away like…

Most people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. have health insurance, but many lack important other types of insurance, such as life insurance, short-term disability insurance, and long-term care insurance, according to an online survey of patients. Its findings suggest that MS patients who are likely to be…

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) reaffirmed its support for the work of the National Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) in aiding people with paralysis — either due to multiple sclerosis (MS), accidents, or other disorders — with a five-year grant. Under a collaborative agreement, the PRC — operated…

“Do you need help?” The question came from a 30-something woman after I’d finished loading some cartons into the back of my SUV. I automatically replied, “No thanks, all done.” But lifting and loading isn’t an easy job for me. My upper body strength is good, but my legs are…

“Sorry, the brakes are terrible!” my husband complained, grabbing the wheelchair’s handles as I slowly started rolling down the hill. He jammed his foot in front of the wheel in a desperate attempt to get the chair to stay in place. We recently got away for the weekend to Blackpool…

In an effort to make sure those with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) are included in disability legislation, the United Spinal Association and some 200 advocates recently gathered virtually for this year’s “Roll on Capitol Hill.” The annual event, in which advocates met with lawmakers, gives organization members…

Photo courtesy of Conor Devine Day 19 of 31 This is Conor Devine’s story: I have been living with MS now for more than 15 years, which I would summarize as follows: 2006–2011. The first five years were horrendous. I gave up, felt awful most…

“Ooh, I found some of your artwork in the loft. Did you still want it?” My mum’s beautiful, melodic voice sang through the phone during our regular chat.  “Heck yes! Can I pick it up tomorrow?” I replied. I didn’t know what had happened…

The degree to which people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are conscientious — a personality trait that reflects responsibility, organization, and goal-oriented skills — in their work habits can help to predict their employment status in three years, according to a survey of 70 MS patients. A study based on…

“You look OK to me.” He stood, towering over me, his big belly billowing from his shirt as he straightened up and lifted his chin, glaring down at me over folded arms.  I swallowed. Anxiety rushed through me. What am I going to do? I was desperate…

Novartis has awarded a total of $300,000 to two tech companies, honoring each for work done to improve the mobility and independence of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The top winner of the Novartis Innovation Prize: Assistive Tech for…

Ah, it’s not the blank page that all writers fear that I’m worried about. Those days have long left me. Now it’s applying the discipline to stop! When I first started with a professional writing commission, I sat in the office all day with that fear freezing me. (Those were…