July 19, 2022 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson ‘To Everything There Is a Season’: Coping With Grief, Loss, and MS Hello, all. It’s been almost a year since Iāve written a column, and I missed connecting with you. I’ve been processing the grief of losing my mother in September 2020, withstanding the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis and chronic pain, and valiantly attempting to find the message…
June 17, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Just Because Itās Broken Doesnāt Mean It Isnāt Beautiful I recently did a little research to write an article reflecting on a photograph of the Library of Celsus. This marvelous piece of architecture was commissioned by a Roman consul named Gaius Julius Aquila as a funerary monument for his father. It was once home to…
December 17, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes Feeling Overwhelmed? Wander Under the Stars If you read my last column, you know that my Thanksgiving was eventful, to say the least. Well, it looks like Christmas is shaping up to be another banger. My father-in-law is back in the hospital, still trying to kick the infections that have knocked him flat recently. We…
November 4, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell When Loss Is Expected, How Do We Cope? It is hard to watch the decline in real time. It happens before my very eyes. Like “Groundhog Day,” I wake, I try, and I do. I persevere because that is who I am. I push past the chaos in my body. I don’t see every new pain as…
April 23, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes To Love Living Things, and to Let Them Go In her poem āIn Blackwater Woods,ā Mary Oliver concludes with 10 breathtaking lines: āTo live in this world/ you must be able/ to do three things:/ to love what is mortal;/ to hold it/ against your bones knowing/ your own life depends on it;/ and, when the time comes…
December 17, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Grieving Loss in a Year of Change and MS Dealing with bundled change,Ā loss, and multiple sclerosis (MS) has turned out to be more of a challenge than I could have Ā imagined, and I have not been very good at it. Coming to terms with the loss of a loved one is overwhelming on its…
April 12, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Living in the Solution: My Life with Progressive MS Today is Walk MS, and for the first time since my diagnosis, I am not there. While I am not one to feel sorry for myself, this stings. I miss being among the sea of impassioned orange warriors. I miss the tears that fall as cheers accompany me through…
January 23, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Look to the Hills: Words of Encouragement from a Cancer Survivor to an MS Warrior We endured another devastating loss this week. My beloved sister-in-law, a cancer survivor whom I affectionately called sister, passed away. Although we knew her disease was terminal, she passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. Death is never easy, and no matter how much we try, we cannot entirely prepare…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Grieving the Loss of a Loved One One year ago, I wrote “Grief, Self-preservation and Multiple Sclerosis.” My…
November 21, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Still, I Am Grateful and Giving Thanks I canāt believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Time truly passes quickly. The holidays are bittersweet for me; I experience both joy and unrest. I believe there are others who can relate. The holiday season can be stressful and I always try to pace myself. In…
August 8, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Lessons Learned from Loss: A Tribute Why me? Why us? What have I done? How much loss can I endure? Weāve all been here. This was one of my weeks. The unexpected death of my nephew hurled me into this episodic gloom. I asked āWhat else is going to happen? Is life trying to…
May 8, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Losing Our Independence Due to Multiple Sclerosis Losing our independence due to multiple sclerosis is a profound loss. With that loss comes the grieving process and inevitable change. On Grief.com in “A Message from David Kessler,” he discusses the fiveĀ stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I have experienced all of these…