For many years after being diagnosed in 1992 with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), Carolyn Cannistraro didn’t want to think about having MS, let alone tell others about her condition. But now Cannistraro is aiming to complete three races across New York City within 60 days using a handcycle. She…
mobility aids
Wandercraft has launched Walk in New York, a new rehabilitation center that offers access to its advanced mobility devices for people with severe walking impairments, including those with multiple sclerosis (MS). The center provides sessions with neurological rehabilitation therapists and walking sessions with its robotic exoskeleton,…
By the time this column is published, I’ll be at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers‘ annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m honored to be attending as a representative of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Multiple Sclerosis Committee. Along with the other committee members, I’ll help spread…
Aside from a few unpleasant moments, I enjoyed my time as a medic in the U.S. military — so much so that when I began to slow down noticeably, I decided to continue in that field by applying to become a physician assistant (PA). I initially wanted to…
Antonio Perez walks with his cane in the summer of 2022, saying his illness wasn’t that bad during that time. (Photos courtesy of Antonio Perez) Day 7 of 31 This is Antonio Perez’s story: Perez enjoys a glass of red wine. Hello, my name is Antonio Perez and…
Multiple Sclerosis News Today is chronicling MS advocate and podcaster Mike Parker’s journey, leading up to a skydiving jump he’ll make Oct. 29 to benefit the MS Society U.K. Learn more about Mike at mikesmsjourney.com. You can also donate to his fundraiser. Third in a…
Neural Sleeve, a bionic piece of clothing by Cionic designed to help with walking and strength, is among the 200 devices on Time magazine’s annual list of best inventions, under its accessibility category. The lightweight, leg-worn device, which combines continuous motion analysis with functional electrical stimulation,…
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…
My wife, Laura, thought it would be fun to take our grandkids, ages 7 and 9, to spend a few hours exploring a giant cave. I wasn’t so sure. Ten minutes into the excursion, I was wondering which one of the adults would be hauled out in an ambulance. This…
I’ve done quite a bit of flying, for business and pleasure, over the 42 years I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s not easy traveling by air with my scooter, and I can’t imagine trying to fly with a 450-pound power wheelchair. Actually, I don’t have to imagine.
Oops! I took a turn too fast in the parking lot of my condo the other morning and tipped to the left. And with that, my mobility scooter and I headed for a fall. Do you know the feeling when something bad is about to happen and there’s nothing…
An agreement with Helius Medical Technologies has made HealthTech Connex (HTC) the exclusive provider, for at least the next five years, of the noninvasive Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) device in the Vancouver area of British Columbia in Canada. The new deal supplants an earlier clinical research and promotions…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. now may order a Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) device online through a new e-commerce site launched by the device’s developer, Helius Medical Technologies. The website, built in partnership with the telehealth company UpScript, marks the first time…
No, it wasn’t my good wife, Jane, suddenly insisting we just had to take a break. Spontaneity is no longer a question for me. We can only go somewhere that has both a hoist and a profiling bed. Never mind a Molift and a shower chair. It’s…
For the second year, the communications and software company Windstream is supporting the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, touted as the world’s largest annual wheelchair sports event exclusively for military veterans. The event is for all U.S. veterans with a spinal cord injury, amputation, multiple sclerosis (MS), or other…
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…
Vidofludimus Calcium Safely Reduced RRMS Brain Lesions Vidofludimus calcium, also called IMU-838, is an oral therapy designed to reduce the activity of B- and T-cells. These are immune cells believed to be responsible for the inflammation that results in MS damage. In this small study, active lesions — including…
A few weeks ago, my cane mutinied. I’ve been using canes for about 20 years — first one, and then a pair. I’m tough on them and put a lot of weight on them. I take them out in the heat, cold, and rain. I force them to rest on…
It’s not easy going for a cruise when a scooter and a couple of canes come along for the trip. I’ve done it with success a number of times in the past, and planning helps a lot. My wife and I just returned from our first first cruise since…
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…
It was a moment of clarity. Unfortunately, my attempt at making a bright, clear consommé has for the moment turned into a muddled chowder! Even worse, it was writing this column that started it. I’ve written so often in this column about using my Molift assistive device for transfers…
As I glance over at the lonesome wheelchair skulking in the shadows of my living room, I recall its arrival like it was yesterday, though it’s been more than four years. My husband, and then carer, had paraded it through the house as if it were a savior, there to…
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…
I wish I could walk a mile in my shoes, but even with a new pair, that’s not going to happen. My MS limits me to about 100 steps while using two canes and a functional electrical stimulation device strapped under my left knee. Because walking is so difficult,…
It’s all happening at once. Yesterday, a box turned up with my new lymphedema wraps, which use compression to help reverse my lymphedema symptoms. I’ve been waiting for the wraps for nearly a month. It turns out I’m such an unusual size that they had to be imported from…
Sativex Eased MS Spasticity as an Add-on Therapy A reader in Belgium told me he has used Sativex for a couple months. He reported no dramatic improvements in his symptoms, but he said the spasticity in his right leg decreased, and he was in a much better mood to…
Many of you will remember doing jankers (detention) in school. Well, those of you who easily identified with “The Breakfast Club” will. If you never did one, let me educate you! A teacher’s favorite devilish ruse was telling us to write about being in an enclosed white space.
“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…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) treatment may delay the need for a wheelchair by seven years in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a study reports. This delay, drawn from clinical trial data on treatment- versus placebo-group patients and supported by real-world findings, likely translates to long-term benefits for PPMS patients,…