June 13, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Multiple Sclerosis, Comorbidities, and How to Live with Them Iām doing all I can to remain calm and keep stressors at bay all in the name of wellness. So Iām trying to meditate at least five minutes a day ā find a quiet room to sit tall, close my eyes, and focus on my…
February 13, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Intimacy, Marriage, and Chronic Illness Intimacy is defined as close familiarity and/or friendship. It can also describe an act. We have intimate relationships with the people in our lives. Those intimate relationships strengthen us as we travel the arduous path of chronic illness. This week is Valentineās week, so I thought Iād discuss the…
February 8, 2018 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Mercury Rising: Heat and MS My favorite season is fall, which is almost tied with winter, then spring, and finally, summer. I love fall for being the beginning of the holiday season as well as for the change in temperature. Although, since moving to Southern California, it…
February 7, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester 6 ways to help you cope with and accept your MS diagnosis Last updated April 25, 2023 At the intersection of hope and despair is a bench to sit and rest. At least, I hope there is. The bench gives us an opportunity to take a breather from the stresses of the world. Itās a chance to sit and think about which…
December 25, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson My ABCs of Gratitude: Reflections of an MS Warrior (Continued) In last weekās column, I shared what I called my ABCs of gratitude. In the past few days, Iāve had to revisit my list several times. This was a distressing week. Even more perplexing is my inability to determine the exact cause of my anguish. I could not…
December 6, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 6 Tips to Enjoy This Merry Month of December Whenever I turn the pages of my wall calendar to December, I look at the word itself ā DECEMBER ā and my heart fills with joy. And admittedly a little dread. Joy, because my husband and son have birthdays a week apart, itās…
November 8, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Show Your Immune System Some Love This weekend, as I turned back the clocks, searched for my Happy Light, and stared in dismay at the first snowfall of the season, I was reminded that it is the time to give my immune system some extra love. Autumn and winter ā with their requisite cold and…
November 3, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Dealing with Disaster While Dealing with MS Are you ready for a disaster? Wildfires in the wine country of Northern California exploded so quickly that survivors say they didn’t know they were threatened until flames were nearly at their doors. Hurricane Harvey forced more than 9,000 people into Houston’s main evacuation shelter. It…
September 18, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson MS Patients Deserve the Best Care As patients, weĀ deserve the best care for our MSĀ and we should accept nothing less. I have had many years of difficulty trying to find adequate MSĀ care since my diagnosis in 2010. I have gone from neurologist to neurologist, even before I knew my symptoms pointed to MS. My…
August 9, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Mitigating that Pesky Canadian Particulate Matter Last week saw much of the Pacific Northwest blanketed by smoke from wildfires in British Colombia. As I pondered the gray haze Thursday, I recalled a piece from a fellow columnist in June aboutĀ air pollution and MS. In addition to MS, I also have asthma. Therefore, the health…
August 9, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Paying Caregiver’s Dues: Giving as Good as I Get The plastic mustard bottle hurtles toward the kitchen floor. Like a statue I stand, mouth agape, as it somersaults in slow-motion through space. Only seconds before, Iād removed the top of the bottle to scrape one final dollop from it onto the sandwich…
August 8, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias ‘Easy Rider’ Dreams? Say Yes to the Motorcycle Reading some social media posts the other day, I found myself humming a line from a late 1960s Arlo Guthrie song: “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ride on my motor-sickle.” I didn’t think it was possible for someone with MS to ride a “motor-sickle.” It…
July 26, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 31 Lessons I’ve Learned in 31 Years of Living with MS I was diagnosed at a time when no approved medications for MS existed and there was no internet to search for information about the disease. I was in my late 20s, dating the man I’d eventually marry and wondering how this new normal would affect my life. I’ve…
June 28, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 4 Ways to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others How can you care for your MS when a loved one is ill? You want to be able to care for others despite your own daily struggles. As unpredictable as MS is, what is predictable is that your life will be touched by the…
June 20, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD MS and Catheterization, Part 2: Outside the Hospital Catheterization training in the hospital did not prepare me for how to manage on a daily basis. In my last column, I described how I ended up in the hospital unable to urinate at all. In this column, I will cover more details about what I learned along…
May 31, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD It’s World MS Day, a Time to Share Tips and Raise Awareness with the Tag #LifewithMS Today is World MS Day,Ā and people around the world are sharing tips for living with multiple sclerosis (MS) by using the hashtagĀ #LifewithMS on social media. TheĀ MS International FederationĀ started World MS Day in 2009. Events and campaigns take place throughout May to encourage the global MS community to…
December 5, 2016 Columns by Debi Wilson Feeling Motivated, When Your MS Isn’t! Keeping motivated is a daily struggle, and honestly, most days I just don’t feel like moving. I feel better once I do, of course, but the motivation to move and be productive is lacking. Here are a few tips that I find helpful to help keep me motivated and…