June 16, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Air4All hopes to make flying with a wheelchair easier 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.
February 23, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Learning to love ā and accept ā that person in the photograph We had family portraits made a few days ago. With a family of five, this never goes perfectly, so there was a little pre-photo briefing beforehand. There were some veiled threats, a promise of dinner after as a reward for good behavior, and more than a few hissed admonishments to…
August 26, 2022 Columns by John Connor Column Saved by the Same Olā Side Effect to an Antibiotic This headline is a bit of a cheat. OK, itās a big cheat. When youāve been writing a column for five years, thereās immense satisfaction when youāve finished it each week. Thereās even more when itās passed through the editing process. Sometimes this can get somewhat tricky. The trouble is…
July 13, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah Fighting Fire With Fire: The War Between Lemtrada and My MS āSo can you lift me up/ And turn these ashes into flames/ ‘Cause I have overcome/ More than words will ever say.ā ā Kate Voegele My relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) diagnosis stole my life from me. The reverberations of this unwelcome thunderbolt were astounding. Coming to terms with a…
July 12, 2022 News by Mary Chapman Windstream Among Sponsors of US Veterans Wheelchair Games For the second year, the communications and software company Windstream is supporting the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, touted as the worldās 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…
July 7, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister The MS Paradox Results in Many Conflicting Feelings āThanks, I hate it.ā Odd way to begin a column, I know. I suppose Iād better explain myself. That phrase regularly appears in memes and other pop culture media as an expression of dislike for an image or tweet. No one seems to know where or from whom it…
June 24, 2022 Columns by John Connor Fall Down, Can’t Get Up Again So Iām at my multiple sclerosis (MS) exercise class working out on a sit-down bike. Yes, I know, by their very nature bikes tend to be of the sit-down variety, but for us lot in wheelchairs, these bikes are designed so we can roll up to them and have…
June 15, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister I No Longer Feel Guilty for Sharing Good News I’m heading to the beach with my family soon. Not a resort, or any sort of popular, touristy destination. Far from it, in fact. We like to go to the old family beach house on Floridaās Forgotten Coast, where I went as a child and now want my…
May 27, 2022 Columns by John Connor How I Get Through My Days ā More Importantly, Please Tell Me How You Get Through Yours Todayās youth have to accumulate a range of skills. Everything changes so fast. Parents often have no idea what career their kids even want to follow. Do you know what a UX designer is? Me, neither. This latest social change was revealed to me in a recent Guardian article,…
May 20, 2022 Columns by John Connor Get Stirring ā You Never Know What Kind of Soup Youāll Make In my cooking days, I always had a stock simmering away. Nothing was wasted. What had been frugality spurred on by self-imposed poverty ā first as a student, then in the struggling life of a garret writer ā later became the general political point of not wasting resources. It hurts…
April 22, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Tricks of Intermittent Catheterization When Youāre in a Wheelchair For the few of you lot lucky enough not to know about intermittent catheterization, itās 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…
April 8, 2022 Columns by John Connor ‘Top Gear’: Unfortunately, Iām a Backward-leaning Jeremy Clarkson Before anyone in the U.S. asks who this Jeremy Clarkson fella is, know that petrol heads in your country know exactly who he is. Indeed, the Brit motoring show “Top Gear,” at its height a few years ago, made him and his fellow presenters stars the world over. It…
December 15, 2021 Columns by Beth Ullah Learning to Embrace My ‘Hot Wheels’ 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…
December 1, 2021 Columns by Beth Ullah I’m Climbing the Hills of Adversity, Just Not in Heels āShoes are the quickest way for women to achieve instant metamorphosis.ā ā Manolo Blahnik As the holidays approach, I’m reminded to be thankful for what I have. I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at 26 years old, and when I became paralyzed, I thought I’d never…
September 17, 2021 Columns by John Connor What Did I Do Over My MS Holiday? Stand-up! So, yes, Iāve been away for four weeks. Anybody miss me? Well not away as such. There are places with hoists ā even a specialist camper van you can hire here in the United Kingdom ā but matching that with a profiling bed makes for quite the elusive Venn…
June 22, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace My Experience Using a Wheelchair to Enjoy a Day at the Theme Park āSorry, 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…
May 13, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Confessions of an MS Ableist: Change Begins With Me Life is composed of little awakenings. These epiphanies broaden our horizons. Each invites us to become better versions of ourselves. And while not always welcome, most are necessary for growth. I recently flew across the country to the corporate office of BioNews, the company I work for that…
March 19, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Ocrevus May Delay by 7 Years PPMS Patients’ Need for Wheelchair Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) treatment may delay the need for a wheelchair by seven years in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosisĀ (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,…
September 17, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Masitinib Delays Disability Progression in PPMS, Non-active SPMS AB Scienceās lead candidate masitinibĀ safely and effectively delays disability progression in people withĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosisĀ (PPMS) and non-activeĀ secondary progressive MSĀ (SPMS), according to top-line data from a clinical trial. The therapy was found to significantly lower the risk of first and confirmed (three-month) disability progression, and to reduce…
September 14, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Long DMT Exposure May Delay Disability Progression, Wheelchair Use Longer exposure to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may delay disability progression and the time until people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) require the aid of a wheelchair, an Italian registry-based study found. The study also suggests that starting treatment with DMTs ā medications that reduce the activity of…
September 19, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Ocrevus Living Up to ‘Game-changing’ Moniker, Genentech’s Hideki Garren Says in Interview Two years after the approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the latest data continue to support the benefits of the so-called “game-changing” therapy in multiple sclerosis (MS), while new insights highlight its neuronal protective effects and safety. Multiple Sclerosis News Today had the opportunity to speak with Hideki Garren,…
September 17, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Early Ocrevus Use Slows Disability in PPMS, Including Risk of Wheelchair Reliance Early and continuous treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) leads to a greater and more durable slowing of disability progression ā seen for up to 6.5 years ā in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), according to long-term data on its use in PPMS patients in a Phase 3…
September 16, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Mayzent Reduces Risk of SPMS Patients Becoming Wheelchair Bound, Data Show Mayzent (siponimod) reduces the risk of people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) becoming dependent on a wheelchair, a new analysis of the EXPAND study shows. These findings further corroborate prior trial data demonstrating that Mayzent use delays disability progression and cognitive decline in SPMS patients. The results…
June 21, 2019 Columns by John Connor Nearly Thwarted by a Step Even in my able-bodied days, I was hardly Channing Tatum ā who is? Model, actor, dancer, singer, and he even has the audacity to be funny. There might not be any real comic book heroes in the world, but he is possibly the closest to an X-Man we’ve got.
June 14, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Tony Awards ‘Cain’t Say No’ to Ali Stroker Rather than hiding from the storm, it’s better to learn to dance in the rain, as I like to say. Ali Stroker, who plays Ado Annie in the Broadway revival of the musical “Oklahoma,” has learned to dance in a wheelchair. She was recognized this week at the Tony…
April 1, 2019 Columns by Debi Wilson My Reluctant Journey Toward Using Mobility Devices When I was younger, I assumed that I wouldn’t require a mobility device until much later in my life. I wasn’t prepared for needing to use a cane or a walker in my 50s. My 2010 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis rearranged my life in many ways. And having…
February 15, 2019 Columns by John Connor Stuck in Delivery Limbo Land Take a minute … and relax. It’s been a fraught few weeks of numerous solo hospital visits, as my wife was first dealing with a dying fatherĀ and then helping to organize his funeral, estate, and her own turbulent emotions. Her mum had died only four months ago.
January 14, 2019 News by Larry Luxner Provocative Film Explores Love and Sexuality Among the Disabled Dozens of films have focused on those with diseases or disabilities ā and thereās no shortage of Hollywood productions about love and sex. But only a handful have ever really tried to combine these two themes. āTake a Look at This Heartā does the job with tenderness and finesse.
January 9, 2019 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Five Finalists Vie for $1 Million Prize in Mobility Unlimited Challenge Five finalists remain in the running for the $1 million prize being offered in the Mobility Unlimited Challenge, a global competitionĀ to promote the development of innovative solutions for personal mobility devices. A panel of expert judges selected the finalists from among 80 applications submitted by teams from 28 countries.
June 8, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Mobility Devices for People Who Have Lower-Limb Paralysis are Flawed, Online Survey Reveals More investment and new technological developments are needed to assist people who have limited mobility because of lower-limb paralysis. That was the major conclusion of an international study undertaken by ComRes on behalf of the Toyota Mobility Foundation. Around the world, millions of people have lower-limb paralysis. In…