Six weeks ago my mom read a post I wrote and wondered (publicly in my comments section I might add) why I don’t share with her the shittier parts of having MS? It was a fair question that got me wondering. Maybe I’m too secretive? Maybe I’m too sensitive? Maybe I’m just an asshole? So I decided to take…
Tag: multiple sclerosis
Cognitive Load
When you have a condition that affects mobility, traveling anywhere involves planning, research and in some cases stress-induced, ingenuity. Normally when I attend a Politics and Prose book reading it’s held at Sixth and I. This historic DC venue is one I’ve scoped out, mastered and feel comfortable navigating either via car or public transportation….
How You Move Is…
I absolutely love this commercial. It’s a catchy, high-energy advertisement for Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS). The song takes residence in my head as I enjoy the fun, fresh moves of the actors as well as the expressions on their faces as they move. Motion allows them to show joy, excitement, confidence, curiosity, and even aggression…
Coming Back To The Mat
I was a few months from finishing yoga teacher training when I received my MS diagnosis. Considering how many people swear that yoga healed their MS you would think being a teacher would be an advantage. It would if I were a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, take-life-one-day-at-a-time, obstacles-are-nothing-more-than-opportunities, no-matter-what-my-body-is-my-temple, type of gal. It would if being in my…
Learning To Walk Part 2
This is post 3 of a multi-post series about my DBS Journey. Make sure to catch Part 1 and Part 2 as well. Forty-seven years ago when I was mastering the art of walking I was cute, daring and most importantly, closer to the ground. (And lots of Italians with big hands were there to pick me…
Learning How To Walk Again With My Dynamic Bracing Solution (DBS)
In January 2017 I received my DBS. Pre-Brace Information: I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in September of 2009. With the exception of weakness on extremely hot days, I had no symptoms or issues until the spring of 2012. For the next two years my left sided weakness was minimal and something I could hide…
2017: Cautious Optimism Or Reckless Certainty?
A few months ago I was frustrated by my continued gait dysfunction. No matter which medications I’ve taken (Copaxone, Tysabri, Ampyra, Low Dose Naltrexone), therapies I’ve attempted (yoga, Feldenkrais, Anat Baniel Method, physical therapy, myofascial release, basic calisthenics), or medical equipment I’ve purchased (AFOs, foot drop braces, canes), my walking was going to shit. I’d…
Failing to Solve the Problem in Front of Me
What do mean girls, martians and babies have in common? The all solve their problems one at a time. Cady Heron understood this: Babies do it all day long as they slowly map out their newly acquired brains: And in The Martian, Andy Weir taught us that “you solve one problem, then you solve another problem, and…
