MS & Me

'But the one thing that never fails to help with my anxiety is ‘my dog’ Pete. He has been there when I was first diagnosed with anxiety, then MS and then depression. He seems to know when I need him'. Katie St Lawrence

'I don’t want this blog to end up in a massive rant where I bring you down with my woes, so bear with me as I try to make this as painless as possible. So what gets me about MS… To be honest it is a long unending list so let’s just stick to the highlights!' Grace Kavanagh

Just like the Irish healthcare system, multiple sclerosis is multi-layered. The most usual cases are public or private healthcare and every so often, the topic universal health care shows up. In MS, there are different types with relapsing/remitting MS the most common at the time of diagnosis, while sometimes a renaming of the types occurs. And, while governments continuously argue about money, people with MS deal with what literally goes on between their ears 24/7.

"Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life." — Bill Cunningham

I stood in line at the dressing room grimacing. The pain shot through my arms as they threatened to give way. It was my first attempt at solo shopping in years and I was struggling with a handful of items.

Science is the study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Why is science so important in modern life?

Everything that surrounds us is linked to some form of scientific formula or equation. The technology we use has been developed through science, our modes of transport, medicines, the climate we live in, and even the food we eat all relate back to a method of science.

MS was introduced to my family in 2005 with my mother’s diagnosis. Little did we think that we would be re-introduced 10 years later to Version 2.0. MS in not a member of my family, if you would excuse the analogy, I’m the lead of my own reality show.

It’s ironic really that I sit here writing a blog on MS and exercise in the baggiest tracksuit I could find after a month of Christmas, New Year’s and engagement celebrations.

It’s hard for us to believe, but the MS & Me blog has entered it’s seventh year in existence.  As we look forward to the New Year and some interesting takes on topics, we also acknowledge to a few of our cadre of talented writers who are off to attend to other aspects of their life.

It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by, and that we’re going into 2020 in a couple of weeks. I have a sneaky suspicion that I am beginning to show my age when I say things like that. The last 12 months seem to have flown by, with a lot of things going on in my home and work life, as well as in the world of MS.

This week Joan Jordan reflects on Christmas and why she has decided to spend this festive period with her family away from home.