Caregiving

"Hi, I’m Jennifer—mom of four, wife, entrepreneur, and proud MS warrior. My journey with MS began at 11 or 12, but I wasn’t diagnosed until 26, when a doctor finally took my symptoms seriously. That moment changed everything.

The years that followed were tough: migraines, numbness, brain fog, and extreme fatigue made life challenging. Aggressive steroid treatments helped put my MS into remission, but the recovery was grueling. Just before my wedding, I discovered I was unexpectedly pregnant due to medication interactions. Despite the risks, we continued the pregnancy, and my daughter was born perfect. Pregnancy eased my symptoms, allowing my body to heal naturally.

After having four children, I faced a new challenge: a collapsed blood vessel in my femur caused by past steroid treatments, leading to a full hip replacement. At 38, with young kids to care for, the recovery was overwhelming, but the surgery was life-changing. Six weeks later, I was walking pain-free, and six months after that, I was exploring Key West with my toddler on my back!

Now, at 46, I’ve found joy and purpose in running my own travel agency, Portside Destinations. MS still presents challenges—nerve damage, fatigue, and memory issues—but I embrace each moment and focus on living without regrets. My family and I are making memories, traveling, and preparing for the future with gratitude.…

I choose to find happiness and share my story to inspire others to do the same."

~ Jennifer, Mom, Wife, Entrepreneur, @ortsidedestinations

#MyMSStory #MultipleSclerosis #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #newlydiagnosed #Disability #Caregiving

In an episode of Reframed: Next Gen Narratives, Jack has to stand up to his boss (the "giant") who is paying below minimum wage for his work. BTW this is happening to a lot of workers with disabilities, who are paid subminimum wages … legally! Watch the show, and then comment supporting a law to end this practice. (But do it before Jan. 16!) www.respectability.org/act/tciea

#SubminimumWage #TCIEA #Disability #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #MultipleSclerosis #autoimmune #newlydiagnosed #Caregiving

And then, we will all Keep Doing This VITAL, easy, short practice.

One of the many things I learned from the “Resilience Skills” University online course I took that I keep teaching you about here only in this group is that Resilience Needs Mindfulness.

And, 1 of the first things to learn about Mindfulness is how to practice conscious breathing and why.

Mindfulness conscious breathing exercise to practice daily 3 or 4 times—
In/Out: This is the first practice on Conscious Breathing:

breathe in (a good, deep inhale), and say or think “I know that I am breathing in”,
breathe out (a longer, full exhale), and say or think “I know that I am breathing out”

After a while of practicing this, you can shorten the cue words to saying or thinking simply “In” on the Inhale, and “Out” on the Exhale.

“When we continue to practice like this, something wonderful happens—-we stop the thinking.
This is already a miracle happening because when we think too much, we are not truly ourselves. But this way, our mind and our body becomes aligned/in the same place; instead of our body here but our mind is elsewhere— in the past or in the future.

If we practice breathing in and out with some concentration, we attain what is called the oneness of body and mind.
The body and mind are unified and you begin to be there truly yourself.

When you are not really there, you cannot see things clearly and deeply. You miss everything, everything seems to you not clear, vague.”

Running to the future or going back to the past- you miss life, that is only here in the present moment.

Breathing in and out consciously is how to get back to the present moment.

What you are looking for —joy, inner peace, freedom …is all in the present moment.

If you feel agitated and not solid, vulnerable, breakable — then you practice this in order to get solid again:

Practice sitting in a stable position and practice breathing in and out. Saying “breathing in, I see myself as a mountain, breathing out I feel solid.

From time to time, a very strong emotion overwhelms us. That emotion could be anger or despair or fear. And when we are overwhelmed by a strong emotion we feel very vulnerable, like we may die, But we are more than our emotions. We are more solid than we think. And therefore, practicing being solid like a mountain is very helpful.

Source: Thich Nhat Hahn’s The Art of Mindful Living (read by the great man himself on YouTube — I am always so calmed by his voice even.)

#Mindfulness #MentalHealth #Selfcare #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #PTSD #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #Agoraphobia #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #Trauma #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AnorexiaNervosa #Addiction #EatingDisorders #Selfharm #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Grief #Suicide #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #CerebralPalsy #Cancer #MultipleSclerosis #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ADHD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #PanicAttacks #PanicAttack #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyCondition #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends #RareDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #CrohnsDisease #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder #Caregiving #SocialAnxiety

cdn.sanity.io/files/y936aps5/production/538a63e6cb5731aadd0d...

#newlydiagnosed #MultipleSclerosis #mssociety #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #Disability #Caregiving

Connect and learn with others who are new to multiple sclerosis and navigating their own journeys. This program offers info on MS and its symptoms, and advice on how to manage your case. Talk to other attendees, ask questions of a healthcare professional and a volunteer who is living with MS, and share your own experiences.

Also find the New to MS Resource Guide on the same page, with info from the program. Note: This program repeats on the second Thursday of every month.

Sign up at www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/Newly-Diagnosed/New-to-MS

#multiplesclerosis #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #newlydiagnosed #Disability #Caregiving

In 1977, Jimmy Carter made accessibility for the disabled the law of the land by signing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the first major federal disability rights law.

Carter also amplified millions of caregivers' voices and issues through the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers.

#JimmyCarter #rci #Disability #Caregiving #MultipleSclerosis #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #newlydiagnosed

This is about choosing to look forward with hope and curiosity even when the path ahead feels uncertain.

To embrace the future, you must first accept that change is inevitable.

Life is a series of transitions and every ending, no matter how painful, creates space for a new beginning.

It’s easy to focus on what we have lost; to mourn the life we thought we’d have; or the plans that didn’t work out; but by fixating on what’s gone, we miss the opportunities unfolding before us. The beauty of what’s next lies in its potential; it’s the possibility of discovering something you’ve never experienced —- meeting someone who changes your perspective or stepping into a version of yourself you never imagined.

The future is not something to fear; it’s something to be curious about; what lessons are waiting for you; what dreams are yet to be realized; what joy is just around the corner?

Embracing the future requires a shift in mindset. It’s about reframing uncertainty as an adventure rather than a threat; yes, the unknown can be scary, it can make you feel unsteady and vulnerable; but it can also be exhilarating.

The greatest stories in life often come from stepping into the unknown; from daring to take a leap even when you don’t know where you will land.

Think of a time in your life when something unexpected Led to a positive change.

These moments remind us that life often works in ways we don’t understand in the moment, but they lead us to exactly where we need to be.

To embrace the beauty of what’s next, you also need to cultivate trust of yourself, and trust in the process of life.
Trust that you are resilient enough to handle whatever comes your way. Trust that even if things don’t go as planned, they can still turn out beautifully.
And trust that the challenges that you face are shaping you into someone stronger, wiser, and more capable.

It’s important to remember that moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting the past; the past is part of your story; it’s okay to carry it with you; but don’t let it hold you back; use it as a foundation to build upon, not a weight that keeps you anchored in one place.

Embracing the future also means staying open to possibilities— sometimes the beauty of what’s next doesn’t look like what you expected — it may come in the form of an opportunity you didn’t seek, a path you didn’t plan, or a version of happiness you never considered.

Being open means letting go of rigid expectations and allowing life to surprise you.

And finally, embracing the beauty of what’s next is about living fully in the present.

The future isn’t something that exists out there in the distance; it’s something you create moment by moment.
Each decision you make, each step you take, is part of shaping what’s to come.

Here’s to a Happy New Year 🎆🎊 🎉 Together, we will make it Great!

Your friend in this hard thing called life,
Dawn

#MentalHealth #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #Depression #ChronicIllness #Disability #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #EatingDisorders #SocialAnxiety #Agoraphobia #Selfcare #Selfharm #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PTSD #Trauma #Grief #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #Suicide #ChronicPain #Mindfulness #resilience #Fibromyalgia #Migraine #POTS #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ADHD #IfYouFeelHopeless #AutismSpectrumDisorder #CrohnsDisease #Addiction #AnorexiaNervosa #Relationships #Caregiving #FamilyAndFriends

(I still have to remind myself.)

#multiplesclerosis #MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #newlydiagnosed #Disability #Caregiving