Caregiving

Fatigue, pain, and other unpredictable, invisible symptoms shape every decision of daily life.

For me, muscle spasticity means muscle tightness throughout my body 24/7, causing fatigue and spasms. A lot of our (my wife and I) lives, routine and re$ource$ go toward controlling this one symptom — which is completely invisible from the outside and impossible to even measure.

During MS Awareness Week, I’m joining the @National MS Society in revealing the unseen realities of living with MS.

Understanding and support matter. See the disease for what it is and learn how you can bring us closer to ending MS together:

www.nationalmssociety.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/rais...

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

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

“He picks up on my MS symptoms even before I do," Smith says. He is a 44-year-old resident of Florida, diagnosed in 2011. Colt is his trusty service dog.

“He gets me up in the morning when the fatigue just completely racks me.” Smith grips Colt’s harness when going up and down stairs, using him as both a guide and an anchor. “Colt stays glued to my side when I’m walking and makes me feel more stable."

Read more about the power of supportive pets, and how to get a service animal, at this Momentum article from the MS Society.

www.nationalmssociety.org/news-and-magazine/momentum-magazin...

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

"Hence all the time I spend on and in bed, snuggled up against my heating pad."

"I don’t have patience for bullshit any more, for things that are meaningless or merely 'extra,'" Applegate writes in "You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir," just published. She was diagnosed in 2021. "I’ve become an honesty missile. When your physical situation deteriorates, and your life shrinks to the size of a king-sized bed, suddenly all the things you thought were important shift, too."

These excerpts in the Guardian had me nodding my head: Christina Applegate on life with multiple sclerosis: ‘I won’...

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

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

For our new members. When you need it, support is all around you.

Go to nationalmssociety.org/understanding-ms/newly-diagnosed

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

When I was dxed in my early-20s I was clueless and dumbfounded about all the things happening to me, and most of my doctors then were no help. I had years of difficult learning ahead, but this week's Ask an MS Expert can give you shortcuts to becoming an empowered patient in a productive medical partnership with your health care pros.

The program is on 2/26/26 at 12-12:30 p.m. ET. It originally aired 1/11/24.

www.nationalmssociety.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/cale...

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

#newlydiagnosed #MultipleSclerosis #ChronicIllness #autoimmune #themig hty #Caregiving #Disability

Learn valuable ways to bridge language & cultural barriers. Strengthen communications between you and doctors. Make the most informed decision, by making the best TEAM together = you + your providers. With neurologist Dr. Luis G. Manrique-Trujillo. Program originally aired 3/21/24.

www.nationalmssociety.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/cale...

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