World MS Day

For those who may not know, my sister is living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Without getting too technical, MS is a neurological disorder which affects the ability for the nerves in the brain to communicate with the spinal cord and optic nerves. It is caused by one’s own immune system attacks the myelin in the brain. Once the myelin is damaged, it can no longer carry the electrical signals from the brain down to the spinal cord and optic nerves.

My sister was diagnosed about 10 years ago after a visit to her eye doctor where she complained that she was having a lot of “floaters” in her vision. He referred her to an MS specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who ran tests and confirmed that she had MS. In addition to the vision issues, my sister also has balance & coordination issues, dizziness, weakness in her limbs, and chronic pain & fatigue as a result of the MS. Given she was recently widowed and is trying to raise two children, you can well imagine how those symptoms could affect one’s life.

In the past, it has also been extremely difficult for her to get medical insurance due to the extremely high cost of treatment medications. I’m hopeful that will get easier now that health care reform has passed which includes the pre-existing condition clause.

In addition to being very expensive, some of the medications are also very hard on the body. (The medication a patient receives varies based upon which variation of MS with which the patient has been diagnosed – relapsing or progressive.) My sister takes interferon injections which were successfully keeping her symptoms at bay in the early years after her diagnosis. Unfortunately, interferon is VERY hard on the liver of patients taking it. She eventually began having elevated liver panels and was forced to make the decision of continuing her current dosage and possibly facing a liver transplant in the future, or reducing her dosage which could mean more symptoms, but potentially saving her liver. She opted for the latter and has subsequently had to deal with being more symptomatic.

Why am I bringing all this up now you may be asking? Well, that’s because today, May 26, is World MS Day. More than two million people across the world, and more than 400,000 in the United States, are living with MS. Join with 100 MS organizations around the globe for the 2nd Annual World MS Day to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis. If you can, please wear orange today either in an article of clothing, an orange ribbon, an awareness bracelet, etc. to show your support for MS awareness.

If you also want to help in a more tangible way, my friend Nick will be riding 150 miles in the West Michigan Bike MS Ride in a couple of weeks. By donating some money toward his fundraising efforts, you will not only be showing your support for World MS Day, but will also be helping raise money to find a cure. Nick has been doing this event for several years, and I’m so very appreciative of that fact since this disease has touched my life personally. Here’s a photo of Nick and his two training/ride partners taken during the 2007 Bike MS Tour:

Thanks, Nick! Until next time …