A Prize for Morpurgo

So my seven year old daughter and I had finished our latest bedtime book and I thought I’d nose around the charity shops during my lunch break to see if I could pick anything up for the next evening. Lo and behold, I find a brand-new box-set of three Michael Morpurgo books for next to

RIP Allan Robb

I see the media are reporting that the BBC Radio journalist Allan Robb has died. Allan had MS. I don’t know what type of MS it was and I don’t know how he died. I am assuming that the MS was a contributory factor in his death as the media are implying that his death

Flicking the vees

Happy World MS Day! Not happy as in “Yay! I’ve got a crappy chronic illness that will progressively get worse as I get older,” but “Yay! Let’s crush this disease, so that me and everyone else with MS can lead normal, full, energetic lives. Lives free from  (delete as appropriate) fatigue, pain, cognitive impairment, dodgy eyesight,

Compare and contrast

Compare and contrast the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) World MS Day video from 2009 (positive portrayal of MS) with an Australian MS Society advert from 2007 (negative portrayal of MS) and read on… The first time I saw “Beautiful Day” it brought tears to my eyes (and I absolutely hate U2). I guess because

RIP John Hicklenton

The graphic artist and subject of the documentary “Here’s Johnny!” John Hicklenton died last month in an assisted suicide, taking his MS with him. As evidenced by the film, he would anthropomorphise his illness – he likened it to both a terrorist and being in a bad relationship. It was reported that prior to his

Experience of fatigue

Up to eighty-seven per cent of people with MS, including myself, experience fatigue at some point. It is important to us that people don’t think fatigue is the same as tiredness. It is the most draining experience imaginable and it can happen for no apparent reason. I went to a talk by an occupational therapist the

MS Explained

Just a note to say that the MS Trust (UK) have updated their marvellous booklet MS Explained. This is a little bit more involved than some of the literature out there. While not for everyone, it explains the neurology and immunology aspects of MS very well in layman’s terms. I would heartily recommend this publication

As if by magic, a support network appeared

Two items of fantastic news here in North Derbyshire. Firstly, our wonderful MS nurse has teamed up with the local MS Society branch to organise a series of weekly talks/discussions/lectures titled “Getting to grips with MS” for the newly diagnosed. Topics are to include exercise, benefits, developments in treatments, coming to terms with the diagnosis,

ffffffaaaaaaaatiiiiiiiiiiiiguuuuuuueeeeeeeee…… er.. [ctrl-alt-del] Damn!.. Didn’t work.

I have been reading a recent issue of ms matters (quarterly MS Society magazine). It had invited readers as part of MS Week, what they thought was the most common misconceptions around the disease – usual stuff – wheelchairs; appearing to look well etc. One of the more common misconceptions centred around fatigue, how it

World MS Day