PubMed Central is a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), developed and managed by NIH’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the National Library of Medicine (NLM). All of the articles have been peer reviewed and published in professional journals.
PubMed Central exists by Congressional mandate. Any researcher funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health must provide the resulting manuscript to the NIH for publication electronically. Concerned that so many journals were providing free abstracts of research but charging fees for access to full journal articles about research which had been paid for with public funds, the NIH adopted an open access policy.
What does this mean in real terms? It means you can read the full text of 42,807 journal articles related to Multiple Sclerosis.
Here’s the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=PubMed
Tags: medical information, MS research, multiple sclerosis, multiple sclerosis research
The inaugural World MS Day is tomorrow, May 27, 2009. So far more than 8,000 people and organizations from 129 countries have registered at the World MS Day website.
In the future, World MS Day will be held on the last Wednesday in May. This is an important effort and I expect among the results will be increased attention on Multiple Sclerosis. Visit the World MS Day website and see what may be going on locally in your area and around the world! You’ll also find free downloads and information about MS.
Tags: World MS Day
My wife’s local MS Support Group held an MS Awareness event at our local library. The event started with a style show of clothing designed for ease of use. This was followed by a discussion about healthy eating which was led by a local Registered Dietitian. Finally, a young family practice physician (who is also an MS patient) answered questions for the participants. It was an excellent morning and is a fine example of the value of participating in a local support group.
As I recall the conversations I overheard during the event, I noticed common themes. In order of frequency, first was the concern about doctors who do not listen, second was a concern over medications, and third was the common concern about the cost of medical care. With good reason, these three themes seem to be common undercurrents when patients gather.
I’ve said it before: every person I’ve met with MS has been tenacious, determined and tough. They make most of us without MS seem like whiners. While they may be slowed physically, I’ve not met anyone who let their MS symptoms or their experience of Multiple Sclerosis stop them.
It’s sadly ironic to me, then, that the most common complaints I heard were about issues that are out of the patients’ direct control and are related to medical care: doctors who will not listen, medications and side effects, and the cost of care.
Assuming the stories of helpful doctors who made housecalls and treated patients like they were extended family are actually true, the medical professional has taken a left turn somewhere along the way. I know that’s a generalization, but it seems to be the experience of many.
When the practice of medicine as a profession is turning into a business for profit it must become bottom-line focused. The doctor can’t listen because she has too little time, medications are a two-edged sword solving one problem but causing others, and costs are structured so shareholders receive the best returns at patients’ expense. That’s the world we live in.
The Value of an MS Support Group
The issues I overheard the group members share are actually one of the many reasons an MS Support Group is a good thing for patients and caregivers. A good support group is an oasis where one can relax in the presence of others who share their experiences, advice, knowledge and (most importantly) their support.
Caregiver Tip: Become involved in an Multiple Sclerosis Support Group. It may be one of the wisest things you and the person for whom you care do.
During the last weeks my wife’s legs have troubled her. She quit driving a few days ago. Walking is difficult.
I watched her in the kitchen from my chair in the living room as she literally had to think to slowly put one foot in front of the other to walk across the kitchen. (I need to write about how tough and tenacious she and other MS patients I know are in their fight to get things done. I’ve never met an MS patient who was a quitter.)
I told her yesterday that I think we need to visit her neurologist again before this leg problem gets too out of hand. It’s been a couple of years since she’s had an exacerbation so, on the average, it’s time for one. We talked and I mentioned I thought her doctor would prescribe the steroid IV for a few days. She said she dreaded it because of the effects that follow it for two or three weeks.
Easter is upon us so I took my daughters dress shopping today. As time goes by, either I’m getting better at it or they’re growing more patient with me. My youngest walked out of the dressing room in something I thought was too low on top and too high on the bottom. Just as I finished telling her to bend over and touch her toes, a friend walked up and said, “Rick, that is so 70’s. That’s a cute dress.” And that sealed the deal for my daughter. And when we returned home, my wife loved the little dress, too.
Anyway, our shopping done, we were getting in the minivan when my wife called.
“Guess what!” she exclaimed.
“I don’t know. What?” I asked, wondering why she sounded so excited.
“For the last two hours my legs have been fine! I’m walking without my cane!”
Just like that.
So what happened? Was it a random symptom? Is this just momentary relief or will her legs be fine now? Does she need to see the neurologist? I don’t know. I can’t answer any of these questions. I do know she seems more steady this evening and while she couldn’t walk around the block if she had to, I can tell she is walking much better.
This random symptomology is one of the really weird things about Multiple Sclerosis. Unlike symptoms of other things, MS symptoms often seem random. I prefer a more orderly, Newtonian symptomology where symptoms are the consequence of action. Hit your thumb with a hammer and you feel pain. Eat too much spicy food and you experience indigestion. MS isn’t like that.
You may think your pharmaceutical expenses and drug costs are high. They are.
Part of the reason is that drugs are made by corporations that must return value to shareholders. To do this, they must sell drugs. To sell drugs, pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors to promote their drugs. The money paid to doctors is an expense which increases the cost of drugs. That’s the business.
One step beyond the business, though, is corruption. At least one drug company has pleaded guilty for paying doctors to recommend drugs for diseases for which the drug was not approved. And there are new allegations the drug company may have known the drug was not even effective against the diseases for which it was being promoted.
That’s all background.
Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker and the company that created Neurontin, has said it will begin (next year) disclosing all payments of more than $500 it makes to doctors.
According to the MSNBC article, “Pfizer to disclose payments to doctors next year“, Pfizer is doing this “after introduction last month of legislation to require such disclosures, and revelations of astronomical payments to some doctors that were not revealed to universities and hospitals that employed them.” In other words, this is an example of another corporate entity becoming interested in transparency only after regulatory requirements change.
While politicians suggest this is a good move because there is so much public money that passes to drug companies, I believe the real value in this is that it makes transparent the relationship between a doctor and the medications the doctor prescribes.
Here’s what I like about it: suppose a doctor makes a presentation to an MS support group and talks extensively about one of the MS injection therapies and only mentions the others in passing.
Don’t you want to know whether the doctor is focusing on the one medication because he or she finds it really is the best medication and not because he or she is being paid to give a speech? As I wrote in September of 2007 in “MS Medication, Insurance Coverage and 2 Ounces of Gold“, I sure want to know!
Here’s why Pfizer’s decision to report these payments to doctors is important. Pfizer pleaded guilty in a legal settlement related to an accusation it had illegally paid doctors to prescribe Neurontin for uses not approved by the FDA. Pfizer paid penalties of $430 million for paying doctors to prescribe billions of dollars of Neurontin to patients with diseases for which there was no evidence of Neurontin’s effectiveness.
Newsweek has a good article that summarizes the Pfizer/Neurontin legal issues: “Pfizer’s Headache: Lawsuit charges drugmaker was deceptive about Neurontin.”
Pfizer’s behavior offers the clearest example of why transparency in the doctor/pharmaceutical company relationship is important.
Interesting to me is that while Pfizer paid $430 million (about one quarter’s sales of Neurontin), no physician was charged. I think this must be why: Doctors have to be able to trust the information they receive from pharmaceutical companies. Certainly, no physician with integrity would prescribe or promote a drug they did not believe to be effective.
Caregiver Tip: The quickest way to get to the point of this issue with a doctor about a prescription medication is to ask, “Do you receive money from the drug company that makes this medication?” Once that is on the table, you can then talk about whether or not the medication is being prescribed because your doctor really does believe it will be effective.
Tags: FDA, ms medication, neurontin
“Doing Your Best When You Can’t Make It Better” has been the tagline of this blog since I started it. I think the tagline may express too much futility. Maybe I was having a bad day or month when I wrote it.
Today, I’m changing the tagline to something much more positive and more reflective of what the MSCaregiver blog has become: “Tips and Info for Multiple Sclerosis Caregivers”. The content will not change because of the new tagline. Nor will anything else about the blog change. I just realized I’m tired of the “can’t make it better” notion.
In fact, that initial phrase, “doing your best when you can’t make it better,” is the antithesis of what caregivers do. We do make it better. I know my wife is healthier and happier as a consequence of me doing my best to make things better. Her life is better.
New idea! The tagline will be, “Doing Your Best Does Make it Better“. I’ll try that for a while and see how it feels.
Tags: doing your best, multiple sclerosis caregivers, tagline
Read the CBS News report, “Treating MS Symptoms With Stem Cells: Promising Northwestern University Trial Uses Patient’s Own Stem Cells To Treat Symptoms Of Multiple Sclerosis”
Today, the CBS News Early Show presented an interview with Edwin McClure, a young MS patient, who participated in a Northwestern University trail which involved using a patient’s own stem cells and chemotherapy. McClure’s family says he is “cured”. The researchers describe the trial as a treatment of symptoms. Either way, the results presented look very promising. This is definitely a study to keep our eyes on.
Here’s a link to information about the study on the ClinicalTrials.gov website: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00273364
Here’s the Early Show interview:
Tags: chemotherapy, MS cure, stem cells
Researchers Disprove 15-year-old Theory about the Nervous System
(PhysOrg.com) — A delay in traffic may cause a headache, but a delay in the nervous system can cause much more. University of Missouri researchers have uncovered clues identifying which proteins are involved in the development of the nervous system and found that the proteins previously thought to play a significant role, in fact, do not. Understanding how the nervous system develops will give researchers a better understanding of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorders.
Tags: MS research
In the Health section of PhysOrg.com is an article titled, “How to … avoid burnout”
Burnout – a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion — leaves people feeling hopeless about the future. While the focus of the article is on workaholism, the tips from therapists on staying healthy in stressful environments are perfect for caregivers.
For example, one tip is, “Nurture your spirit. Do something just for yourself, whether it’s listening to music, exercising, getting a massage, reading or writing in a journal.” It’s a quick read that may remind you that putting on your own oxygen mask first is important.
Caregiver Tip: Remember to keep yourself in good health, clear minded, and emotionally healthy. You cannot care for others if you do not care for yourself.
One of the first commitments I made to myself after my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis is that I wouldn’t allow it to impact my children in negative ways. That was eight years ago. They were five and eight years old at the time. Fortunately, my wife and I have been able to keep that commitment. My girls aren’t responsible for taking care of their Mom.
That’s not to say they have been untouched. I’ve written before about the positive aspects we’ve discovered through the years. I believe I’ve been much more present for my daughters with transportation and shopping. And I think they are both more compassionate than they otherwise would have had the opportunity to become. Unfortunately, what we’ve been able to do isn’t the case in every family.
It’s difficult for children who find themselves in the role of caregiver. One of the more important studies about the impact of being placed in a caregiving is “Young Caregivers in the U.S.”
“Young Caregivers in the U.S.” presents the results of two studies into the prevalence of children who are caregivers and the impact their roles as caregivers have on them. The studies were conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc. for the National Alliance for Caregivers and the United Hospital Fund.
The studies had three main objectives: to determine the prevalence of caregiving among children in the U.S., to learn what role children have in giving care, and to learn how the caregiving role impacts the life of a child.
It isn’t a surprise that the more intensive a child caregiver’s role is in caring for a parent, the greater the impact is upon their experience of childhood. Perhaps much of what the report describes is best described as a role reversal in which a child is placed into a parental role to care for a parent or grandparent. Family theorists call a child in this situation a “parentified child”.
“Young Caregivers in the U.S.” paints a grim picture. “About six in ten child caregivers help their care receiver with at least one activity of daily living (ADL) (58%). ADLs include bathing, dressing, getting in and out of beds and chairs, using the bathroom or diapers, and feeding. Specifically, 30% of child caregivers help with one ADL, 16% help with two, and 12% help with three or more.”
Some of report’s conclusions: some of the results are mixed. Children engaged in caregiving are not usually doing it alone and are participating in the same educational and social activities as their noncaregiving peers. There are indications, however, that some children are experiencing distress that is manifested in behavioral and school problems and feelings of isolation and sadness. Boys in particular seem to have more difficulties than girls. Children in minority households with lower incomes are under particular stress and report receiving less help in carrying out their tasks.
Suggested solutions are more general in nature and include ideas about creating services to assist child caregivers. The report ends with an extensive bibliography of related resources.
Caregiver Tip: It isn’t possible in every situation because family life is different for each of us and because life is harder for some than for others. However, to the best of your ability, avoid placing children in caregiving roles.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a division of the National Institutes of Health, offers a well-written online paper titled, “Multiple Sclerosis: Hope Through Research“.
It’s Sunday and here’s something I never thought I’d write about in this blog: crop circles, clergy without faith, and an alien invasion.
I watched Signs again last night with my teenage daughter. She had not seen it before. It’s a movie that leaves me wanting to know more about one of the characters. I wish he were my neighbor so we could sit out back, drink coffee and share our understandings. Throughout the movie, Rev. Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson) struggles with faith and his expectations of God and life.
Rev. Hess is a priest who lost faith following the death of his wife. You learn through his flashbacks that before the movie begins, his wife was struck by a vehicle while taking a walk at night. She was pinned against a tree by the vehicle and lived just long enough to talk with her husband who arrived at the scene, very ministerial, in his black suit and white collar.
Signs is about the crisis of an alien invasion which follows the appearance of crop circles around the world. I’ll not pursue that line here, but the story is done well because the focus is on Father Hess, his two children, a young son and younger daughter and Hess’s younger brother who lives with him.
Against the background of the invasion, M. Night Shyamalan develops a story in which the crisis can work well as a metaphor for understanding how a family struggles with the invasiveness of a disease like Multiple Sclerosis. The invasion impacts every family member, they don’t know what to expect, emotions run high and family dynamics swirl as new information arrives (or doesn’t).
Any invasive crisis forces choice of action … do I fight, focus on what’s important, learn to care in new ways or get lost in longing for what was?
This is Hess’s crisis of faith: he once believed in signs. He knows his wife should not have been killed. God is good. Bad things are not supposed to happen. His wife died. He wants to feel that “whatever’s going to happen, there will be someone there to help”. He’s alone on the dark side of the moon without his wife and without his faith.
He explains the crisis in this way to his brother:
“People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I’m sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they’re on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there’s a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they’re looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever’s going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”
He longs for there to be no coincidences, but he can’t shake the thought that maybe he is on his own.
In a scene when his son, Morgan, is dying, Hess yells at God, “Don’t do this to me again. Not again. I hate you. I hate you!”
Hess is an emotionally honest man. But he can’t know yet that the asthma attack is a good thing. It turns out to be “more than coincidence”. (I’ll not spoil the ending for you.)
The crisis is resolved for Hess. He sees the event as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there.
For some, having a family member with Multiple Sclerosis may bring no challenge to their faith. For those who struggle, though, Signs is a good movie. It provides an apt metaphor for thought and offers a story of faith renewed.
As a caregiver, you know your family finances are probably different than those of some of your friends. You have medical expenses most of your friends do not have. Chances are good that your friends’ families are dual income families. Yours is probably not. Caregiving often brings its own unique set of financial burdens.
Helpful information is available if you wish to learn how you might better manage your financial burdens, especially as they are compounded by the current economy.
TAKE CARE! – Self Care for the Family Caregiver is the National Family Caregivers Association’s quarterly newsletter written to provide members of NFCA with information, insight, support and knowledge. It’s a great little newsletter with well-written articles.
In the current issue (Winter 2009), there is extensive information for caregivers about managing family finances in the current economy. And it’s good information. Articles include “The Costs of Caregiving”, “Money-Saving Tips for Family Caregivers”, “Protect Yourself Against Financial Fraud”, and “Tax Tips for Family Caregivers”.
As a member of NFCA, I receive a paper copy of National Family Caregivers Association’s TAKE CARE! newsletter. Mine arrived in yesterday’s mail. I’ve just checked the NFCA web site and this quarter’s newsletter is already available online in the caregiving resource section of the NFCA’s web site.
Caregiver Tip:
If you’ve not yet discovered the National Family Caregivers Association, take a moment to visit their website at www.thefamilycaregiver.com. I think you’ll find it to be a solid source of helpful information.
Tags: family finance, financial burden, medical expenses, mil, NFCA
My wife fell this past week. When she fell, I was in an airplane between Phoenix and Dallas headed for a connecting flight on my way home from the last session of the Faith-based Leadership Institute. She’s strong and independent, but a part of me imagines she wouldn’t have fallen had I been home.
She fell in a parking lot, scratched the tip of her nose and banged up her chin. She scraped both hands catching herself. It wasn’t her worst fall. That one required stitches above her eye and she broke a finger.
Falls are unpredictable. She’ll go months and months without falling, but then it happens.
There are several reasons she and other MS patients fall. In fact, issues with walking are among the most common MS symptoms.
First, many people with MS have difficulty walking or maintaining their sense of balance. This dizziness or “vertigo” is a common MS symptom. Vertigo is often related to slow sensory input, inner ear problems or brainstem damage.
Second, the neurological damage caused by MS impacts the patient’s small and large motor skills. This loss of motor skills called ataxia and it is a well-documented consequence of Multiple Sclerosis. Related to falling, an MS patient who experiences vestibular ataxia will find it difficult to walk normally unless she can visually monitor her walking movements. Literally, vestibular ataxia forces one to “watch how they walk”.
Third, neurological damage experienced by an MS patient can impact “proprioceptive capacity”. (Why do medical words sound so strange? Who makes these things up?) In short, proprioceptive capacity is about the brain knowing where the body is.
Proprioceptors are sensory receptors in your muscles, tendons, joints and in your inner ear. They give your brain information about the motion and position of your body. Of course, they do it by sending messages through nerves to the brain. Nerves impaired by the effects of MS may be unable to transmit the messages as quickly as necessary. The brain doesn’t know quickly enough exactly where all the parts of the body are in relation to the environment.
Another reason MS patients may fall is because of “Drop foot“, it’s the common phrase used to describe an MS patient’s inability to keep the toes of the foot from dropping. This symptom of MS can easily cause one to stumble on flat surfaces or trip when stepping up on a curb.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has information about two devices designed to help patients with foot drop. The link is: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/download.aspx?id=1363
It seems falls are bound to happen, so what does one do about falls?
In areas where falls are more likely, change the environment. Securely install heavy duty grab bars in showers and tubs and beside toilets. Use carpeting to help soften the fall. Avoid creating obstacle courses in your home. Maintain clear pathways. If drop foot is a significant problem, explore the information from the National MS Society about the assistive devices.
I know exercise helps my wife. She has an exercise machine she can sit or stand on and can go as slow or as fast as she wishes.
Here’s what I do to help prevent falls: I act like we’re dating! I hold her hand when we walk. I open doors for her and hold them. I slip my arm under hers if we go up or down steps. I carry things for her without being asked. (I let her carry things when she wishes, too … she can be rather independent!)
Caregiver Tip:
Falls are going to happen. As a caregiver you can adjust the environment, but you cannot prevent every fall … especially if you’re not present. If the MS patient you care for is your wife, treat her like you’re always on a date … it helps prevent falls and it’s good for your relationship!
Tags: dizziness, drop foot, falls, neurological damage, proprioceptive capacity, proprioceptors, vertigo
You may remember a teacher saying “you must use authoritative sources” when writing a research paper for class. What your teacher meant was to use sources written by people with academic or professional credentials.
For example, if you were to write a paper on growing roses, your neighbor with a green thumb and beautiful New Dawns might be a great source of information. However, unless she has a degree in botany or is a Master Gardener, your teacher will not consider her an “authoritative source”.
When researching medical information online you may be overwhelmed with the amount of information available for you to choose among. There are web forums, blogs (like this one, MSCaregiver.com), web portals, industry-related web sites, and online encyclopedias.
Be careful. Pay attention to what authority stands behind the information. A good example is this blog, MSCaregiver.com. I am not an authority on Multiple Sclerosis. I am not a physician or research scientist. I will not write beyond my authority. I am a man married to a woman with Multiple Sclerosis, “doing my best when I can’t make it better”. I write about what works for me and I share it here. Some of it is practical information like “Tips for Traveling and Multiple Sclerosis” and “How Does One Talk with a Doctor?“. Some of it is inspirational, “How Do You Pray?“. Because I am not an authority on Multiple Sclerosis, I will not say, “take drug X and it will relieve your symptom Y”.
Why this discussion about authoritative sources?
It is vitally important that caregivers and patients not base their medical decisions on bad information. Bad information is information that is wrong or incomplete. An example of incomplete information is discussed in a recent article on MSNBC.com titled, “Wikipedia often omits important drug data“. The subtitle is “Study: Entries may not include side effects or risks from mixing medications”. I encourage you to read the article. It’s important.
The article mentions a better source for medication information is Medscape Drug Reference, a free, peer-reviewed web site. The article also mentions using medlineplus.gov for “good quality information that you can feel confident in.”
If you want to learn about joining a support group or what my wife means by “leg hours“, this blog is for you. If you want professional help with an issue more critical to health, that might be risky or is medical in nature, talk with a physician. Use authoritative sources.
Tags: medical information, ms, multiple sclerosis
Neuron gene linked to multiple sclerosis: study from PhysOrg.com
A newly-discovered genetic flaw may lay the nervous system open to assault from the body’s own immune system, leading to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published Sunday. http://www.physorg.com/news145460691.html
It is not unusual for caregivers to find themselves physically wiped out and without energy. MSNBC.com has a helpful article titled, “Moving in slo-mo? 10 ways to pick up your pace“. The ten suggestions in the article are easy to implement and, while they won’t make stress go away or reduce the amount you must get done, they will supply you with energy to fight your physical fatigue.
Tags: caregiver fatigue, fatigue, physical fatigue
MS Means – Multiple Sclerosis, your Canadian source for practical MS information
Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trails on ClinicalTrials.gov – A service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health
We’ve enjoyed a fair amount of family travel this Summer. Most trips were by plane, but the best was a road trip across the South. Now that this Summer of travel is nearly over, I’ll share some tips I’ve picked up along the way about traveling and Multiple Sclerosis.
1. Take your medications and pack them for easy access. For air travel, they must be in their original containers provided by your pharmacist. Don’t be surprised if the TSA uses a machine to test your pills to verify they are what the label says they are. It looked like an odd procedure in which a gloved TSA staff wipes a pill with a swap and inserts the swap with long tweezers into a machine. I can only imagine the TSA must believe one can pack enough explosives in an Aricept pill to take down a plane. That, or there’s concern that dope dealers are transporting illegal drugs in Provigil bottles. For whatever reason it is performed, the pill check process slowed passage just a bit through TSA check points.
2. The Transportation Security Administration TSA offers this information for travelers with disabilities and special needs: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1567.shtm
3. Be prepared for heat. On road trips, take an ice chest with ice and bottled water. Heat exacerbates fatigue. If a fan belt breaks or you have a flat tire, you’ll want a way to keep cool. One of the best methods of cooling quickly is the use of cooling bandanas. For emergencies, we keep a pre-soaked cooling bandana and a freezer pack in a gallon zip-lock freezer bag in the top of the ice chest. It’s ready immediately if needed.
4. Consider using a national chain pharmacy to ease your acquisition of medications in case you forget your meds or require a prescription refill while traveling.
5. If walking is problematic, as soon as you can, visit your airline’s website and use the online interface or call the phone number provided to arrange for a wheelchair or other assistance between connecting flights. You can also request special seating with additional leg room for example.
6. If you use a cane, consider taking a folding cane with you on your travels. It’s much easier to stow when you’re seated.
7. Allow the people with whom you travel to assist you when they offer. You’ve got nothing to prove.
8. I believe the air traffic control folks in some airports must be having a contest to see how far they can make passengers run between connecting flights. If your schedule permits, allow a little extra time between connecting flights so you’re not rushed from one gate to the next.
9. Take advantage of the assistance offered at museums or other sites. The Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta is maintained by the National Park Service. The park service staff will gladly offer you a choice of wheelchairs in exchange for your drivers license.
10. Enjoy your travel. Don’t let anyone talk you out of doing what you want to do or seeing what you want to see. I was happy to follow my wife slowly up and down the small, winding steps to the top of the lighthouse at Marblehead. And she walked down the 8 flights of steps of the Inside CNN tour in Atlanta.
Be careful that you don’t allow the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis to prevent you from traveling when you have opportunity. Accommodations are available to make travel much easier than ever before.
Tags: multiple sclerosis travel, travel with disabilities, TSA medications
