Kick-Ass Ireland
Some days I sit still and think about how my life became a dream full-circle. There’s William Butler Yeats, James Joyce and Brendan Behan. Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett and George Bernard Shaw. The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Land of Heart’s Desire and Yeats’s grave. Dubliners, Ulysses and Bloomsday. The mountains, lakes, Dublin, Sligo and the Shannon. Brú na Boinne, Corcaigh, Beara, Daingean Uí Chúis, Zú Bhaile Átha Cliath, craic agus ceol. Brian Ború, Michael Collins, Theobald Wolfe Tone and Daniel O’Connell. Seven hundred years of cruelty, yet still able to endure hard times. Writers, dancers, taps, tin whistles and uilleann pipes. Books, almighty libraries and small bookshops selling secrets. Friendships gained, lost and renewed. New alliances forged in foothills and strengthened on mountain tops. “You, the Irish” becoming “Us…
MRI scans, hope or defeat
A war zone. It seemed like a war zone. Sound effects of an AK47 gun amid MRI vibrations and banging noises usually taking place on construction sites. Tinnitus adding an overlay I can miss like never before. Magnetic resonance imaging is a godsend to ill people. In regards to MS, it gives a clear view of what is physically going wrong inside the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Add some contrast fluid, and you light up like a Christmas tree, just like mine did this morning. Or so I was told. Sudden, loud sounds twitch my head involuntarily. The upstairs part of my body locked in a mask, I now realise how Leo DiCaprio felt when he played The Man in the Iron Mask.
World MS Day 2015
For more on World MS Day 2015, check these links: Twitter – Tweet @WorldMSDay and/or use #strongerthanMS Facebook – World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day Instagram – worldmsday YouTube – World MS Day Pinterest – World MS Day ©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
MS News: April 2015
Research news Miconazole and clobetasol may be effective as multiple sclerosis therapies Drug Derived From Sea Anemone Shows Promise Against Psoriasis, MS Novel Drug From Nature Shows Early Promise ‘Brainbow’ illuminates cellular connections MS Association of America releases 2015 multiple sclerosis research update B Vitamin Promising in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Phenytoin protects against optical damage in multiple sclerosis Could Eczema Cream Be Used for Treating Multiple Sclerosis? URMC Start-up Takes Aim at Memory and Cognitive Problems Controversial stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis Key Cytokine Discovery May Shape Future MS Treatment The UpBeat: One of the ‘super heroes’ encouraged by promising MS research Drugs that activate brain stem cells may reverse multiple sclerosis Novel Mechanism May Prevent Onset of MS in Immune Cells French firm announces multiple sclerosis drug breakthrough…
The difference between ALS and MS
AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS) ALS is a form of motor neuron disease. It involves the loss of the actual motor nerve cells. The nerves affected are in the spinal cord and those that travel to the voluntary muscles, so there are symptoms of both central and peripheral involvement, with weakness and wasting in arms, legs, and mouth/throat (bulbar). ALS is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable – at times disabling – disease of the central nervous system: which consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The disease attacks the protective myelin covering of the central nervous system, causing inflammation and often destroying the myelin in patches. The severity of MS, rate of progression, and specific symptoms cannot be…
Books, Ireland and a few blanks
"To see the real Ireland, the sea, the ocean, the mountains, the patches of green under constantly changing shadows, is to know its people. Despite trying to give Ireland the best of both worlds, it ended up taking up part of me. Lex talionis not applied, I abide by its spirit and ever-welcoming mind."
10 years: a lot to be thankful for
"MS itself? It took my job, but it doesn’t own me. MS doesn’t get praise for having me. No matter how bad MS treats me in the future, I am its CEO instead. I will never lose is the knowledge that I conquer MS every single day of the year. Perhaps not physically, but mentally I am stronger than MS."