Do You Have an eBility?

eBility is an Australian site with a wide range of information of interest to those of us in the disabled community.

It links to the Mobility Cup, a regatta for disabled sailors. gives instructions for breaking an egg with the use of one hand, and even links to a database for sharing a pair of shoes between two people with one foot each. There are classifieds for wheelchair-accessible vacations, houses and vehicles for sale.

And near the bottom is a great directory -- disability blogs! I do not know how the blogs are collected, but they are certainly worth looking through. Browse the list and click on any that sound interesting. Don't miss Disability is an art if you want to be inspired. High on Hope is an MSer's online diary written with the use of voice recognition software.

There are many blogs, each one different than the one before it. I was honored to find my humble blog on the list. I spent the afternoon on this directory and plan to go back for more.

technorati tags: , ebility, disabilityblogs

A Message from Dianne

Garry and I were interviewed in October because NMSS liked Garry's story in Face of MS. The idea was an article about caregivers, but we got off track and didn't stay on the caregiver topic. The interviewer said it was for a new newslettter, and he would send a copy when it was finished. We did not receive the piece, so I thought they must have moved on.

Then I received a message from Dianne. She said she loved my motto: If you're going to be sitting down anyway, you might as well be smiling." I wasn't sure it is a motto, but it may as well be.

She told me a bit about her MS experience, and said I made her smile. She uses my words as an affirmation. Wow, thank you, that makes me smile, too.

And Dianne brought up something else -- she is grateful for the online MS community. I read the MS sites and research news, but I really like other MSer's blogs. I am also grateful for the MS online community. It is helpful to read about daily struggles with the disease as well as MSers' lives beyond the disease. I enjoy reading and I find it therapeutic to write -- it's fun and I like it.

Thank you Dianne, for letting me know I touched you. We are not alone.

I looked through the latest edition on Inside MS and still did not see the article.

technorati tags: faceofms, mserblogs, newlydiadnosed, msonlinecommunity

Caregiving

Rudi left a comment asking for help. He cares for his MSer wife Vicky, and is very frustrated, feeling there is nothing he can do to help.

Sometimes when people ask me what they can do to help, I really don't know. Specific instructions don't come easy without specific facts. The best advice I can offer you both is to be patient with each other. Vicky finds comfort in yoga and yoga for caregivers can be equally beneficial.

I have written a post called Be Kind to Your Caretaker and in November Everyday Warriors, giving links to American sources for caregiver support. But Rudi is in Italy.

I found Caregiver Regional Resources International where you complete a short form to find support groups in a selected country, and Italy was on the list. This organization has several tools for the family or professional caregiver, including a newsletter, a magazine, and a discussion forum.

The National MS Society provides sources for caregiver information in America, so maybe the Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla will prove valuable. Vicky's doctor can probably give you suggestions, too.

Good luck, Rudi, and to all caregivers.

technorati tags: ms, multiplesclerosis, downthemspath, caregiver, italy

Chair or Cane?

When watching the TV show House, two questions came up:

1. Which is more disabled in an upright world, a person walking with a cane or a person in a wheelchair?
I talked a little about this on Vicki's Blog and the Internet was crowded with opinions. Let's see. The cane could try the wheelchair for comparison, but the wheeler couldn't try the cane for comparison. Hmmm --

2. This question was implied through dialog when talking about a new person on the hospital staff.
Doc 1: "Is she hot?"
Doc 2: "She's in a wheelchair."
Doc 1: "Doesn't mean she's not hot."
So the second question is Can a wheeler be hot?
The episode didn't carry out that question, so we didn't get an answer from the series' characters, two young and brilliant doctors who are probably considered hot themselves.
Or maybe we should ask Beautyability.
Or maybe we should ask Miss Wheelchair America.
Or maybe we should just look for ourselves. Visit the Faces of MS where there are many hot women and men.

technorati tags: house, cane, wheelchair, wheelchair, disabled, vickisblog, downthespath, faceofms

MS Activist

Bad News: Critical funding for health and research programs is in jeopardy
Good News: The House passed a funding resolution for FY '07 to address the shortfall
Action Needed: Contact your senators to support continued funding

Check details at NMSS.

While we're thinking about money, did you sign the petition to increase funding for MS research? Look on the same NMSS page for details about how you and your friends and family can sign and then where to follow signing progress.

And remember, MS Awareness Week is coming up. Keep an eye out for the new campaign to encourage everyone everywhere to join the movement to create a world free of MS. In the meantime, read some personal stories of MSers and their families and caregivers.

technorati tags: ms, multiplesclerosis, healthcare, msresearchfunding, jointfundingresolution, nmss, msawarenessweek

Ready for Dinner?

The MS Global Dinner Party where people around the world will be raising awareness and funds finds dinners scheduled on or around February 24.

If you planned a dinner in your community center for a $50-a-plate donation -- Wow! And good luck. If you haven't planned such an elaborate event, here's an idea. Invite a few friends and neighbors for a more intimate dinner provided by them.

They can bring a dish or order a delivery, help set the table and clean up afterwards. Maybe just sit around the table munching on cheese and crackers and healthy fruit and play a game. With MS as the theme for the evening, try trivia where you make up the questions. Maybe each guest could bring a question to discuss or an interesting tidbit they learned about MS, or something they were curious about.

After an evening of talking about MS, you will have achieved the goal of increasing awareness of MS. It might be surprising to find out what your friends do not know, or maybe what they do know, and you may learn more yourself. Maybe someone will bring up a topic that makes you want to learn more. Maybe your friends were always curious about something and didn't know how to ask until you opened the forum.

Bon appetite. This is just the beginning. March is National MS Education & Awareness Month.

technorati tags: downthemspath, ms, multiplesclerosis, healthcare, msresearch, msawareness

One Year, and More to Come

It has been a year since I started this blog, Down the MS Path. Well actually, a year and a couple of days. My first post was January 30, 2006.

I started by refering to posts made on my other, more regular, less MS-filled blog, Vicki's Blog. I started this blog to focus on MS-related topics. I have not accomplished all of my goals yet, but I am learning.

I have had almost 2000 hits. To be fair, I have to admit that some of those hits are mine, but to be fair on the other hand, many of them are other people. My NeoWorx map at the bottom of the sidebar shows visits from five continents, although most are from the USA! Double click on the map and the on past visitors to see exactly where the hits originate. It reminds me that MS is not local; rather, MSers are from all over the world.

I have enjoyed writing these posts. In some cases my feelings are clarified, and other times I realize I need to do some more thinking. I have visited some interesting and fun sites and made some Internet friends. I think I like this.