MS Maze

Imagine the desperation felt by people living with chronic, severe pain or discomfort — with no relief in sight. The list of symptoms brought on by multiple sclerosis is lengthy, and for people with progressive forms of MS, quality of life becomes an intensely personal issue. Until we walk in those shoes, our ability to truly empathize is limited.

The medical marijuana issue is all very cut and dry if you believe that marijuana is nothing more than a dangerous and illegal street drug. But the testimonials by the chronically ill give one pause. Quality of life and end of life issues take on a whole new meaning when it’s your life rather than a hypothetical exercise.

Is marijuana a miracle or a menace? The answer may be in the eye of the beholder.

Read this post in its entirety:

Marijuana for MS: Miracle or Menace?

Defense of Marriage Act. Even as a heterosexual married woman, I am offended by the phrase.

The name itself is disrespectful and suggests that homosexual unions cause harm to heterosexual marriage… that people like me have a need to defend our marriages against outside forces — other couples — and I must confess that I just don’t get that.

Respect for Marriage Act. Now that has a much nicer ring to it.

You don’t have to approve of my marriage and I need not approve yours, but we should all have the same rights under the law. It’s been my experience that many heterosexuals feel the same way… we just haven’t been very vocal about it. So comfortable and secure are we in our marital rights that we give little thought to those who only wish for that same comfort and security. Shame on us.

Respect is a two way street.

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/829079

Read this post in its entirety and answer the poll — Do you support the Respect for Marriage Act?: R-E-S-P-E-C-T my marriage

As an animal lover and pet owner, I can’t fault Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) for trying to whip up support for the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act, H.R. 3501.

The bill would provide a $3,500 annual tax deduction to pet owners to pay for their pets’ medical care. Taking care of the animals in our charge is a good thing. That said, I can certainly find fault with his priorities and his timing.

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/911229

Read this post in its entirety:

GOP Health Plan is For the Dogs

As many as 5 million Americans already have it, and every 70 seconds someone else will develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease a degenerative brain disorder that affects memory and cognitive functioning, robbing its victims of the ability to care for themselves. Imagine looking into the mirror and not recognizing yourself. Alzheimer’s disease steals memories, the precious bits and pieces that make up our lives. It is a disease that is equally as horrifying to those who must bear witness.

There is no cure yet, but treatments for symptoms, combined with the right services and support, can make life better for millions of Americans.

Read this post in its entirety:

Memories Lost… Please Help

More than a million people in the United States have multiple sclerosis… or is it half a million… or a quarter of a million… but then again, who’s counting?

How many people in the United States have multiple sclerosis… why don’t we know, and does it matter?

We don’t know the exact numbers because MS is not tracked by the Centers for Disease Control or any other federal agency. In fact, there is no coordinated effort at all to track the incidence of MS in the United States. The last national study of MS rates took place in 1975, and much has changed since then.

But the numbers matter… Read this post in its entirety:

Multiple Sclerosis by the Numbers… but Who’s Counting?

There’s no question about it — too much sugar is a major factor in the epidemic of obesity and a host of chronic health problems, and poor nutrition is responsible for a large share of our escalating health care costs.

Americans are currently taking in an average of 22 teaspoons of sugar per day — obviously too much, but soft drinks are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dietary horrors. It’s a sticky, slippery slope. Personal responsibility has to kick in at some point.

Would you support a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages? There’s bound to be some controversy over this one.

Please read this post in its entirety and participate in the poll:

Taxing Soft Drinks – a Sticky, Slippery Slope

It’s a mind-boggling statistic, but approximately 13 million children right here in America are at risk of hunger every day.

September is Hunger Action Month. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act authorizes all of the federal school meal and child nutrition programs, which provide funding to ensure that low-income children have access to healthy and nutritious foods through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; Summer Food Service Program; Child and Adult Care Food Program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; and Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program…

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/799909

Read this post in in its entirety:

America’s Hungry Children at Risk

Sounds like a win-win for insurers.

The long-awaited Baucus bill includes a mandate for most Americans to purchase health insurance, but with NO public option. Nor does it require employers to provide insurance, although employers with more than 50 workers who do not provide insurance must reimburse the government for some of the cost workers receive — if that coverage is taxpayer-funded.

Penalties for individuals and families who do not purchase insurance range from $750 to $3,800.

Read this post in its entirety and answer the poll: Do you support the Baucus plan?

Baucus’s Gang of Six Beats up on Average Joe

Two million children under the age of five die each year because they do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Let that statistic sink in.

It’s easy enough to take safe drinking water for granted when it’s there for the taking, straight from the tap, right in the comfort of our own homes. There’s little reason for us to give it much thought, but that’s exactly what I’m asking you to do today, because an estimated one billion people in developing countries are not so fortunate. Their health and well-being, in fact, their very lives, are endangered every day for lack of something so basic as clean drinking water.

Your signature can safe a life… read the post… sign the pledge:

Money for Your Signature

“You have multiple sclerosis.”

Hearing those words may be the shock of a lifetime, or the confirmation of something you’ve long suspected. Either way, nobody wants to hear it. In my case, the official diagnosis came by email — but that’s another story.

Diagnosing MS is not a simple task — there is no specific test, but rather a series of diagnostic procedures, clinical history, and the painstaking elimination of other diseases. The actual diagnosis is often a major relief. But now that you know, what are you going to do about it?

Fighting Words: “You Have Multiple Sclerosis”

A small part of the health reform ‘debate’ focuses on illegal immigrants and conservatives’ desire to keep them from receiving public sponsored health care in our nation’s hospital emergency rooms. Today — right now — hospital emergency rooms have a mandate to respond to any life threatening injury or illness that comes through their doors. They need not treat injuries that are less than life threatening, but they DO have to screen you in order to make that determination.

I’ve listened while critics charge that Democrats refuse to add language to any of the bill drafts that would plainly state ‘no illegals covered.’ Folks, that’s a good thing and it is my hope that those drafting the bills stick to their guns and continue to refuse to add such draconian language. Even the slightly observant must realize what will happen when poorly trained or overworked personnel start refusing care to people who are unable, for any of a multitude of reasons, to prove their citizenship when faced with a life or death health crisis.

Ask yourself — do you carry concrete proof of citizenship with you at all times? If so, are you absolutely certain that you’ll have it with you when that heart attack hits? What’s going to happen when you’re wheeled into the emergency room if you’re unable to speak and/or can’t prove your citizenship? Will the ambulance personnel even take you to the hospital without such proof?

The answer is that there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to die.

What happens if you’re from another country and that you’re simply visiting America? “Oh, those are visitiors. Of course we’ll take care of them,” you say. Really? Can you tell the difference between a citizen, a visitor, and an illegal when you’re pulling their unconscious body out of a smashed rental car or standing over them when they’ve passed out in the supermarket checkout lane? Really — can you?

Since there is, short of a passport, no absolute physical proof of US citizenship of which I’m aware, adding language that says ‘no illegals covered’ places us a mere hop, skip, and jump away from passage of another bill mandating a national identification card. All you folks who are riled up at big government and its growing role in your life are just going to love being forced to carry that card. Really — you will, because government, with the help of some good ad agencies, country singers, sports figures, and race car drivers will make you believe in it. They’ll make it so you just can’t wait until you’re able to get one. You might even be able to personalize the back of it with pictures of your dog or kids. How great is that?!

I’m fairly certain that if any of us were visiting Haiti, Mexico City, Montreal, Paris, Riyadh, or Bostswana and we got deathly ill or badly injured, that we’d be taken to a local hospital and that medical personnel would do their best to help us. Don’t people who are in our country, regardless of status, deserve, at a minimum, the same modicum of humanity that we all expect to receive for EMERGENCY health care treatment in any other part of the world?

Of course they do.

You know about the Big O, but what about The Other ‘O’ ? It’s something every woman should know…

In 2009, approximately 21,550 women in the United States will be diagnosed with it and 14,500-15,000 of them will lose their lives to this silent killer.

Read this post in its entirety:

The Other ‘O’

“We came here to build a future. I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.“ – President Barack Obama, September 9, 2009 to a Joint Session of Congress

For those who say that we’re moving too fast and there should be no rush to reform, the President reminds us that it’s been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. We’ve waited long enough.

Read this post in its entirety and find out the results of the poll… Did the President take a firm enough stand?

Obama Scolds Republicans, Defends Public Option

The truth is that there is a death panel.

Our nation’s health insurers routinely deny coverage to the sick which is, in effect, denial of care. People die. Without comprehensive health care reform — without a public option — the death panel will continue its work unfettered.

When television news broadcasts focus on the bullies shouting down others at town halls, when talk turns to Hitler and death marches and fear mongering of every sort, we lose the human factor in health care. We’re no longer talking about the high wire act we’re all performing with our health care.

Photo courtesy of Veronica De La Cruz

Read about one family that suffered the unthinkable:

Young Man Dies for Lack of Public Option

One of the most universally recognized symbols is that of the handicapped parking space. We all recognize the blue wheelchair and what it means… but not all handicapped people use wheelchairs.

There’s nothing quite so irritating as watching a perfectly healthy-looking person step out from a handicapped parking space and stroll into the store. But things are not always as they seem.

People with multiple sclerosis often appear healthy and strong even though they have difficulty walking for any length of time. Problems with fatigue, stamina, balance, and coordination can interfere with daily activities, but there are tools at our disposal that can make normal daily errands much easier. One of those is the handicapped parking placard.

Read this post in its entirety:

Handicapped Parking: A Guilt-Free Zone