MS Maze

Do you support corporate responsibility for climate? If you’re still working on your back-to-school shopping list, you can plan that shopping with climate change in mind.

Before you spend another dime, there are a few things you should know. The back-to-school shopping season is second only to the holiday shopping season in generating revenue. In 2008 the top 100 brands spent over $100 billion dollars on advertising in the United States. All that requires energy, packaging, and transportation — all contributing factors in climate change.

Back-to-Cool: Shopping with Climate Change in Mind

photo: climatecounts.org

Lou Gehrig may not have had “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

The New York Times is reporting on a peer-reviewed paper in Journal Neuropathy suggesting that baseball legend Lou Gehrig may not have suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at all, but from a fatal disease caused by concussion-like trauma that erodes the central nervous system, producing similar symptoms. When Lou Gehrig died in 1941, ALS was commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

The Times points out that the paper does not specifically mention Gehrig, but “its authors in interviews acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig’s disease.”

Read the article (with Gehrig’s farewell speech video):

Lou Gehrig May Not Have Had Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Photo: Harris & Ewing Collection at the Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons

As we mark the Medicare’s 45th anniversary, Andy Griffith wants seniors to know, “More good things are coming.”

The beloved star of the 60’s sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show, speaks in the trademark reassuring tone that made him famous in this 30-second ad:

Check out the video:

Andy Griffith to Seniors: Good Things Are Coming from Health Care Law (Video)

FarmVille players, hang on to your green hats because FarmVille is about to go organic.

If you are not familiar with the game, FarmVille is a real-time farm simulation game in which players plant, grow, and harvest crops on expanding farms while interacting with other players they “friend” as neighbors. Millions of players are enjoying the experience of virtual farm life, tending their farms and learning as they go.

Cascadian Farm, a leading brand of organic foods, is partnering with FarmVille to increase awareness and support for organic farming and organic lifestyle, breathing virtual life into organic farming within the online agricultural space.

Read this post and get FarmVille player tips:

FarmVille Goes Organic

Care2 writers are nothing if not inquisitive. We ask a lot of questions because that’s how we learn.

In case you missed them, here’s your chance to catch up on some of the important questions that came up this week. If we touched a nerve, please take a moment to answer the polls and leave comments… those Butterfly Points really add up and help you to make a difference.

Read this article in its entirety:

Care2 Weekly Wrap Up: Questions, Questions, We’ve Got Questions

photo credit: Peaco Todd

From human rights to animal rights, from politics to education and health, Care2 bloggers are never at a loss for words.

Find out what got our keyboards humming this week:

Care2 Weekly Wrap Up: The Good, The Bad, and The Sweet

photo credit: Peaco Todd

I like the idea of different endings rather than failures. Very few things in my life have actually turned out the way I envisioned, but most of them have turned out well. Some have turned out even better than I dared hope.

Read this post in its entirety:

Not a Failure, but a Different Ending

Photo courtesy of Wendy Booker

“My mission ended very differently than I had expected, but I did not fail. I have attempted Everest twice. I took multiple sclerosis (MS) to the highest it would allow me to go. As the medical staff at base camp have documented, the bar has been set. I am a mountaineer, an adventurer, an explorer. And I’m not done yet.” – Wendy Booker, May 2010

Wendy Booker was on a mission to be the first person with MS to climb The Seven Summits — the highest mountains on each continent. Although she has been unable to conquer Everest physically, she has most definitely conquered it in spirit.

Read this post in its entirety:

Wendy Booker, Mountain Climber with MS: “I’m Not Done Yet”

Photo courtesy of Wendy Booker

Make no mistake about it. John Hicklenton triumphed over multiple sclerosis. I say this in spite of the fact that he ended his own life because of it.

Mr. Hicklenton, a graphic artist known for his illustrations, most notably, Judge Dredd comics, struggled with the ravages of MS for a decade. A resident of Brighton, East Sussex, U.K., he passed away in a Swiss assisted suicide clinic on March 19 at the age of 42.

His 2008 award-winning documentary…

Read this post in its entirety:

MS Activist John Hicklenton Ends Life at Euthanasia Clinic

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1265646

“We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care. And it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of all of you and all the advocates all across the country.”

And with that statement, President Barack Obama signed The Patient Affordable Health Care Act into law.

Read this post in its entirety and watch the video of the President’s remarks, followed by the signing:

Basic Security to Health Care: It’s the Law

Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

On what basis can you justify mocking the ill or disabled? Someone please tell me because I really want to know.

Earlier this week, The Columbus Dispatch captured anti-reform protesters — bullies, really — on film mocking a health care reform advocate with Parkinson’s disease.

The man sat on the ground alone, peacefully holding a sign, and was surrounded by men leaning in toward him and throwing money at him. “Communist!” they called him. “You have to work for everything you get!”

If he was intimidated, he didn’t let it show.

Read this post in its entirety and watch the shocking video:

Anti-Reform Protesters Bully Peaceful Demonstrator with Parkinson’s

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/14188

If you are steadily losing your ability to walk… to move… to remain independent… your tolerance for extended debate and controversy over a possible treatment, if not a cure, is put to the test.

In this case, debate centers around “Liberation Treatment.” All around the world people with multiple sclerosis have been clamoring for action, ever since last September, when cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Paolo Zamboni released the results of a preliminary study of MS patients indicating a link to chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), a narrowing of the veins that restricts the flow of blood from the brain, causing iron build up, in turn causing the degeneration of neurons.

Dr. Zamboni undertook this research in response to his wife’s own heartbreaking battle against MS. The resulting theory that some types of MS are caused by CCSVI, told him that it might be treated by clearing out major veins to free the blood flow. After confirming that his wife did indeed have CCSVI, he opened the veins by using a small inflated balloon to clear the blockage, a procedure that has earned the moniker Liberation Treatment. In the three years following her surgery, she has not had a relapse…

Read this post in its entirety:

Longing for Liberation

More on Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month

A Diagnosis Odyssey

Who Gets It and Why

Diagnosis, Denial, Due Diligence

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1095865

Have you got style? If so, you probably don’t want to get caught using one of those old clunky metal canes. You deserve nothing less than a decorative cane that suits your personal style.

Last December, my eye was irresistibly drawn to a passerby with a cane. Not just any cane, mind you, but a ladies’ cane, all decked out in holiday glam and glitter. It was a bit over the top, but I admired the owner’s sense of individuality and playfulness.

My own red paisley cane makes a fairly bold statement, but decorative canes have risen to a whole new level. Whether you need a cane as a mobility aid, or are an enthusiastic collector of walking canes, Valentine’s Day walking canes are functional and fun… pinks, reds, and even an imported hand crafted red rose adorn these beauties.

Fashionable Canes offers a gorgeous selection of decorative canes to suit every taste or occasion. Browse their online store and you’ll see what I mean. You’ve got style — show it off!

Related Reading :

Fashionable Canes on the Front Lines

Cop an Attitude with a Fashionable Cane

“If You’re Going to Use a Cane, Use a CANE!”

More Information:

FashionableCanes.com

Fashionable Walking Canes on Facebook

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a sponsored post. The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I am, in fact, a satisfied customer of FashionableCanes.com and personally use and recommend their products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255.

In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund‘s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children. The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010.

More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year. Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.

Fresh Air Fund Host Families

“It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child’s face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted…”

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away! Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

Fresh Air Children

“We made s’mores and hot dogs over the fire. I’ve never cooked outside before!”

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.

You can give a child the experience of a lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund!

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.

Whether it’s a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.

We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing. Donate online now

On March 21st, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers will take to the streets at the NYC Half-Marathon! Thank you to the Fresh Air Fund-Racers and their supporters for participating in this world class event. You are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children!

We have limited availability for this amazing race. If you would like to run, please register here right away.

Submitted by the Fresh Air Fund

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference in quality of life and maintaining independence.

If you have relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis, as I do, it’s easy to overlook simple things that can make life easier when in relapse. Since my own diagnosis in 2004, I have come to appreciate some simple household helpers that assist me in managing daily life with MS.

Read this post in its entirety:

10 Tips for Managing Daily Living with Multiple Sclerosis