In this issue.

We're pleased to offer a true story by the gifted tale-spinner who invented Harry Potter and all his enchanted battles. In real life, J.K. Rowling's mother battled too. She fought an all-too-real opponent, and she did so with little support or assistance. J.K. Rowling employed her story-telling gifts in this account and thus helped battle for a real change in the MS care offered in Great Britain.

In this issue, we discuss the problems in MS care in the United States and a health-care financing crisis that is seriously affecting access to high-quality services and expensive medications. General Dugan urges us not to shy away from advocating for needed changes.

We're offering some background information on the good news about availability of another disease-modifying drug. Rebif has both advantages and disadvantages, our medical advisors report, and we've given some space in this issue for three eminent experts to share their thoughts.

We've also given some space to summer fun: to walking in the water at a local swimming pool, or taking the leap of faith needed for travel adventures on wild rivers and in faraway places. We are celebrating the success of Gene Fatur, our MS Achiever of the Year, who works, happily enough, for a company we named Employer of the Year. And we're learning about food that's quick to fix and healthy to eat from Society Ambassador Chef Kathleen of the Food Network's Cooking Thin!

We want to hear your opinions and ideas. And we welcome your stories about problems as well as triumphs. InsideMS is for people who must live inside MS--and we try to make it reflect as wide a range of experience as possible.

Martha King,
Editor, InsideMS

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is proud to be a source of information on multiple sclerosis. Our texts are based on professional advice, published experience, and expert opinion, but do not represent individual therapeutic recommendation or prescription. For specific information and advice, consult a qualified physician.