What's so funny?When I first joined the Society, John Shantz, one of our regular office volunteers, made a point of telling me repeatedly there's nothing funny about multiple sclerosis multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic, slowly progressive autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective myelin sheaths that surround the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord (a process called demyelination), resulting in damaged areas . Then he'd roll into my office when I wasn't in and leave cartoons Many of the cartoons used in this database were obtained from The Cartoon Bank, Dobbs Ferry, NY, which has a huge selection of cartoons on every subject (visit www.cartoonbank.com). on my desk. They were always the grossest jokes imaginable--about depression, disability, even suicide. In time I came to understand what John meant. There's nothing funny about MS--but a sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour makes honesty Honesty See also Righteousness, Virtuousness. Alethia ancient Greek personification of truth. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 18] Better Business Bureau nationwide system of organizations investigating dishonest business practices. [Am. possible. This issue addresses some extremely unfunny MS problems. Loss of bladder bladder /blad·der/ (blad´er) 1. a membranous sac, such as one serving as receptacle for a secretion. 2. urinary bladder. control, for example. Bladder symptoms affect almost 80% of people with MS at some point or another. Progressive MS with major disabilities affects perhaps 15% of the MS population. But it affects many more by feeding an almost universal fear. Country singer Clay Walker discusses this poignantly in our cover story. "The fear of MS is terrible," he said. We believe we are presenting honest pictures in this issue, pictures that don't sidestep side·step v. side·stepped, side·step·ping, side·steps v.intr. 1. To step aside: sidestepped to make way for the runner. 2. ugly problems. We can do this because we rely on your understanding that we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. your future. Nothing in this issue predicts a specific outcome for any individual. We agree with Clay Walker that one thing people can actually control is personal attitude. We see ample evidence of triumphant attitudes--in the people profiled in our report on MS Bike and Walk events, in the resolve of our new leaders, Joyce Nelson and Weyman Johnson, in the pledge to fight on from Richard Pryor's daughter Rain. Controlling personal attitudes is an ongoing process, not a one-step fix-all, and it's no sign of weakness to need help with it. Your chapter can refer you to many kinds of advisors--financial, medical, and psychological, and can put you in touch with other people who have MS. Call 1-800-FIGHT-MS to be connected. And please continue John Shantz's efforts to keep InsideMS on track, by letting us hear from you. Information provided by the National MS Society is based on professional advice, published experience, and expert opinion. Information provided in response to questions does not constitute therapeutic recommendations or prescriptions. The Society recommends that all questions and information be discussed with a personal physician. Martha King Editor, InsideMS editor@nmss.org |
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