Carnival of MS Bloggers #1

Welcome to the new Carnival of MS Bloggers, Edition No.1

I'm excited about the many MS Bloggers who have responded to share their stories and invite you to visit their blogs.

So sit back, relax, curl up with your computer and a favorite beverage. Enjoy.

¤¤¤ Multiple Sclerosis ¤¤¤

Joan Wheeler presents her 13-year journey from initial neurological event to eventual diagnosis in My Multiple Sclerosis e-Book. This is her story (which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.)

Joan blogs at A Short in the Cord and reminds us that everyone with MS has very different experiences and thus has his own story to share.

¤¤¤ Opinion ¤¤¤

Writing at Self-injecting Chinese Hamsters since 2007, a newly-diagnosed MSer, simply known as -A, short for Anonymous, presents Why Baking Cookies is Not Going to Cut It.

Building on Susan Sontag's legacy in terms of analysis of illness, specifically "Illness as Metaphor," -A takes a brief, first look at MS and how it, like cancer for Sontag, has come to serve as a trope for various contemporary social "evils."

An Excerpt from Susan Sontag's Obituary

(via Los Angeles Times Dec 28, 2004)

In 1976, at 43, Sontag discovered she had advanced cancer in her breast, lymphatic system and leg. She was told she had a one-in-four chance to live five years. After undergoing a radical mastectomy and chemotherapy, she was pronounced free of the disease. "My first reaction was terror and grief. But it's not altogether a bad experience to know you're going to die. The first thing is not to feel sorry for yourself."

She learned as much as possible about the disease and later wrote "Illness as Metaphor," an influential essay condemning the abuse of tuberculosis and cancer as metaphors that transfer responsibility for sickness to the victims, who are made to believe they have brought suffering on themselves. Illness, she insisted, is fact, not fate. Years later, she would extend the argument in the book-length essay "AIDS and Its Metaphors."

¤¤¤ Life ¤¤¤

Victoria Plum, an ambulance technician from Berkshire, England (on this side of the big pond we might call her an EMT), presents Why can't I sleep??

Finding herself unable to sleep one night during her enforced time off the road due to a yet-to-be diagnosed medical problem, what does Victoria do?

Well, she does what many of us have done....she starts a blog.
Victoria shares her MS journey at the aptly named blog Victoria Plum - Technician!.

¤¤¤ Multiple Sclerosis ¤¤¤

Recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November 2007, Kimberly Fabrizio is thankful to have had One Month Free of Hypochondria.

Kim blogs at Sunshine and Moonlight -- A Journey with Multiple Sclerosis and says, "Yes, I’m living in reality….Honest," and shares some ideas about Staying Positive without Mindless Optimism.

She also has discovered a new way to relate to her father, especially whenever she's, uh, like saying, "You know -- It's that....that....THING!"

¤¤¤ Life ¤¤¤

Although November 2007 was National Family Caregivers Month, we should take time to recognize the many things which our family members, friends, and caregivers do for us each and every month.

Mandy Crest blogging at MS Maze presents My Spouse, My Caregiver, a gentle testament to the many little things her husband does for her on a regular basis.

¤¤¤ Life ¤¤¤

Chris Tatevosian has gone beyond the blogworld and has written a book about his MS experience titled Life Interrupted, It's Not All about Me.

Chris shares his story regarding anger, frustration, rage, and marriage when a couple suffers the effects of multiple sclerosis.

No one should have to put up with that kind of behavior, especially your closest and most intimate friend, the person you love most in life. Yet this situation is prevalent among couples affected by MS. I have made my life an open book with the goal of helping others avoid making the same relationship destroying mistakes that I have me.

At his blog Defeating Illness, Chris primarily discusses issues surrounding his book.

¤¤¤ Multiple Sclerosis ¤¤¤

Richard Boughton reflects on the disease which is MS, as compared with other types of disease, in his post Blades of Grass found at non-idiotic people who happen to have MS.

Perhaps it is time to amble a bit more as we go through life, no matter what the weather. Goals are fine, achievements are dandy, but sometimes we can fail to appreciate the wonders of the process, the myriad sights and sounds, faces and places that are the fabric of our immersion in that which is our life. No matter what else it comes with, it comes only once—blades of grass one day, fuel for fire the next.
[Still] ... I'll choose MS.

Richard blogs at KEBENARAN - THE TRUTH.

¤¤¤ MS News ¤¤¤

Ann Sawyer and Judi Bachrach join blogging forces to discuss The MS Recovery Diet, a book which addresses the inflammatory effects of nutrition in diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Ann provides answers to a reader's questions regarding the book on her blog, while Judi answers some questions regarding a vegetarian approach for her readers.

¤¤¤ Opinion ¤¤¤

As nutrition truly is important in maintaining a healthy body, Lisa Emrich at Brass and Ivory shares a recent experience she had after her rheumatologist suggested fighting systemic inflammation by fighting abdominal fat which produces cytokines (ie. TNF-s and Interleukin-1). The latest disease-modifying drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis suffers seeks to counteract the effects of these cytokines, but those of us with MS are prohibited from using these drugs due to neurological side-effects.

So in fighting abdominal fat, a natural approach would seem most logical. However, caution should be taken for those sufferers who seek the guidance of 'natural health' practitioners who may (or may not) have a larger agenda in play than your greatest health.

Lisa shares her experience with one local doctor In the Pursuit of Health & Wellness - Is Alternative Medicine Complementary?

¤¤¤ MS News ¤¤¤

Stuart Schlossman of Stu's Views and MS Related News invites readers to visit his blog and to subscribe to his weekly MS e-Newsletter which is presently received by over 4000 people globally.

Stu's blog is not the typical 'bloggers blog' but is an archived database of over 900 MS-related articles which give the viewer, the patient, and/or caregiver a place where they can learn more about Multiple Sclerosis.

¤¤¤ Multiple Sclerosis ¤¤¤

The next Carnival of MS Bloggers will be hosted here again on January 17, 2008. Submit a post from your blog of which you are particularly proud, or which you simply want to share, by noon on Tuesday, January 15, 2008.

As the carnival develops and participation increases, I hope to include more personal views and presentations on any number of topics and less quasi-commercial promotion.

Thanks for visiting and happy blogging in the new year.

Thank you.
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