Neuro Note #1 - Multiple Sclerosis

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"How I'm Living My Best Life with Multiple Sclerosis" a ted talk by Robin Brockelsby. 

Brockelsby, R. (2020, February). How I'm living my best life with multiple sclerosis [Video]. TED. 
https://www.ted.com/talks/robin_brockelsby_how_i_m_living_my_best_life_with_multiple_sclerosis

In this TED talk Robin Brockelsby describes her journey with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I chose to research MS for this neuro note because I was assigned Alice (MS patient) for the multi media project. Also, I have a friend from high school who has battled MS for years and I wanted a better understanding of his diagnosis. 

I learned that MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Robin explained that the immune system sees the brain, spine and optic nerves as the enemy. Moreover, the immune system attacks the nerves' protective sheath, myelin. Myelin helps propel the nerves signal on to its destination. Once it has become damaged the pathways slow down or are completely blocked. This damage can cause issues with numbness, spasticity, balance and movement, bladder and bowel control, brain fog, fatigue, and visual impairment. It is a debilitating progressive disease that has no cure. It may be prolonged with medication but finding the right one is difficult. My friend was diagnosed at 16. At the time I didn't have a clue what MS was. I can remember him tapping his legs all the time and me asking him to calm down. Little did I know he couldn't because it was a symptom of his disease. His mom also has MS. They are now both on chemo drugs which have seemed to help his mom but haven't changed much for him yet. Much like Robin, my friend has not let it hold him back from enjoying life. He is one of the most caring people I know. He is engaged, almost done with his BS at TTU and also working a full time job! 

Robin noted that when you receive a diagnosis of chronic disease the one thing you can control is how you respond to it. Her mindset when she was first diagnosed compared to now completely changed. She stated that no one gets through life unscathed and that everyone has a something. She accepted that MS is her something and she is going to "live her best life" with it regardless. I definitely recommend listening to Robin's inspirational health journey for a little perspective on chronic disease. 

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