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@Momentum

Never feel ashamed
I just wanted to comment on the “Owning my MS” article by Debbie Moyes (Summer 2017). Great article, and very similar to what I have been going through with my MS. I love how she wrote that I should have never acted ashamed, that I haven’t done anything wrong and I sure as heck am not a bad or tainted person.

I was diagnosed with MS in January of 2000. I tell people that’s when my warranty was up. It’s extremely important to keep one’s sense of humor. Over the years I went through vision, hearing and numbness problems. Now I have leg weakness, primarily the right leg. I can get around with a walker for short distances, but I need a scooter or wheelchair for longer distances. I was just diagnosed from relapsing/remitting to progressive MS. Debbie Moyes, thank you for such a good article.

Victor Campbell, Arizona

Interesting, educating articles
Thanks so much for the Summer 2017 issue of Momentum. I usually read every issue cover to cover soon after I receive them in the mail. However, this particular issue really captivated my attention. From the start to the end, there were very interesting as well as educating articles, and I loved the article on “glamping.” Keep up the good journalism, and I look forward to more interesting issues of Momentum.

Teresa C. May, Virginia

Thanks to Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Please express my heartfelt appreciation to writer Stephanie Stephens and especially Jamie-Lynn Sigler (“Getting real about MS,” Summer 2017) for sharing this personal account with others with MS. I am a bit older than Jamie-Lynn, and certainly not as famous, but I have traveled much of the same challenging road with her.

Sid Burwell, California

Use data wisely
My sincere gratitude and congratulations to all the folks who contributed to the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act (“A game-changing act,” Summer 2017). The overwhelming bipartisan support of the bill was an eye-popper.

I also believe that the collection of good data can contribute to our understanding of how the brain works and how we might prevent and cure diseases like MS. And just as important is the need to protect individual health information. It is imperative that effective firewalls be in place.

For that reason, I cringe at the name they chose: The National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System. I hope that doesn’t mean what it seems to imply, surveillance by the government of a health database. Surveillance is a term usually associated with policing. Surveillance has a legitimate use in the protection of our communities, but it doesn’t belong in our collection of data on health conditions.

Nonetheless, I laud this step toward the effective use of data on a national scale to help us understand the brain, the human genome and our health.

Dan Hammang, California

Male support
I really liked the article titled “A man thing” in the last Momentum magazine (Summer 2017). I really believe men should get together to share their MS experiences.

Rick Rayer, Ohio

Tags: Fall 2017

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