Gulp. Facing my biggest life challenge—head on |
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Welcome to the newest edition of The Hunker Games. Dave and his wife Laura of ActiveMSers are hunkering down in isolation for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic—these are their stories (cue the L&O dong-dong) ... along with helpful advice, necessary levity, and, most crucially, hope.
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Greetings, profuse apologies for not writing sooner and filling up your inbox with cheery, hopeful messages about living with a disability. Or research updates about how exercise is one of the most reliable and free therapies there is to treat a host of multiple sclerosis symptoms (e.g., a new study finds stretching knocks down spasticity). Or alerting you to the latest buzz-worthy MS news, like the Harvard research study that points to the Epstein Barr virus—aka mono—being the root cause of MS. Not only could this discovery one day lead to a vaccine against MS, but it could also lead to treatments for all forms of the disease. [Brief aside: the EBV connection was originally postulated in 1998, and I wrote a whole blog about it nearly 10 years ago. So calling this a revelation might be a bit of a stretch.] And don’t get me started on all the other things I’ve missed telling you about: details on how you can go sailing for free with SailMS, the fantastic free outdoor adventures for MSers (ages 18-45) from First Descents (kayaking, rock climbing, surfing!), the critical importance of optimism when you have MS (confirmed by researchers), and pics of my new wicked-awesome standing wheelchair.
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// THE HUNKER GAMES: The Final Edition
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I have a good reason why there has been near radio silence from me on the newsletter front and on social media. A really, really, really good reason. I’ll cut right to the chase: the last year or so has been the most challenging of my life. And Laura's life. Unquestionably. And on so many levels. Physically, mentally, socially. I’ve been buried by question marks, not just about my health, but question marks about my future endeavors, including even the future of ActiveMSers. That leads me to this…. With Omicron winding down and this Covid ick slowly making its exit stage left—BECAUSE I SAID SO, DAMMIT—this is the last edition of The Hunker Games. However, more critically (and with sincere regret), our regular newsletter will not be returning. Now, before you huck your phone at the wall, cursing like a drunken sailor about how I’m abandoning you, know a few things. 1) Replacement phones are costly, and that rubber cover isn’t going to do jack squat. 2) You are not in the Navy, so watch your language. 3) When you hear what I have to say, you are going to want to have a good deal of that grog left over, so be sure not to drink it all. |
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The next series of emails you receive from me will be the most consequential I’ve ever written. They will be insightful, enlightening, and, at times, funny as all get out. They will also leave you shaken, sorry. (But not necessarily in a James-Bond-martini sort of way, which it must be said, is the wrong technique to make a proper martini—stir it, always!) You’ll want to read every word, trust me. Maybe even invite your friends.
Now, I‘m not saying that what I’m going to deliver into your inbox over the coming weeks and months is going to challenge you to reexamine your life with MS, send reverberating shockwaves throughout the MS community worldwide, be the catalyst to fuel a swath of healthcare reforms, and potentially change your entire future… but I’m not saying it won’t.
There’s a reason our optimistic misfit paths have crossed, and I am eminently grateful to call you a friend, even if we may have never met, exchanged pleasantries on social media, or swapped personal stories via email. I cannot thank you enough for joining me as a copilot thus far on this grand adventure. A word of warning: there’s bound to be some turbulence ahead, and moving forward I will almost certainly need help from you to navigate through the dense fog in the forecast. But since you have been a loyal member of ActiveMSers, I’m beyond confident you’ve got the know-how and the moxie to keep us on our flightpath. So buckle up and hang on, it’s going to be one hell of a rip-roaring ride. Be active, stay fit, and keep exploring!
Sincerely,
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Dave Bexfield
p.s. Craziness follows me. You know that. But this is an order of magnitude crazier, even by my crazy standards. The one thing I can assure you: there’s no reason to fret about my MS health. Really!
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be active - stay fit - keep exploring |
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