“It stands for Multiple Sclerosis”
September 17, 2012
Both awareness and understanding of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) need to be increased EVERYWHERE.
How? You can help by being an educator and advocator simply by wearing an orange ribbon every day. Everywhere you go, people will see it. Some people will ask what it represents, and this is the opportunity to explain MS. You can ask questions like “Did you ever hear of it?”, “Do you know anyone that has MS?”, “Do you know what it is?” Others will begin to think “Huh—there is another orange ribbon…”
We can’t just sit back and wait for a celebrity or well-known person to mention it on TV. It doesn’t happen often enough and so many times MS is misconstrued. Or wait for an MS event like the Walk, or the Bike to come around before we wear our orange that primarily targets our friends and family that deal with MS already.
EVERYBODY dealing with MS should wear an orange ribbon EVERYDAY. This includes not only MSers and their friends and family, but also celebrities and people involved with MS such as MS Associations/MS clinics from the CEO/ Board members all the way down to their employees and volunteers. There is strength in numbers!!
People need to understand that because there is no cure for MS, and millions of persons deal with this chronic, often progressive, disabling neurological disorder throughout decades of a lifetime. It affects nearly every citizen of the country in one way or another.
When someone wears a pink ribbon, everyone knows what it stands for; breast cancer in recent years has received the support and recognition it deserves. We need this to happen for MS! Multiple Sclerosis needs a fundraiser on a national scale like what is done for muscular dystrophy, cancer, or victims of disaster in other countries.
And we can do this! Can you imagine the buzz if all of us wore our orange ribbons all the time? Can you imagine the awareness if celebrities or well-known people like Montel Williams, Sharon Osborn, Ann Romney or Michelle Obama wore orange ribbons and followed our lead? Can you imagine how there would be more support for research, insurance coverage for necessary medical programs, and social security disability? Yes, folks with MS often get declined for SS benefits the first, second and even the third time they apply for approval. 🙁
So, start today and put on your orange ribbon! (I made mine out of orange craft ribbon and a tie tack.) See my video http://youtu.be/TcEjyr2iMHY, share this post on all social media platforms, and spread the word to everyone you know to wear an orange ribbon.
If someone doesn’t know what MS is, hand them a copy of this explanation:
What is MS?
Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. That means that potentially anything controlled by the CNS can be affected–such as motor function, sensory function, sight, or cognitive/emotional functions.
It is not fatal, contagious, or congenital. There is no cure; the cause is unknown. It is generally progressive. That means that because there is no cure, the majority of persons afflicted– millions worldwide–will become disabled during the decades of their lifetime with no way to fix the damage. Current estimates are that 20-25% will end up in a wheelchair.
From the day those of us received our diagnosis, we have no idea what course our disease will take. What will be affected, in what way or how rapidly will we be affected, and how disabled will we become? MS is unpredictable and uncontrollable; the losses never stop, the grieving process never ends.
There are new drugs that are trying to slow the progression, and meds to help with relieving symptoms and shortening relapses. But they all have side effects. Nothing is available yet to prevent MS or restore most function lost resulting from its damaging effects. However, there are many things one can do to manage it effectively.
It’s also on the front page on my website: