More Reviews for Multiple Sclerosis, an Enigma

I'm happy to post  more positive reviews of Multiple Sclerosis, an Enigma.  MSStation.org will be promoting the book during the month of April, and more reviews may follow.

Carmen Ambrosio, author of Life Continues, has written: 

"Bookended by the challenging generational demands of growing children and seriously ill elderly parents, dedicated educator Terry Crawford Palardy put everyone else's needs before her own for years--even as she experienced perplexing neurological symptoms.

Fluid dialogue and vivid descriptions reveal the author's protracted, diagnostic odyssey. Readers share alongside Terry the physical and emotional toll of getting to and through physician consultations, diagnostic procedures, tests, and treatments. The escalating frustration, confusion, and fear she feels when she interacts with certain medical, pharmaceutical, and insurance company staffers may be familiar to others who have a chronic illness or their caregivers.

Finally, Terry connects with doctors she trusts. A once elusive MS diagnosis becomes definitive. Throughout her ordeal, Terry resolves to preserve her dignity. She is bolstered both by her religious faith and by her husband's consistently calm, reassuring presence. His devotion to her is the embodiment of unconditional love. Despite losses and lingering unanswered questions, Terry remains true to her conviction to decide treatment options for herself.

When I finished the last chapter, I applauded Terry's determination to deal with multiple sclerosis on her own terms. It was a rousing ovation I hoped somehow she could hear."

And Faye Manos Quinn, another person experiencing multiple sclerosis, has written:

"Amazing! As I read along, I felt I was walking right beside her. In the story you could see that she was sticking to her recollections of symptoms throughout her life starting at an early age. And as I stated to her, I wonder also, were her family members misdiagnosed and had MS as well. We will never know. I felt comfortable walking beside Terry through her journey as I felt she had my heart in hand. I admired her for many years, but now is "special" to me! Quite brave to share such intimate details along this struggle we all experience in the Dragon of MS.

I recommend to all with MS and friends/family of someone suffering from MS!

Beautiful Read!"

Lauren DuBois, in France, posted this review of the book on Amazon.com:

"Terry's memoir is a story of courage and hope. It's so well-written that I feel I know the author personally. She writes of her life which was interrupted with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis - a debilitating disease.
It's important for anyone who is newly-diagnosed or for family members, caregivers, friends to read this novel and get a good understanding of how MS can shake up a person's life.
Kudos to Terry for writing and sharing her innermost thoughts on her disability."

A winner of the book's Giveaway at Goodreads, Shane, sent this review:

"I entered this contest for my aunt. It took her a while to read it because of her condition but she finally emailed me to tell me what she thought. She wanted me to thank the author for allowing me to win this and that although she is in really bad shape, she said it gives her hope. I believe that she is going to be trying some of the steps that Terry took and will run some by her doctor as well. And she said she is going to start a journal to occupy her mind. Tv is getting old she said. All those channels and nothing to watch. LOL Her words Not mine. Sorry it took so long Terry. And thanks for the book. It put a smile on my aunts face and gave her some hope."

Related articles

• Educational Resources Uncovered: Multiple Sclerosis (abledis.com)
• Recovering from multiple sclerosis with nutrition (mnn.com)
• Multiple sclerosis: Damaged myelin not the trigger (mswithoutcrabs.wordpress.com)

Two More Authors with Stories of Multiple Sclerosis in Their Lives

When the Body Says No : A Learn, Laugh, Love Story 

By Tracy A. Todd

Tracy writes her story as Tesh, beginning at the tender age of ten, attending a parochial school a city bus ride away from her home. As an academically talented sixth grader,  Tesh unexpectedly experiences an episode of what is thought to be epilepsy. Half of her body is numb, and she has fainted in the classroom, causing quite a stir and resulting in an ambulance ride to the local hospital. In the days long before MRIs were available, the best medical assessment could be obtained with CT scans.

Tesh returns to school after a few days of tests and consults, with the diagnosis of epilepsy and a prescription of Dilantin, a medication she is all too familiar with, as her mother cares for disabled adults and administers their medications to them each evening, sometimes with Tesh's assistance. Tesh is then determined to learn all she can about epilepsy, and in the days before internet searches, her thirst for knowledge takes her to the public library. Equipped with the knowledge found in encyclopediae and medical books, she formulates some questions for her next doctor appointment. And while her aunt is impressed with her independent search for knowledge, her mother is scandalized to think that a ten year old would pose questions of her doctor!

Years pass, Tesh marries her high school sweetheart after college, and they begin a family. More symptoms arise, more tests are done, and Tesh is left in the land of the unnamed disease. She moves her research toward multiple sclerosis and demyelination, as she has been made aware of these potential labels after having early MRIs, at first in a cold mobile trailer attached to the hospital. After several years new and disabling symptoms and more tests, she is finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her husband then becomes her caregiver, and despite his own needlephobia takes on the role of injecting his wife. He, and their two young children, learn with Tesh about multiple sclerosis.

But this story is more than a chronicle of diagnosis and treatments. This is a story of family and love. In it, Tracy Todd tells of the strengths needed and developed, and of the resources sought and found. When she finds a neurologist who specializes in patients of African American descent who have multiple sclerosis, she realizes that she is finally in the right place, medically. And when she and her family find a support group of others with multiple sclerosis, they realize they have found an extended family.

Faith in God the Father is a strong thread in this family's story. Tesh often stops in the midst of despair and confusion to pray, and ask for guidance. She also prays to ask the question all people who live with multiple sclerosis ask: Why has this happened to us? Why has it happened to our families? She listens carefully for answers, and watches attentively for signs. And she learns that patience and trust must go hand in hand with faith.

Life Continues

by Carmen Ambrosio

I have read a lot of books about the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis, but Carmen Ambrosia goes far beyond that scope. Her book, Life Continues, tells the story of life: life with family, life as an independent woman, life as a wife and step-mother, and life with friends and co-workers. Life with multiple sclerosis is a part of her story, but it is not her defining role.

Carmen grew up in the Virgin Islands, but moved to the northern United States to attend college. Statistics say that moving to a northern latitude before the age of 16 can increase an individual's possibility of developing MS. Whether that is due to the sudden lessening of natural vitamin D via sunlight, or due to other environmental toxins, is not yet known, and is not addressed in her story. Why she developed MS is not a question she spends a lot of time asking; how to go on and live her life as best she can is more her focus.

Ambrosio's book includes moment of humor and moments of pathos; her father's death of cancer is a sobering moment in her life. She had a wonderful relationship with him, and treasures what she learned from him. Her independence and self sufficiency are traits that she attributes to that relationship. She also had a warm and valued kinship with her grandmother, who lived her life in the Islands simply, making herbal remedies for her fellow islanders and sharing generously her wisdom, faith and food. What Carmen brought forth from this relationship is her own sense of generosity and the ability to self-sustain with the help of those who love and care for her.

Carmen views doctors as people who are capable of helping and capable of making mistakes. She does not remain in a doctor's negative or callous presence, but moves on as quickly as needed to find a better doctor. Her description of the right doctor is one who listens and responds to the person seeking help, and she has found two such doctors in her new home state of Ohio.

Carmen Ambrosio's sense of humor shines through in her story; her understanding of "bod-mail" identifies her own knowledge of how important listening for messages from her body. She describes a morning ritual similar to a roll call, checking in with each portion of her body to assess the day's potential and needs. She has learned the hard way that ignoring messages of early discomfort or building weakness can cause much greater difficulty later. Her methodology of printing these bod-mails as inbox messages and her own responses drives this important message home without resorting to a preaching style.

Life Continues is an informative, entertaining and comforting read for people trying to find themselves in the person suddenly diagnosed and labeled with the term multiple sclerosis. It certainly can stay on a bedside table and be picked up for those few moments of clear eyesight and the need for a quick uplifting read. It's a valued book in my collection!

Related articles

• Recovering from multiple sclerosis with nutrition (mnn.com)
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Stories of Families, Love, and Loss

A Happy Story of Adoption

 Paul Jansen has written a joyous story of adoption, and he has written it as a read-aloud story. The Child in Our Hearts is a sweet story of parenting. Paul has created a story of love, and the illustrations of Kevin Scott Gierman,with their soft colors and gentle strokes, fit the bill perfectly.

A beginning sight reader would be thrilled to read this book back to his or her parents, and in time, a non-reader would use the context of the illustrations to begin reading along. This book definitely offers a positive family activity together.  Five Stars for this poignant book.

A Sad Story of Life Interrupted

Chris Tatevosian has written a sensitive  memoir, true to his life and to his discoveries, and to his determination to share his mistakes with the purpose of helping others to avoid the same. Life Interrupted: It's Not All About Me is a book that looks like a quick read, but in fact leads readers to stop and ponder the story behind the story.

This is the story of a young man's diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, his friendships, his loves, his challenges, mistakes and regrets. Chris shares openly his love and loss, and he credits that loss to the effects MS has had on his life. He refers to the "Poor Me Attitude" and its domination of his emotions and behaviors during the time of greatest MS fatigue; afternoons and evenings are most difficult for people with MS, and they are hours usually reserved for important family time. Chris found his strengths gone during those hours, and his weaknesses limiting his ability to be loving towards those he loved most, his wife and step-son. The resulting divorce: devastating.

Chris recognizes that MS is not the only chronic condition that can cause life-changing events. Any condition that causes physical pain and emotional loss has a depressing power over an individual's choices.  Chris wrote this book after realizing how his own choices may have been better controlled and could have resulted in very different outcomes in his life. His choice to share this story with others is purposeful. He wants to help others maintain control of their choices and happier outcomes. Five Stars for this honest, worthwhile tale. 

Related articles

• Multiple sclerosis study documents negative effect of warmer weather on cognition (sciencedaily.com)
• MS Kills Connection > (prweb.com)
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