View allAll Photos Tagged multiplesclerosis
This is Eiko, an 84-year-old lady who rode her bicycle 150 miles this weekend to raise money for multiple sclerosis research and patient services.
It was truly an honor to participate in the ride with her.
As my Flickr friend Vivian said, "That's who I want to be like when I 'grow up!' "
To see on black, click here B l a c k M a g i c
Identified with help from hiddenforest.co.nz. A cluster of fungi with cauliflower type heads, sharing a common root. In moist soil amongst leaves. The heads of each are approximately 8mm wide; the cluster is about 30mm across. Taken on our fenced mountain, Maungatautari, Waikato, New Zealand
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Links to it's association with Multiple Sclerosis treatment, in Comments.
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I’m doing much to keep improving:
Occupational Therapy to compensate for my severe hand tremors,
Speech Therapy to help with my speech impediment and my memory issues,
Physical Therapy for my walking disability. I’ve gone from only being able to walk 2 blocks to almost 1 km and I am now able to walk backwards, a very short distance, without my cane (slowly, of course).
As a person in my support group stated:
“Big doors swing on small hinges.”
Copyright © 2021 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
Soon came the day that my stem cells would be collected. The machine was plugged into my PICC line and I sat for a few hours while my cells were harvested.
Copyright © 2020 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
Listen: King of Pain by The Police
One year ago today I got my diagnosis (dx) of multiple sclerosis.
I didn't know that the pain I feel could exist.
Copyright © 2020 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
While I was in quarantine I experienced more ups and down moods in such a sort time than I ever had before.
It was the uncertainty that was awful.
Copyright © 2020 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
One of the things that every 3D artist must know is UV mapping. Imagine taking a shirt apart at the seams, repainting it, then putting it back together so that the seams are hidden. It can be a very technical aspect of 3D. Most 3D artists hate it. I love it. It’s like making a jigsaw puzzle in reverse.
Yesterday, my son was talking to my wife about a planter we have. I don’t remember the conversation, my mind had drifted, and imagined this planter as a 3D object. I was able to determine where the seams would go, how it would unfold, saw the textures needed, even optimized the size of the textures for speed of loading the object. All within the span of a few seconds! I began to cry with joy after I realized what my brain did. It’s a skill that was lost to me due to my MS. It will take time to hone that skill again. And that’s ok.
Copyright © 2021 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
My friend Jan who we're staying with coordinates a similar MS Fundraising group to ours in S. Wales with a funkier name than ours , ‘Don't MS with Us' so we popped along to support their Bank Holiday Fundraiser at the annual Stubbington Fayre , where they sold Home Made Cakes, biscuits and various other delicacies , made by the team themselves..
It was the hottest August Bank Holiday on record with very harsh sunlight , hence the phone shot.
He's a two-year-old black lab whom we had met once before. This time around, the service dog trainer wanted to see him help Janice keep her balance in a shopping mall. The two of them did so well that we're going to take another step with Bogie. We'll have him as a guest in our home for a few days next week. It's nice to be moving forward with a partnership that Janice needs!
Today's theme is MS Ambassador.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the MS Angels, a network of professional business women founded in 2008. The MS Angels support independent research into Multiple Sclerosis by each making a donation of $2,000 per year which is collectively invested into a research project chosen by the group. Projects that would not be able to proceed without their financial backing.
The title for today's image comes from the song written and performed by Bernard Fanning (former lead singer of Powderfinger). Watch Over Me was dedicated to the plight of young disabled Australians requiring full time care and having few options other than through aged care facilities. He became acutely aware of this issue through his friend Shevaune who at the age of 33 needed full time care due to the extent of her disabilities arising from Multiple Sclerosis. Until that time in 2006, the level of public awareness about the shortage of care options had not been sufficient enough to generate enough momentum for the government to act on the issue.
My current pledge is $389.20. Each of your comments, views and faves are contributing to that pledge.
Share an image with the pledge to kiss goodbye group. You will help to raise awareness while boosting my personal donation to MS Australia at the end of this month.
Donate to my fund raiser's page Palo's Pledge. All funds go directly to MS Australia to further research and to provide service to those affected by MS.
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COPYRIGHT © Dragon Papillon Photography. 2013. All rights reserved.
This is a pseudo-colored image of high-resolution gradient-echo MRI scan of a fixed cerebral hemisphere from a person with multiple sclerosis.
Credit: Govind Bhagavatheeshwaran, Daniel Reich, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health
She'd rather walk uphill than downhill. We use a different set of muscles for each. Yet, she does what is necessary!
From left to right: our daughter-in-law, Laurel; her mother, Linda; our oldest son, John; and our grandson, Flynn. Ready to walk five km, on a beautiful afternoon, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The annual event raises money to fight multiple sclerosis.
This is Eiko, an 83-year-old lady who just rode her bicycle 150 miles in two days for the MS-150 City to Shore ride, to raise money for multiple sclerosis. It was truly an honor and an inspiration to be in the ride with her and to talk with her.
This is her 25th year doing the ride, so to honor her achievement, she was joined by 19 of her family members--children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. They flew in from all over the country, formed Team Eiko, and rode with her.
As she does every year, she rides in a skirt and pumps. She rides a lady's bike, sitting very upright, and there's a big basket on the front of the bike. She greets everyone and wishes all of us a good ride.
She hasn't retired yet, and still works as a massage therapist. She even gave massages to some of the MS patients that she met along the ride.
Amazingly, she doesn't train at all for this ride. She's just in naturally good shape! Her bike hangs in the garage, and the week before the ride, her great-grandson gets it down for her.
The ride started outside Philadelphia, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, before dawn. It goes southeast across the state to the Jersey Shore, at Ocean City, where we slept overnight and then rode back the next day.
What a lady!
Taken this morning at Cardiff Bay - a rare selfie of me in The Water Tower there. I'm hesitant in explaining this but here goes........ The reason for this is because an altercation with a man who had parked his massive delivery lorry in a disabled parking bay taking up two spaces set aside for Blue Badge Holders had somewhat rattled me. Many will know that I find walking any great distance to be challenging so when I spend time at Cardiff Bay whilst Huw is in his monthly meeting at MS Soc Cymru, we need to park the car here because I use my 'Doris' Bike' . We both challenged the lorry driver over this and in brief, one of his sentences got to me .... "I'm fed up of the likes of you" as he took a phone shot of the inside of the open boot of our hatchback car (!) Anyhow I scooted off in the direction of Cardiff Wetlands Nature Reserve , a place where nature knows no boundaries nor discrimination.
I must say though that I did laugh when Huw joined me there and told me that when he returned to the car , there were three armed policemen looking at it ( presumably on the way to The Senedd / Welsh National Assembly) lol!!
This is a pseudo-colored image of high-resolution gradient-echo MRI scan of a fixed cerebral hemisphere from a person with multiple sclerosis.
Credit: Govind Bhagavatheeshwaran, Daniel Reich, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health
A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This is my daily treatment that will hopefully slow down (or stop) the progression of the disease.
I met several other patients and it was decided to have a hair cutting ceremony since everyone would loose their hair. The ceremony was cathartic.
Copyright © 2020 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
I’ve been standing on my toes every day, as a matter of health improvement (and because it still feels new). I decided to attempt to rock back on my heels, just to see if I could. I was amazed to find out I could rock back and forth from toes to heel, as long as I held to a stable item, like a chair, I was crying with joy because I have not been able to do that for several years. Amazing how simple things can fill me with joy
:-)
© 2023 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
One of the worst things I've experienced since my MS diagnosis is doing nothing. Merely existing. Unable to help.
Unable to do anything.
Copyright © 2019 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
Service-dog-in-training, Bogie, waits for Janice to call him in this first encounter with his potential "partner."
At the end of the day, we were asked to rank the dogs we had met from the one we liked best. For Janice and me, it was Bogie. We liked his assertiveness and his eagerness to work. The staff need to make the final decision, if a match is to be made this time around. But, it was fun -- and difficult! -- to state our preference.
This very friendly dog captured much attention at the M.S. Walk in Hershey, PA. She walked the distance, then fell asleep quickly as her humans ate lunch.
My wife loves crochet. Even with reduced coordination due to multiple sclerosis, and the titanium elbow she received after a fracture, she keeps going. With our first grandchild on the way, she just had to create a new afghan. Now, she has plans to teach some of the ladies in the church!
Wear red today to show your support.
Dare to wear nothing but red for the rest of this month to show your support.
Share an image with the pledge to kiss goodbye group. You will help to raise awareness while boosting my personal donation to MS Australia at the end of this month.
Donate to my fund raiser's page Palo's Pledge. All funds go directly to MS Australia to further research and to provide service to those affected by MS.
WARNING - tomorrow's post will contain quite a long story. Grab a coffee to enjoy while you read
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COPYRIGHT © Dragon Papillon Photography. 2013. All rights reserved.
The latest photo from my MS Journey - The Pain Behind The Beauty Project
MS had always sneaked up on me, slowly messing with my life. The bladder issues started early before my diagnosis. I would go to the bathroom and sit there waiting. I didn't understand what was happening to my body. Years after my diagnosis it really started bothering me. I wasn't just waiting longer for my bladder to work, it wasn't emptying completely. The sensation that I wanted to pee was always there. It's a pretty inconvenient thing to deal with all the time. Everywhere I went I was checking where the bathroom was before anything else. The thoughts of "what if I need to go?" or "what am I going to do?" were always there. I was living under a mental torture. Holding my pee became a burden.
My husband is an artist and we're always doing art shows or visiting art galleries. My first question to him every time we're participating in an art show is "is there a bathroom close to where we'll be?" In one of our visits to a local gallery I saw this goldfish series of paintings by the talented artist Amanda Outcalt. I knew immediately that It would be perfect to create the image I had in mind for this symptom. The fish outside of water represent how I feel while I navigate my journey. I always try to keep doing what I love, to enjoy the little moments, the mundane life and also the adventures that life brings. I want to be there for all of it and I will do anything within my power to not let MS stop me.
I used the balloon as a metaphor to represent my bladder and the idea that no matter where I go or what I'm doing I was always "holding" it.
Thankfully nowadays my bladder issue is stable. I did physical therapy and It was a life changer. Also I take medicine that helps to empty my bladder and I always do an annual check up with my Urologist.
You'll see more of this vest in future photos. In preparation for our first trip back to Lehigh Valley Zoo, where I volunteer, we ordered Janice a cooling vest.
Great for people with multiple sclerosis, the vest's lining has slots for blister packs of water, frozen in our chest freezer. We'll insert the packs before we leave, put the vest in a cooler, and dress her with it when we reach the zoo.
Janice has multiple sclerosis, making her especially sensitive to the summer heat. Now, I'll be the one sweating and she'll be heat proof!
Listen: Pull Me Under by Dream Theater
"Every step bings me colser to my last..."
One of the things I did not expect after my MS diagnosis was that I no longer fear a lot of things I used to.
Copyright © 2019 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
It was 4 years ago today that I got my stem cell transplant. Yes, I’m still keeping the tradition that my late wife started, a tart this year.
Things are looking OK for me. I still struggle. Yet, it’s totally not as bad as it used to be. I’m not in constant pain, I’ve not taken any MS drugs for over 4 years, I’m doing things I could not do 5 years ago.
Next year will be the major milestone.
Stay tuned.
© Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
A trainer straps a harness to Timber, a service-dog-in-training. Janice and I returned, today, to Susquehanna Service Dogs, where my wife is on a waiting list. The dog she receives will help her with things like balance, picking up objects, and even responding to a command like "Go find John!"
Today, Janice met three potential matches for her, including this strapping young man. I'm still editing photos from our trip; I'll post more tomorrow!
For everyone who took the time to read my story yesterday, thank you. No words today ... the theme for today's Kiss Goodbye to Multiple Sclerosis is a red building. This is the "red box" or Physical Theatre in Lilyfield. Posting this image does not suggest a relationship or association between MS Australia and the Theatre.
My current pledge is $303.75
Share an image with the pledge to kiss goodbye group. You will help to raise awareness while boosting my personal donation to MS Australia at the end of this month.
Donate to my fund raiser's page Palo's Pledge. All funds go directly to MS Australia to further research and to provide service to those affected by MS.
________________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHT © Dragon Papillon Photography. 2013. All rights reserved.
Does it count if you have hundreds of #books stored away in boxes because you moved back home with the folks? Hooray for #multiplesclerosis!! . #millennial #successquotes #quotes #quotestoliveby #quoteoftheday #libraries #averagesucks #amreading #readabook
"If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
For those who do not know me very well, how this image relates to opinion may be obtuse. I have given it an alternative title "pins and needles and pills" and this brief explanation.
Yesterday I finally got to see my neurologist after a two month wait. For the past two months, I have had a significant relapse of my multiple sclerosis - the first major and physically debilitating episode in 7 years.
Since my last MRI, I have developed two new lesions on the left hemisphere of my brain - not great news but news enough to support my neurologists arguments that I should once again seriously consider one of the treatments available to potentially slow down the rate of relapses and progression of this disease.
After the initial diagnosis of MS, I had for a period of time injected betaferons but suffered from significant side effects and decided to stop the treatment. The options open now are another form of injections that are daily or possibly a new oral pill which has recently become available in the last couple of years. Both options have their pros and cons ... and everyone seems to have an opinion.
The opinions of the medical experts tend to gloss over the harmful side effects, while researching for a second opinion on the web, there seem to be more horror stories than positive acclaims.
At the moment, I am working through my opinions ... as well as sifting through how my internal biases may be clouding or influencing my judgment. At the end of the day, there are two certainties -
(1) this disease is a part of my present and my future and
(2) I firmly believe that the brain has the power to heal itself and no drug will be as potent as that self positive belief in healing.
submitted to 100 words
68/100 words: opinion
© All rights reserved. 2012.
I was hesitant in choosing this for today's Photo a Day for fear of it being construed as bragging, so I double checked lunchtime with Huw who happens to be in Birmingham today.
Last night when I turned up for our MS fundraising group meeting followed by a Support Group meeting , the four of us who make up the group were given these awards by the Director of MS Cymru. If you look closely it's for the £5000 which we donated to research alone last month . We only started this group less than three years ago but in those three years we've raised over £20,000 in total ( distributed where it's needed ) Events have included Sky Diving, Charity Dinners, 10 k runs - you name it. I'd hoped to do the Velocity Zipwire in Bethesda myself on June 8th but there's another event that I'm to be at.
I don't know where to put it though so for the sake of the photo I moved my laptop from my desk and placed it there..... and cleared some dirty mugs away ;-)
Lovely husband just sent me this 😳 Luckily those on iPads won’t see the ‘live ‘ link 😉
This is a pseudo-colored image of high-resolution gradient-echo MRI scan of a fixed cerebral hemisphere from a person with multiple sclerosis.
Credit: Govind Bhagavatheeshwaran, Daniel Reich, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health
Listen: This Corrosion by Sisters of Mercy
"I bled all I can, I won't bleed no more"
Copyright © 2020 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
A QUICK NOTE TO ALL MY CONTACTS!
As many of you already know I have gone into business as a photographer to try and see what I can do out there.
You may also know that all of my prints are for sale, and I am starting to list them at
What you may not know is that someone close to me suffers from a very serious illness that unfortunately far to many people suffer from.....Multiple Sclerosis
MS is a bizzarre illness that affects everyone who has it in a different way, and although they do not have a cure for it yet, they are getting closer every day.
As such I have decided to DONATE 100% of the profits form the sale of my artwork to the National MS Society.
So if you like one of my prints and would like to contribute you can get ahold of me via flickr mail for pricing. If you don't want to but a print but still would like to contribute you can visit the National MS Society here
www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/index....
and click on the link on the right hand side to donate.
I know there are a lot of good issues out there to champion, but this is one I have decided to become personally involved in.
Thank you all in advance for your support
Today is my First Re-Birth Day.
One year ago today, at 12:09 PM, I received my own stem cells to halt the progression of my very aggressive MS.
So far, so good. My last MRI was stable and I need not get another 'till next year. I've not taken DMDs for over a year now.
I don't have to ask "What if.."
I need to thank my heroes, my wife Kelly (who got me a small birthday cake today) and my brother Alberto, for going way above and beyond for me. And to Clinica Ruiz with their wonderful staff for all that they have done, I wish them continued success.
I also need to thank the rest of my family and friends who made my MS journey a little less tough.
I still have a long way to go. And that's OK.
Salude!
Copyright © 2021 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
I saw my MS specialist yesterday. All continues to improve. I talked to him about how I’m now shifting my weight when I walk. It’s super subtle. It’s a combination of physical therapy and what I learned in aikido.
Copyright © 2021 Vic Bonilla All Rights Reserved.
Do not reproduce this image without expressed permission from the photographer.
For years, I've been giving my wife an injection each evening.
With multiple sclerosis, the body's immune system attacks the myelin coating on the nerves. Copaxone serves as a decoy, attracting the body's defense system away from what it shouldn't be attacking in the first place.
All this time, I've been using a plastic, spring-loaded "auto injector" to administer her medication. Years of this practice has caused some trouble with her skin.
So, today a home health nurse came to the house and taught me to inject with only the syringe. I practiced on a device that simulates the resistance of human skin.
I have yet to sink a needle into another human being, manually. But, I am soon to be initiated! The nurse says it'll actually be less painful for Janice than the auto-injector's spring-forced assault.
And quieter.
MS Awareness Week runs from 21st - 27th May.
Multiple Sclerosis effects around 70,000 in the UK. It is a disease which is more common in woman.
It affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, electrical signals are sent by the nerve cells down long fibres called axons which are wrapped in a substance called myelin. In MS, the body attacks and damages the myelin, when myelin is lost, the axons can no longer effectively conduct signals which explains alot of the symptoms within MS.
The most common and early symptoms of MS include tingling, numbness, loss of balance, weakness in one or more limbs, blurred or double vision. As the disease progresses other symptoms will become aparent, these can include muscle spasms, fatigue, heat sensitive, impaired thinking, mobilitly and problems with speech and swallowing.
There are 6 stages of MS these are •Benign Multiple Sclerosis
•Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS)
•Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS)
•Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS)
•Malignant Multiple Sclerosis (Marburg Variant)
•(Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis)
Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
is the most common form of MS. During this form of the disease, patients tend to experience an attack or series of attacks followed by complete or partial remission.
There is no known cure for MS, however research is on going, there have been break throughs in medication in the last few years which have helped ease some of the symptoms that people suffer from.
My mum has MS, she was diagnosed in 2003 after suffering from an awful MS attack, it was so bad she couldnt talk or barely move, she thought she was having a stroke it wasnt until she was admitted into hospital that she was diagnosed. As time has gone on the dicease has progressed as has her symptoms. She truley is an amazing woman, she fights the dicease everyday and everyday I look at her in awe. I am very proud to call her my mother.
*Please do not use any of my pictures in websites or blogs without permission.