I have mentioned in earlier posts (and here) why I blog. This is what I'm talkin' about and illustrates what I mean. The more ideas we share, the more ideas we spark. And that's what will find the last pieces of the puzzle.
I'm not suggesting that as a patient I hold the key to the MS mystery. I'm still in kindergarten compared to the scientists doing research. But maybe one of us will inspire an idea in these scientists.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Pot Pourri (Not Pot....Pot as in Poe)
Tonight John and I went to see the Halifax Rainmen (finally) play at the Metro Centre. They were scheduled to play a team last night and tonight, but that team unbelievably didn't show. This is the ABA, a pro sports organization! The Rainmen scrambled to find another team on short notice and the Atlanta Vision stepped up to the plate...er, court. I was chatting with the Rainmen's head coach, Rick Lewis yesterday about what happened and he said he's unsure, but that his team is always in a visiting city at least a day in advance of a game to avoid possible travel issues (and we have lots of them these days and especially in winter). Rick said they feel it's vital that they be where they're supposed to be for the paying fans of the game. They could have shrugged off the no-shows, but instead they worked hard at getting another team.
At the game we had excellent seats, sitting right behind the Atlanta Vision. At the half time we even chatted with the Vision's coach and thanked him for making the trip on such short notice. There were two university students sitting right behind us who were very vocal supporters of the Rainmen and razzed the Vision every chance they got, When the coach was talking to us they also thanked him for the effort in getting to Halifax and apologized if they were bugging his team too much with their cheering and chanting. The coach laughed and said no, it's good to see the team support. By the way, the Vision had to play in borrowed "Team Canada" T-shirts as the only piece of luggage that got lost was the one with the team jerseys. They had numbers in masking tape on their backs.
I have to say that both these teams and their coaches showed true class. I really enjoyed the family atmosphere and even the two guys behind us were fun. I asked them a lot of questions about some of the fun stuff going on during time outs and half time. They were loud but polite. John and I are definitely going to more games next season.
A couple of days ago, John and I took a drive on one of my training routes just to see how the road was shaping up. We saw a couple of funny things. The first was this.
Now, a dead squirrel on its own isn't funny, but every time we come across some unfortunate creature like this we say "Stupid place to take a nap". It works for raccoons, deer, coyote....and if it's in the middle of the road, I move it to the side.
The other funny thing is this. Two "Smart Cars", tiny little things.
Again, on their own, not funny, but it's the commentary that goes with it:"One for each foot".
At the lecture I attended after work today and before the basketball game (yes, full day), I learned about some of the work being done in Halifax on Parkinson's research. There really wasn't time to go into depth about neurogenesis sadly, so I have little to report on that front. I'll do a little digging and report back at a later time.
At the game we had excellent seats, sitting right behind the Atlanta Vision. At the half time we even chatted with the Vision's coach and thanked him for making the trip on such short notice. There were two university students sitting right behind us who were very vocal supporters of the Rainmen and razzed the Vision every chance they got, When the coach was talking to us they also thanked him for the effort in getting to Halifax and apologized if they were bugging his team too much with their cheering and chanting. The coach laughed and said no, it's good to see the team support. By the way, the Vision had to play in borrowed "Team Canada" T-shirts as the only piece of luggage that got lost was the one with the team jerseys. They had numbers in masking tape on their backs.
I have to say that both these teams and their coaches showed true class. I really enjoyed the family atmosphere and even the two guys behind us were fun. I asked them a lot of questions about some of the fun stuff going on during time outs and half time. They were loud but polite. John and I are definitely going to more games next season.
A couple of days ago, John and I took a drive on one of my training routes just to see how the road was shaping up. We saw a couple of funny things. The first was this.
Now, a dead squirrel on its own isn't funny, but every time we come across some unfortunate creature like this we say "Stupid place to take a nap". It works for raccoons, deer, coyote....and if it's in the middle of the road, I move it to the side.The other funny thing is this. Two "Smart Cars", tiny little things.
Again, on their own, not funny, but it's the commentary that goes with it:"One for each foot".
At the lecture I attended after work today and before the basketball game (yes, full day), I learned about some of the work being done in Halifax on Parkinson's research. There really wasn't time to go into depth about neurogenesis sadly, so I have little to report on that front. I'll do a little digging and report back at a later time.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
I Have One Word For you. Plastics.
When I was diagnosed with MS in 1998 I asked about appropriate physical activity related to physiotherapy wondering if that would help me recover use of my right side. I was told that exercise in general would be good for me but since the damage in MS involves the white matter of the brain and spinal column, any messages I was trying to send my affected muscles wouldn't get through. It's a communications problem in my brain, not a muscular one.Fast forward 10 years and suddenly we have an onslaught of information everywhere about neuroplasticity. It's a concept that means the brain is very capable of change, that new connections can be, and in fact are, made constantly. Where exactly are these connections happening? In the white matter of the brain, which is responsible for the different parts of the brain to communicate with each other.
The next question you might have is "How do we make more connections? And more importantly, can we make connections to bypass damaged parts of the brain?"
First of all, an optimum environment with basic building blocks is required. An optimum environment would be one free of physical impediments like alcohol and drugs, polluted air, improper amounts of sleep, and stress; and since that is almost impossible, reduce the impediments you are able to. Basic building blocks would be a low fat, high fibre diet with the "good" fats in suitable amounts (a great cheeseburger or hunk of chocolate cake is good for mental health once in a while-at least mine anyway).
Once you've started improving the environment, the fun begins. Research has shown that proper diet, sleep patterns, stress levels, and regular exercise increase the connections your brain makes. Regular exercise? Well, first of all, the exercise increases blood flow to the brain, improving the environment with oxygen and nutrients. Secondly, movement of your body involves a complex set of actions in the brain, neurons firing all over the place, reorganizing and reinforcing the neural networks you have in response to new stimuli.
So that's what we know so far. It's what people have been telling us for years. Use it or lose it. And now that we have a better understanding of how the brain makes these connections, we can put it into practical use. Move the parts of your body that you can, get someone to help with the parts you can't. There are adaptive programs of yoga, stretching, and other exercises available on the web and from your local MS Society office. (And physiotherapists can help with appropriate movements to help relieve symptoms of MS as well)
It appears that movement is the key to making more neural connections. And that's what we want to do as MSers, make more connections to (hopefully) bypass the damaged parts of the brain. That's what rehab for stroke victims entails, why wouldn't it work for us? What have we got to lose by trying? Besides a few unwanted pounds.
At this point you may be wondering about "mental" exercises for your brain. After all, every time you turn around you're reading or hearing about books, puzzles, and games to "strengthen" your brain or improve brain fitness. It's a little more complicated than just doing a crossword puzzle once a day. It's about actually using many cognitive processes that provide novelty, variety, and challenge. So mix it up. Learn something new. Pick a topic you always wanted to know about, research it, and learn about it. Then pick another.
The same can be said of physical exercise. Change it up a little bit, use different routes if you're walking or biking, do your exercises in a different order. Change is novelty and variety and that's a good thing for your brain.
I went to a lecture Tuesday night about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. I woke yesterday morning feeling very excited about this topic as it explains a couple of things I noticed about myself since I started cycling. First I noticed an improvement of my mood, though you may be thinking that I'm such a ray of sunshine I could never be in a bad mood. But it was there. I also noticed that fatigue didn't hit me as often as it had. My concentration improved. These were subtle differences I noticed for myself, nothing obvious to anyone else, but I also looked great and I felt great. Yeah, I still needed to get rid of a few extra pounds, but I had more compliments last summer than I had in a long time.
I wrote to the lecturer yesterday with a question of sorts:I'm curious about how the brain rewires where lesions are present and neurons may not be damaged, compared to stroke damage where neurons are killed.
Dr. Eskes kindly replied with good news:I checked pubmed and found many references on this as well as a review on this very topic.
Sports Med. 2008;38(2):91-100.
Exercise and brain health--implications for multiple sclerosis: Part 1--neuronal
growth factors.
White LJ, Castellano V.
Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
ljwhite@uga.edu
Recent studies suggest that exercise may enhance neurobiological processes that
promote brain health in aging and disease. A current frontier in the
neurodegenerative disorder multiple sclerosis (MS) concerns the role of physical
activity for promoting brain health through protective, regenerative and adaptive
neural processes. Research on neuromodulation, raises the possibility that
regular physical activity may mediate favourable changes in disease factors and
symptoms associated with MS, in part through changes in neuroactive proteins.
Insulin-like growth factor-I appears to act as a neuroprotective agent and
studies indicate that exercise could promote this factor in MS. Neurotrophins,
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor likely play
roles in neuronal survival and activity-dependent plasticity. Physical activity
has also been shown to up-regulate hippocampal BDNF, which may play a role in
mood states, learning and memory to lessen the decline in cognitive function
associated with MS. In addition, exercise may promote anti-oxidant defences and
neurotrophic support that could attenuate CNS vulnerability to neuronal
degeneration. Exercise exposure (preconditioning) may serve as a mechanism to
enhance stress resistance and thereby may support neuronal survival under
heightened stress conditions. Considering that axonal loss and cerebral atrophy
occur early in the disease, exercise prescription in the acute stage could
promote neuroprotection, neuroregeneration and neuroplasticity and reduce
long-term disability. This review concludes with a proposed conceptual model to
connect these promising links between exercise and brain health.
This is a fairly new topic requiring further research, however, there are positive signs that exercise is beneficial to those of us with MS and a possible source of rehabilitation, my idea being that you must exercise the affected areas. We don't want to just come up with compensatory actions for what we may have lost, but make new neural connections or pathways for the affected areas. As humans we have a tendency to take the easy way, path of least resistance and all that. We should probably be exercising those parts of us that offer the greatest resistance in order to promote nerve growth, regeneration, and rewiring. I once talked to a paraplegic who said he wanted to keep up an exercise routine to keep his non-working muscles in shape so he'd be ready for the day when scientists came up with an effective treatment for his spinal cord injury and he'd be able to walk again. Even if exercise doesn't work to completely restore what we may have lost, at least we'll be keeping in shape and we'll be ready for the day when a cure is found.
In case you weren't aware of it, this is Brain Awareness Week. Are you aware?
S.
I will address neurogenesis in a later post. There's another lecture concerning it and transplantation of neural stem cells I want to take in on Friday.
In case you weren't aware, the title of the post is from The Graduate.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I'm Published!
Today, The Atlantic Pedaler published the first of my columns on biking with MS. The series is a look at how I came to be physically active and my involvement with cycling as recreation as well as exercise. Ken is the publisher of this e-zine and if you are interested in cycling in Atlantic Canada it's free to register. It also has cycling stories from other parts of the world.
I am working on a post about neuroplasticity (I know Charles will be keen on this one) so look for that one in a day or two.
Here's my first column.
I am working on a post about neuroplasticity (I know Charles will be keen on this one) so look for that one in a day or two.
Here's my first column.
If it weren't for having MS, I wouldn't be a cyclist. Ken kindly asked me to write about my experiences with cycling and having MS, so until the bike tour I'll be writing a regular column about this illness, my journeys with my bikes, and how I've become a recreational biker.
In January 1998 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. For the past 10 years I have been extremely lucky to have had little effect from this disease and hopefully it will continue to just remain fairly benign.
Since my diagnosis I have been a volunteer with the MS Society Atlantic Division in many capacities, mostly as a speaker or MC at events like the Super Cities Walk. Last year, though, I participated in the Rona MS Bike Tour, biking 100 k over two days. Considering that I had been a couch potato until the year before that, it was a great accomplishment. I also managed to raise over $15,000 for the MS Society in the process.
My quest to ride began when my boyfriend, John, decided to ride in the 2006 bike tour. I said I would train with him so I hit the gym for two months before even getting on a bicycle. I have never been exercise-friendly; even going for a walk was difficult as I would easily be distracted by bugs, rocks, plants, and anything of that sort, stopping to inspect anything of interest to my nature-loving mind.
Two months at the gym and it was time to get a bike. A Canadian Tire Supercycle seemed like a good place to start (after all, I had those as a kid) so I got one - a mountain bike. I soon discovered that biking was my sport. We hit the trails around HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality)and pretty soon it was nothing for me to do 20k rides. And I was beginning to think that a 100 k ride for me was feasible.
John did the bike tour in 2006 and I signed up to do the one in 2007. We biked after the tour including a trek to Jack's Lake in Bedford where I had my first fall off the bike. I was so proud of my "battle scars" that I got more a couple of days later doing the Whopper Dropper in Bayer's Lake.
The physical activity was proving to be a good thing for me and my MS. I was getting in shape. Riding in the woods or on trails was a mind clearing activity. And I was addicted to riding. Going down rock strewn hills at top speed was a little disconcerting to the boyfriend, mind you. He had visions of having to explain to my parents why I was in hospital with broken bones.
MS can play havoc with your internal temperature gauge. I would over heat quite easily and that would zonk me out too fast so I began searching for something to help keep me cool (besides the tons of water I was drinking). I had a neck bandana that I put in cold water before a ride. The gel beads in the bandana would swell and retain the water, so that helped. But there was nothing out there I could put in my helmet to keep my head cool. If my head is cool, the rest of my body follows that lead. Then I discovered the inserts road crews wear under their helmets. One of those would work! I found a company that sold them, but only in cases of 12. A great guy (Stan) at K and D Pratt managed to get me a sample from the company that makes them. What a great invention!
As you all know, riding a mountain bike on pavement is tough going. So I decided to continue to train with it but was going to get myself a touring bike, too, for the actual Bike Tour. Christmas came and I got myself a Specialized touring bike from Cyclesmith. I also got a trainer so I could keep cycling until the weather cleared a little bit.
I also had to undertake fundraising. A friend I ran into one day donated $5,000! He had been looking for something for a tax break and my timing was impeccable. I harrassed my friends, neighbours and co-workers for another 5 grand.
The weather improved and pretty soon I was taking the bike out after work and on the weekends John and I would do 20-30 k rides on the trails. And we would bike with teammates from our team, the Cycledelics.
A few days before the tour, my generous friend called me to ask if I wanted another $5,000. Of course! Suddenly I had $15,000 for the Bike Tour. I was walking on air, my excitement level was almost unbearable. I was going to do this. I was going to bike 100k!
Two nights before the tour I had an "almost" panic attack. What if the heat got to me? What if I couldn't bike those hills? What if, what if, what if....I think the adrenaline rush I had experienced for an extended period of time just overwhelmed me. I calmed myself down by saying, "I'm just going for another bike ride" and pretty soon it was the morning of July 28th. I had decided to head out right away on the route as it was going to be very hot and I wanted to take advantage of the early morning coolness. Good thing, too, as the temps were at 30 by 11 in the morning.
I left Windsor at 8:10 after registration and arrived at Acadia at 12:15. I had been worried about Mount Denson, but that wasn't a tough hill. It was the last hill from the Gaspereau to the top of Ridge Road that almost did me in. I ended up walking the last 100 metres to the top and cruised down the last little bit into Acadia. I did it! It took me 4 hours and more than 3 litres of water but I did it. The next morning I would do it in reverse. In the pouring rain. Glorious, cool, wet rain that soaked me completely and kept my body at a very comfortable temperature. I had a tire flatten as I was pulling into the rest stop in Hantsport, but after it was fixed, I set out again. The return was a little slower for me and some of my teammates caught up with me, so a bunch of us were able to cross the finish line together. I did it! Former couch potato and person with MS. An athlete!
I am signed up again for this year's tour so I'm on a quest to fundraise. If you'd like to contribute to my quest, click on the link for fundraising. If you'd like to join the bike tour visit www.mssociety.ca
S.Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Excitement Builds
Ask me if I'm excited. OK, then, I'll just tell you I'm excited. Two things happened this weekend. The first is that I met Cranky Baby in person. She's just as foul tempered looking in person as she is on the web. But her mom is a sweetheart and she's excited about us getting together to do some fundraising for the Bike tour as well as spreading awareness of MS to a larger community. Cranky Baby will come with me from time to time on my forays into the wilds on Halifax trails as I train and we'll be bringing you pics of our outings. I know you're thrilled to hear that.The other thing that happened is that I sent an e-mail to the publisher of a regional e-zine for cyclists in Atlantic Canada asking if I could publicize the Bike Tour and solicit donations through the e-zine. He wrote back and asked if I would write a monthly column about the event, my cycling experiences, and recreational cycling as an MSer. Ask me if I was excited. OK, then, I'll just......well, you get the picture. If it weren't for MS, I wouldn't be cycling, I wouldn't be involved in the Sackville Rivers Association (which is another post coming soon), and I wouldn't be involved with Nova Scotia Rails to Trails. Which means I wouldn't be finding as many nifty 6-legged specimens as I have found on my journeys. Which means you wouldn't get a chance to see the cool pics. So it's a relatively good thing I have MS.
S.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Connections
Warning: Long post ahead. Go make a cup of tea before you sit down to this.
I own a self winding watch that doesn't. Last year I took it to a professional for cleaning and a tune up. He got it up and running again, I took it home, wore it for a day and it stopped. I put it in my purse to take back, and when I pulled it out to show him, it was working again. I put it on and a couple of hours later it stopped again. I took it back and was informed that sometimes self winding watches need actual physical winding.
I was driving with my mother one day when she noticed a knocking sound in the engine of my car. "You should get that checked out", she said. So I take it in to the mechanic and explain about the noise. "When does it make the noise?" he asked. "When my mom's in the car", was my reply. (You should have seen the look he gave me; no sense of humor) He got in the car with me and we took it for a spin. Of course there was no sound.
I have problems with electronic equipment at work. One day I crashed 3 different computers, one just by sitting down next to it. For the longest time I was having anomalous things happen when I was on the air...computer screens going dark, sound monitors in the control room turning themselves off, and the channel for the microphone turning itself off (usually while in the middle of speaking). It turns out I seem to have an inordinate amount of static electricity build-up in my body and simply waving my hand over the board that controls everything on air can turn off a channel.
For a while, it seemed that every time an alarm sounded at work (to indicate we were off air), it was my fault somehow. In fact, the head tech guy asked me one day if I had been in Newfoundland over the weekend (another province over where we have a sister station). I said no and asked him why. "Because the transmitter burned down", he said.
Over the years I have collected a number of these stories. Maybe they happen with the same frequency for other people but they don't take note of them. Maybe I just notice them because I see connections everywhere. And that is actually the point of this post, if you're still with me.
I have been contemplating doing a post on the "connectedness" of things. I can take almost any subject and find a way to relate it to myself. That's how I learn. but while researching "coincidence" and "synchronicity" I came across the Pauli Effect:
a tongue-in-cheek reference to the apparently mysterious failure of technical equipment in the presence of certain people, particularly theoretical physicists. It is named after the Austrian theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli. The Pauli effect was named after his(Wolfgang Pauli) bizarre ability to break experimental equipment simply by being in the vicinity. Pauli himself was aware of his reputation, and delighted whenever the Pauli effect manifested.(from Wikipedia).
OMG!! There's a name for it! The engine sounds disappearing in the presence of a mechanic or the channels and monitors turning themselves off but never in the presence of a tech guy (until finally one day when one happened to be standing right behind me). It's the Pauli Effect.
How excited was I to learn about this? Over the moon doesn't even come close. It happens to other people, too! I'm not an idiot! I'm not jinxed! I was thrilled to make this discovery for a couple of reasons. First, it meant that this phenomena is not the universe trying to get me. Second, it turns out that this guy Pauli became a patient and then friend of psychotherapist Carl Jung who's best known for his ideas of a collective unconscious and his theory of synchronicity.
Synchronicty! Aha! That's what I was looking for to begin with.
Coincidence is a noteworthy occurrence of two or more events or circumstances that don't have an obvious causal connection. For example, my co-worker Mary's birthday is February 28th. Her older sister Christine was a leap year baby. It would be more of a coincidence if they were both born on February 29th, but throughout their lives they have celebrated their birthdays together.
Synchronicity is also the occurrence of two or more events or circumstances that don't have an obvious causal connection, but they occur in a meaningful manner. My co-worker's sister, Christine, gave birth last week on February 29th! A leap year baby having a leap year baby! It's not unusual for women to give birth on their birthday, but to give birth on a birthday that only happens once every four years is...synchronous.
Over the years I have experienced this type of synchronicity many times. At university during my first year (1980), one of my biology lab partners was Grant, who hailed from Ontario, halfway across the country. I haven't seen him since we graduated in '84, but I met his uncle in 1998. His uncle is my neurologist.
Shortly after I was diagnosed I was at the local office of the MS Society and noticed a picture on the wall of a guy who had just finished his term as Pres of the Atlantic Division of the MS Society (or Chairman or some such). He was the brother of a former boyfriend.
Even the events surrounding my diagnosis were rather synchronous...I've blogged about it before: The Monkey's Paw and Insert Horseshoe Here.
I meet a lot of people in my line of work. Actually, I talk to more people than I meet, but some I do eventually meet face to face. One woman I talked to just before Christmas and I hit it off on the phone, then through e-mail, and finally in person. Kathy just seemed like good people. Turns out, she and I had a person in common, another MSer I knew through MS activities and who Kathy knew through a bible study they both belong to. Kathy and I and our respective significant others (Jane and John[aka Wookie]) got together for dinner a couple of weeks ago. Turns out Jane and a friend of mine from university ( a gazillion years ago) worked together until a few years ago.
I attended a university with a rather significant and recognizable school ring. Almost every social occassion I attend there is someone else there with the same ring. We instantly have a connection (even if it's just the rash that sometimes pops up under it). And even if there's no one else with that ring at the event, someone always comments on it to tell me their son or daughter or dad went there.
Last week I began putting on paper, so to speak, my ideas about coincidence, and doing some research on the subject while Lost was on TV. That is one interconnected show. Everyone is connected to everyone else even before they ended up on the island together. I realized after last night's episode that this is what attracts me to the show in the first place, and what keeps me getting sucked back in every time I aver to never watch it again. I am waiting for the resolution of how and why everyone is connected. I really want to know.
And when discussing this show with a co-worker and my upcoming post about coincidence, he said that with technology moving at the speed it is, it's no wonder the world is getting smaller. More and more connections are being made, even if it is on the internet. Kind of like pen pals, only faster.
So what has all this to do with MS? Simple really. I'm looking for the connections we MSers have with each other. And to do that I blog, I volunteer with the MS Society, and I raise funds for research. I also take part in studies relating to this disease because I have GOT to know HOW this disease works. MS is not a magic trick I can figure out or a mechanical device I can learn about. It is an as yet unsolvable logic puzzle. And everything I read, write, or research leads me a little closer to understanding.
I don't know why I have MS but I know what to do with it. And I promise to only use this power for good.
S.
I own a self winding watch that doesn't. Last year I took it to a professional for cleaning and a tune up. He got it up and running again, I took it home, wore it for a day and it stopped. I put it in my purse to take back, and when I pulled it out to show him, it was working again. I put it on and a couple of hours later it stopped again. I took it back and was informed that sometimes self winding watches need actual physical winding.
I was driving with my mother one day when she noticed a knocking sound in the engine of my car. "You should get that checked out", she said. So I take it in to the mechanic and explain about the noise. "When does it make the noise?" he asked. "When my mom's in the car", was my reply. (You should have seen the look he gave me; no sense of humor) He got in the car with me and we took it for a spin. Of course there was no sound.
I have problems with electronic equipment at work. One day I crashed 3 different computers, one just by sitting down next to it. For the longest time I was having anomalous things happen when I was on the air...computer screens going dark, sound monitors in the control room turning themselves off, and the channel for the microphone turning itself off (usually while in the middle of speaking). It turns out I seem to have an inordinate amount of static electricity build-up in my body and simply waving my hand over the board that controls everything on air can turn off a channel.
For a while, it seemed that every time an alarm sounded at work (to indicate we were off air), it was my fault somehow. In fact, the head tech guy asked me one day if I had been in Newfoundland over the weekend (another province over where we have a sister station). I said no and asked him why. "Because the transmitter burned down", he said.
Over the years I have collected a number of these stories. Maybe they happen with the same frequency for other people but they don't take note of them. Maybe I just notice them because I see connections everywhere. And that is actually the point of this post, if you're still with me.
I have been contemplating doing a post on the "connectedness" of things. I can take almost any subject and find a way to relate it to myself. That's how I learn. but while researching "coincidence" and "synchronicity" I came across the Pauli Effect:
a tongue-in-cheek reference to the apparently mysterious failure of technical equipment in the presence of certain people, particularly theoretical physicists. It is named after the Austrian theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli. The Pauli effect was named after his(Wolfgang Pauli) bizarre ability to break experimental equipment simply by being in the vicinity. Pauli himself was aware of his reputation, and delighted whenever the Pauli effect manifested.(from Wikipedia).
OMG!! There's a name for it! The engine sounds disappearing in the presence of a mechanic or the channels and monitors turning themselves off but never in the presence of a tech guy (until finally one day when one happened to be standing right behind me). It's the Pauli Effect.
How excited was I to learn about this? Over the moon doesn't even come close. It happens to other people, too! I'm not an idiot! I'm not jinxed! I was thrilled to make this discovery for a couple of reasons. First, it meant that this phenomena is not the universe trying to get me. Second, it turns out that this guy Pauli became a patient and then friend of psychotherapist Carl Jung who's best known for his ideas of a collective unconscious and his theory of synchronicity.
Synchronicty! Aha! That's what I was looking for to begin with.
Coincidence is a noteworthy occurrence of two or more events or circumstances that don't have an obvious causal connection. For example, my co-worker Mary's birthday is February 28th. Her older sister Christine was a leap year baby. It would be more of a coincidence if they were both born on February 29th, but throughout their lives they have celebrated their birthdays together.
Synchronicity is also the occurrence of two or more events or circumstances that don't have an obvious causal connection, but they occur in a meaningful manner. My co-worker's sister, Christine, gave birth last week on February 29th! A leap year baby having a leap year baby! It's not unusual for women to give birth on their birthday, but to give birth on a birthday that only happens once every four years is...synchronous.
Over the years I have experienced this type of synchronicity many times. At university during my first year (1980), one of my biology lab partners was Grant, who hailed from Ontario, halfway across the country. I haven't seen him since we graduated in '84, but I met his uncle in 1998. His uncle is my neurologist.
Shortly after I was diagnosed I was at the local office of the MS Society and noticed a picture on the wall of a guy who had just finished his term as Pres of the Atlantic Division of the MS Society (or Chairman or some such). He was the brother of a former boyfriend.
Even the events surrounding my diagnosis were rather synchronous...I've blogged about it before: The Monkey's Paw and Insert Horseshoe Here.
I meet a lot of people in my line of work. Actually, I talk to more people than I meet, but some I do eventually meet face to face. One woman I talked to just before Christmas and I hit it off on the phone, then through e-mail, and finally in person. Kathy just seemed like good people. Turns out, she and I had a person in common, another MSer I knew through MS activities and who Kathy knew through a bible study they both belong to. Kathy and I and our respective significant others (Jane and John[aka Wookie]) got together for dinner a couple of weeks ago. Turns out Jane and a friend of mine from university ( a gazillion years ago) worked together until a few years ago.
I attended a university with a rather significant and recognizable school ring. Almost every social occassion I attend there is someone else there with the same ring. We instantly have a connection (even if it's just the rash that sometimes pops up under it). And even if there's no one else with that ring at the event, someone always comments on it to tell me their son or daughter or dad went there.
Last week I began putting on paper, so to speak, my ideas about coincidence, and doing some research on the subject while Lost was on TV. That is one interconnected show. Everyone is connected to everyone else even before they ended up on the island together. I realized after last night's episode that this is what attracts me to the show in the first place, and what keeps me getting sucked back in every time I aver to never watch it again. I am waiting for the resolution of how and why everyone is connected. I really want to know.
And when discussing this show with a co-worker and my upcoming post about coincidence, he said that with technology moving at the speed it is, it's no wonder the world is getting smaller. More and more connections are being made, even if it is on the internet. Kind of like pen pals, only faster.
So what has all this to do with MS? Simple really. I'm looking for the connections we MSers have with each other. And to do that I blog, I volunteer with the MS Society, and I raise funds for research. I also take part in studies relating to this disease because I have GOT to know HOW this disease works. MS is not a magic trick I can figure out or a mechanical device I can learn about. It is an as yet unsolvable logic puzzle. And everything I read, write, or research leads me a little closer to understanding.
I don't know why I have MS but I know what to do with it. And I promise to only use this power for good.
S.
A Lot of Link Love
This community of MS bloggers is really growing. You can see how much courtesy of Lisa over at Brass and Ivory.
9 Brand New MS Bloggers joined the blogosphere in 2008!!
New! Carole's MS Blog (Carole) 49
New! Great Mastications (Orla) 37
New! Movin' On with MS (Sammie) 26
New! Me, Myself and MS (Emma) 10
New! Being Ammey 8
New! Blogbuster (Daniel) 6
New! Etsy Crest (Shelby) 6
New! Serina's Blog 5
New! I'm Beating MS (Michael) 2
Most Prolific MS Blogger - so far in 2008!!
Jim's Deep Thoughts (Jim) 231
Top 10 Rather Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
A Stellarlife (Diane) 109
Multiple Synchronicities & Sclerosis (Merelyme) 90
Friday's Child 70
My Journey - Living Well with MS (Diana) 69
Sunshine and Moonlight (Kim) 65
The MonSter Ate My Branes! (Natalie) 65
Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia 60
Brass and Ivory (Lisa) 56
Brain Cheese (Linda) 52
Maybe I'm Just Lazy (Julie) 51
28 Moderately Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Maggsbunny (Maggie) 48
Living with Multiple Sclerosis (TC) 47
MS My Way 43
Bugs, Bikes, Brains (Shauna) 39
Dancing with MS (Lazscott) 37
Trying to Catch My Breath 37
A Florida Journal (SwampAngel) 35
Now We Are Six (Tish) 33
Reality Check (Michael) 32
Access Denied (Herrad) 31
Multiple Sclerosis Blog (Charles of MSBpodcast.com) 30
MS Activist (NMSS) 29
Self-injecting Chinese Hamsters since 2007 27
Shirl's the Girl (Shirley) 27
Disabled Not Dead (Anne) 26
Life with MS (Trevis) 26
Living with MS (Blinders Off) 25
White Lightning Axiom - Redux (mdm) 25
Stevers! 23
Word Salads (Have Myelin?) 23
Danieldoo (Vivian) 22
Caregivingly Yours (Patrick) 20
Deo Volente (Lisa N) 20
Down the MS Path (Vicki) 19
Do You Have That in My Size? (Denise) 17
Jenn's Nook (Jenn) 17
Fingolimod and Me (Jeri) 16
Human Life Matters (Mark) 16
51 Mildly Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
A Life of Learning with MS 15
Behind Blue Eyes (Zee) 15
Katy and Mike's Adventure (Katy) 15
Living Life as a Snowflake (Sharon) 15
Mandatory Rest Period (Kim) 15
MS Maze (Mandy) 15
My Journey with MS (Christina) 15
The Multiple Sclerosis Companion (Pat) 15
'Tis Herself (Kell) 15
A Short in the Cord (Joan) 14
Blindbeard's MS Blog 14
Bubbie's Blog (Cathy) 14
One Crazy Chick (Chris) 14
Pat's Pond (Pat) 14
Rants and Musings (Cutter) 14
G and K's Mom 13
MS Toolkit 13
Newly Diagnosed with MS (Andrea) 13
One Life (Stephen) 13
MS Not Just a Diary (Doug) 12
Rayne's World (Jayme) 12
Chaos Personified 11
My MS Journal (Jaime) 11
Purely Patsy (14 yr old Patsy) 11
Victoria Plum - Technician! (Victoria) 11
26 Less Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Broken Clay (Katja) 10
Mark Pickup (Mark) 10
My Chain Driven Ride through Life in Alaska (Michelle) 10
Deborah Does Navel-Gazing (Deb) 9
Funky Mango's Musings 9
Inside the Mind of a Squirrel 9
Living Well with MS (Michon) 9
No Time for MS (Courtney) 9
Sorting It All Out (Michael) 9
Travels With Lucy (Virginia) 9
MS Caregivers (Prudence) 8
Can You Hear Me Now? (Donna) 7
Irreverence is Justified 7
Multiple Sclerosis Notes 7
My Tysabri Diary (Lauren) 7
Chris Has MS (Chris) 6
Diary of MS X (7 Divas) 5
Electrical Disturbance (Stephan) 5
Know Multiple Sclerosis 5
MS in the OC (Frank) 5
MS News and Notes (Deb) 5
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Ann) 5
The Endomorph (Ruth) 5
The Jaws of My Life (Jaws) 5
Time to Deal with MS (Homer) 5
YodaMamma MS & More 5
38 Barely Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Some of these folks have multiple blogs or co-blog and are loved none-the-less!! Let's help spread the love and let them know that WE know they are appreciated.
Carolyne's MS Odyssey (Carolyne) 4
Defeating Illness (Chris) 4
Intent, Context, Perception (Chris) 4
Libbi's MS Journey (Libbi) 4
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Judi) 4
My Autoimmune Life 4
The Life & Times of Sancho Knotwise (JM) 4
The Zen Pretzel Trick (Zen Angel) 4
When it's Raining... (Keeley) 4
Kebenaran - The Truth 3
Montana Homecoming (Sister Jane) 3
Ms Quill 3
Reality Chick (Keli) 3
Catch My Disease (Lisle) 2
Clods and Pebbles 2
Dissonance 2
Georgia MS Advocates 2
Lazy Dog Public House 2
Looking Forward with MS (Pamela) 2
Surviving MS in Alaska (Michelle) 2
These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty (Trrish) 2
Troy's Multiple Sclerosis Experience 2
You Me and MS (Judi) 2
Camille's MSadventures 1
Comment Column (Virginia) 1
Erik's MS & Lyme Blog 1
Hop Bloody Hop (Philip) 1
Jenn's Journey with MS (Jenn) 1
Living with MS (Cyndee) 1
Mismorphic's World of MS 1
MS Musings 1
MS Real Life Stories & Issues (Kristin) 1
Postcards of My Life (Sherry) 1
Rebooting Times 1
Shoester (Doug) 1
The BS of My MS (Heather) 1
The Perseverant Pincushion (Trish) 1
Tysabri Help (Deej) 1
Having too many items from various posters to count:
LJ Users with Multiple Sclerosis
And finally - 26 MS Bloggers who have been silent in 2008!!
Angst on a Shoestring (Gina)
Dandelion Wine (Lynx)
Doug's MS Journal (Doug)
Imagine Bliss Butterfly (Suzy)
It's Not All in My Head (Optimist)
Just Above the Abyss (Heidi)
Life with MS , seeking a cure (Karyl)
Managing MS with Tai Chi (Joel)
Managing Multiple Sclerosis
Marciarita
Michele's Blog
Mike's Place
MS - My Scene (Virginia)
My Complications (Amanda)
My Demyelination (Tina)
My MS Experience
Object of My Injection (Michelle)
Say It Isn't So (Mouse)
Talk Story with Kimberly
The Great NetXperiment
To Be Continued... (Jaime)
Truth and Beauty (Baraka)
Tryin' to Imagine Bliss (Suzy)
What is MS to Me (Dave)
Willy's MS Rants
Wind Among the Reeds
Hard to categorize:
I Have MS (Tim)
Huggins' MS Pages (James)
MS - A Personal Account
MS Protocols (Jeff)
MSB's Podcast
MSing Around
Multiple Sclerosis Blog and News
Multiple Sclerosis Sucks
OUCH! It's a Disability Thing
Squiffy's House of Fun
MS Awareness, Blogging Friends, and a little Link Love
There are at least 137 MS Bloggers out there actively discussing whatever suits their fancy. Below you will find many of these suspects....wait... I mean lovely blogger friends who happen to have multiple sclerosis.
Remember how I mentioned a group project was in the works? Well here it is. As the founder of the Carnival of MS Bloggers, I'd like your help in spreading the word, and in doing so we will strengthen the bonds of our own little Multiple Sclerosis Blogging Web (and share some linkie love with each other). If you are not an MS Blogger, but are a regular reader here, please feel free to help spread the word too.
Here's what you do:
- Copy the entirety of this post
- Create a new post and paste this content
- Visit 3 of the blogs listed below which you were unfamiliar
- Leave a comment on their blog encouraging them to participate
- Please add Brass and Ivory to your sidebar, if it's not already
Names of the Blogs - Name of Blogger (if known)
and # of posts in 2008 (as of 3/5)
9 Brand New MS Bloggers joined the blogosphere in 2008!!
New! Carole's MS Blog (Carole) 49
New! Great Mastications (Orla) 37
New! Movin' On with MS (Sammie) 26
New! Me, Myself and MS (Emma) 10
New! Being Ammey 8
New! Blogbuster (Daniel) 6
New! Etsy Crest (Shelby) 6
New! Serina's Blog 5
New! I'm Beating MS (Michael) 2
Most Prolific MS Blogger - so far in 2008!!
Jim's Deep Thoughts (Jim) 231
Top 10 Rather Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
A Stellarlife (Diane) 109
Multiple Synchronicities & Sclerosis (Merelyme) 90
Friday's Child 70
My Journey - Living Well with MS (Diana) 69
Sunshine and Moonlight (Kim) 65
The MonSter Ate My Branes! (Natalie) 65
Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia 60
Brass and Ivory (Lisa) 56
Brain Cheese (Linda) 52
Maybe I'm Just Lazy (Julie) 51
28 Moderately Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Maggsbunny (Maggie) 48
Living with Multiple Sclerosis (TC) 47
MS My Way 43
Bugs, Bikes, Brains (Shauna) 39
Dancing with MS (Lazscott) 37
Trying to Catch My Breath 37
A Florida Journal (SwampAngel) 35
Now We Are Six (Tish) 33
Reality Check (Michael) 32
Access Denied (Herrad) 31
Multiple Sclerosis Blog (Charles of MSBpodcast.com) 30
MS Activist (NMSS) 29
Self-injecting Chinese Hamsters since 2007 27
Shirl's the Girl (Shirley) 27
Disabled Not Dead (Anne) 26
Life with MS (Trevis) 26
Living with MS (Blinders Off) 25
White Lightning Axiom - Redux (mdm) 25
Stevers! 23
Word Salads (Have Myelin?) 23
Danieldoo (Vivian) 22
Caregivingly Yours (Patrick) 20
Deo Volente (Lisa N) 20
Down the MS Path (Vicki) 19
Do You Have That in My Size? (Denise) 17
Jenn's Nook (Jenn) 17
Fingolimod and Me (Jeri) 16
Human Life Matters (Mark) 16
51 Mildly Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
A Life of Learning with MS 15
Behind Blue Eyes (Zee) 15
Katy and Mike's Adventure (Katy) 15
Living Life as a Snowflake (Sharon) 15
Mandatory Rest Period (Kim) 15
MS Maze (Mandy) 15
My Journey with MS (Christina) 15
The Multiple Sclerosis Companion (Pat) 15
'Tis Herself (Kell) 15
A Short in the Cord (Joan) 14
Blindbeard's MS Blog 14
Bubbie's Blog (Cathy) 14
One Crazy Chick (Chris) 14
Pat's Pond (Pat) 14
Rants and Musings (Cutter) 14
G and K's Mom 13
MS Toolkit 13
Newly Diagnosed with MS (Andrea) 13
One Life (Stephen) 13
MS Not Just a Diary (Doug) 12
Rayne's World (Jayme) 12
Chaos Personified 11
My MS Journal (Jaime) 11
Purely Patsy (14 yr old Patsy) 11
Victoria Plum - Technician! (Victoria) 11
26 Less Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Broken Clay (Katja) 10
Mark Pickup (Mark) 10
My Chain Driven Ride through Life in Alaska (Michelle) 10
Deborah Does Navel-Gazing (Deb) 9
Funky Mango's Musings 9
Inside the Mind of a Squirrel 9
Living Well with MS (Michon) 9
No Time for MS (Courtney) 9
Sorting It All Out (Michael) 9
Travels With Lucy (Virginia) 9
MS Caregivers (Prudence) 8
Can You Hear Me Now? (Donna) 7
Irreverence is Justified 7
Multiple Sclerosis Notes 7
My Tysabri Diary (Lauren) 7
Chris Has MS (Chris) 6
Diary of MS X (7 Divas) 5
Electrical Disturbance (Stephan) 5
Know Multiple Sclerosis 5
MS in the OC (Frank) 5
MS News and Notes (Deb) 5
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Ann) 5
The Endomorph (Ruth) 5
The Jaws of My Life (Jaws) 5
Time to Deal with MS (Homer) 5
YodaMamma MS & More 5
38 Barely Prolific MS Bloggers - so far in 2008!!
Some of these folks have multiple blogs or co-blog and are loved none-the-less!! Let's help spread the love and let them know that WE know they are appreciated.
Carolyne's MS Odyssey (Carolyne) 4
Defeating Illness (Chris) 4
Intent, Context, Perception (Chris) 4
Libbi's MS Journey (Libbi) 4
MS Recovery Diet Blog (Judi) 4
My Autoimmune Life 4
The Life & Times of Sancho Knotwise (JM) 4
The Zen Pretzel Trick (Zen Angel) 4
When it's Raining... (Keeley) 4
Kebenaran - The Truth 3
Montana Homecoming (Sister Jane) 3
Ms Quill 3
Reality Chick (Keli) 3
Catch My Disease (Lisle) 2
Clods and Pebbles 2
Dissonance 2
Georgia MS Advocates 2
Lazy Dog Public House 2
Looking Forward with MS (Pamela) 2
Surviving MS in Alaska (Michelle) 2
These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty (Trrish) 2
Troy's Multiple Sclerosis Experience 2
You Me and MS (Judi) 2
Camille's MSadventures 1
Comment Column (Virginia) 1
Erik's MS & Lyme Blog 1
Hop Bloody Hop (Philip) 1
Jenn's Journey with MS (Jenn) 1
Living with MS (Cyndee) 1
Mismorphic's World of MS 1
MS Musings 1
MS Real Life Stories & Issues (Kristin) 1
Postcards of My Life (Sherry) 1
Rebooting Times 1
Shoester (Doug) 1
The BS of My MS (Heather) 1
The Perseverant Pincushion (Trish) 1
Tysabri Help (Deej) 1
Having too many items from various posters to count:
LJ Users with Multiple Sclerosis
And finally - 26 MS Bloggers who have been silent in 2008!!
Angst on a Shoestring (Gina)
Dandelion Wine (Lynx)
Doug's MS Journal (Doug)
Imagine Bliss Butterfly (Suzy)
It's Not All in My Head (Optimist)
Just Above the Abyss (Heidi)
Life with MS , seeking a cure (Karyl)
Managing MS with Tai Chi (Joel)
Managing Multiple Sclerosis
Marciarita
Michele's Blog
Mike's Place
MS - My Scene (Virginia)
My Complications (Amanda)
My Demyelination (Tina)
My MS Experience
Object of My Injection (Michelle)
Say It Isn't So (Mouse)
Talk Story with Kimberly
The Great NetXperiment
To Be Continued... (Jaime)
Truth and Beauty (Baraka)
Tryin' to Imagine Bliss (Suzy)
What is MS to Me (Dave)
Willy's MS Rants
Wind Among the Reeds
Hard to categorize:
I Have MS (Tim)
Huggins' MS Pages (James)
MS - A Personal Account
MS Protocols (Jeff)
MSB's Podcast
MSing Around
Multiple Sclerosis Blog and News
Multiple Sclerosis Sucks
OUCH! It's a Disability Thing
Squiffy's House of Fun
Thank you for helping to build a stronger MS Community.
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