Category: Uncategorized

As I sit in my luxurious wheelchair, I almost feel guilty. The healthy folks around me must endure less elaborate, less comfortable chairs. Theirs don’t transform into an infinite number of positions at the push of a button. Theirs don’t lie flat for sleeping or elevate to reach things. I suppose that’s why they don’t… Continue reading A Cure for the Winter Doldrums

I’ve been thinking about tribalism a lot lately. Seems to be everywhere. Seems to be a big problem. Teams With sports fans, tribalism is largely harmless. My Patriots played in the Super Bowl this weekend, again, and I very much wanted them to win. However, when they didn’t, I said to myself, “Well, we can’t… Continue reading Tribalism

I am overwhelmed by how helpful and pleasant most people are when they encounter me in public. Just last week I was zipping through a crowd of people rather quickly in my power wheelchair. My friend remarked, “You could hurt somebody the way you drive.” She was right. “But,” I rationalized, “even if I run over an… Continue reading My Top 10 Rules for Interacting with a Wheelchair User

  One morning, a couple of weeks ago, Kim refused to get me out of bed, showered, dressed, and ready for the day, like she always had. Instead, she fed me a piece of toast and poured a glass of juice down my throat. She then wished me luck and headed out the door, leaving… Continue reading Home Invasion

Sixteen years is a long time to have MS. Sixteen is not a big number, however. Let’s think of it as 5844 days or 140,252 hours. Now the numbers are getting impressive. Why stop here? I’ve had MS for 8,415,130 minutes or upwards of 504,907,776 seconds. That’s a lot of seconds to have had MS,… Continue reading Annual Report 2017

The issue of my worsening disability rarely comes up in polite conversation. On those occasions when it does, well-intentioned people, restrained by propriety, offer sentiments like, “One day they’ll find a cure, Mitch. Don’t give up hope.” Hope. It is a concept no less hallowed than love, peace, kindness, and for some people, faith. I… Continue reading An Alternative to Hope

To hear this podcast: click here This is Mitch Sturgeon who is a user of MyCounterpane.com, as well as the founder of enjoyingtheride.com. Are you living with MS, progressing and feeling scared about it? This podcast is for you. MyCounterpane Hellooooo Lean Into Lonely, our first podcast, where MCP founder Kate Milliken dives into deeply personal moments of lonely from the… Continue reading Listen to My Interview With Kate Milliken, MS Activist Rock Star

(Photo credit: Wikipedia) We’ve all heard this platitude before, but I have some questions about it. After all, isn’t it a perversion of human decency to use another person’s suffering to improve our own outlook? Shouldn’t the acknowledgment that others are suffering make us feel worse, not better? Does it demonstrate a lack of compassion… Continue reading “Remember, There Is Always Someone Worse off Than You:” Is This A Valid Coping Mechanism?

Made Another “Best Blogs” List A company called MyTherapy, which makes a smart phone app that helps patients track their medications, recently compiled their list of 15 Excellent MS Blogs, and Enjoying the Ride made the cut. Check it out — and congratulations to the others who were mentioned. A Programmer in the UK Comes… Continue reading Just a Couple of Things…