Three dates I’ll always remember: On October 22, 2001, I was diagnosed with MS. On July 11, 2008, I started using a wheelchair. On August 20, 2016, I walked my daughter down the aisle. People from all over the country descended on Hardy Farm in Fryeburg, Maine, that weekend. Dave and Stephanie King, who got… Continue reading My Daughter’s Wedding
MITCH STURGEON
Author and Blogger
Living With MS
Category: Uncategorized
The Parable of the Farmer and His Four Sons
Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Happy Valley, there lived a good and honest sharecropper, his wife, and his four capable sons, who were actually two sets of twins. One set of twins, sturdy and strong, could stand up to anything. These brothers were so in sync with one another that many… Continue reading The Parable of the Farmer and His Four Sons
I Lost My Ice Cream Cone Mojo
One reason I love summer is ice cream cones: soft serve, hard, even frozen yogurt. But it takes a certain amount of dexterity to eat a cone. Not only must I hold it in my hand and bring it up to my mouth, but I have to rotate it every once in a while, or… Continue reading I Lost My Ice Cream Cone Mojo
Boston’s 2016 Abilities Expo — A Feel-Good Name if There Ever Was One
Screw it. I use the word disability. In fact, I just did a quick search of my book manuscript, and I found it 73 times. When I employ grammar checking software, called Grammarly, and it encounters the word disabled, it highlights it as “politically incorrect language,” and suggests physically challenged as a replacement. No thank… Continue reading Boston’s 2016 Abilities Expo — A Feel-Good Name if There Ever Was One
My Book Update
In a previous blog post regarding my memoir, dated March 13, 2016, I declared “it’s done!” Oops. It wasn’t done. I sent out query letters (letters of introduction about me and my book) to a group of literary agents in March and April, and I got no bites. Maybe my query letters weren’t enticing enough.… Continue reading My Book Update
Our trip on The Cat Ferry to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
People are stubborn. People keep trying to establish a daily ferry service between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. People keep failing. I admit, Kim and I have often said, “that looks like fun,” as we watched the impressive ferries come and go out of Portland all summer. But whenever we checked the prices we were… Continue reading Our trip on The Cat Ferry to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
I’m a Panelist on a Live Webinar about MS Clinical Trials
Kate Milliken, my friend and the founder of MyCounterpane.com, invited me to be a panelist for a webinar on Wednesday, August 31, at 11 am Eastern time. I’ll be joined by Kate, who will moderate, and Bruce Bebo, Executive Vice President of Research, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This will be a live conversation about… Continue reading I’m a Panelist on a Live Webinar about MS Clinical Trials
My iBOT Gets Recharged
Like a cat with nine lives, my iBOT wheelchair keeps cheating death. For those of you not in the know, the iBOT is the most incredible wheelchair ever built. Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic red tape and insurance company cold-heartedness, this wheelchair is no longer manufactured or sold. A couple of years ago, the previous manufacturer,… Continue reading My iBOT Gets Recharged
A Visit to My MS Neurologist
If you have MS, your neurologist is probably your MS doctor. Poor bastard. Meet My Doctor I’ve had the same neurologist since before my diagnosis. Let’s call him Dr. M. It was only by the luck of the draw that I ended up seeing him 17 years ago when I had a little hitch in… Continue reading A Visit to My MS Neurologist
“A Medical Marijuana Story” or “Mitch Does a Mitzvah”
We have friends, Robin and Sam, who live in Providence, Rhode Island. They visit us a couple of times a year. Two weeks ago we spent the day with them in our beautiful city of Portland, Maine. As we drove down Congress Street, I played tour guide and said, “On your right is Nosh Restaurant—a… Continue reading “A Medical Marijuana Story” or “Mitch Does a Mitzvah”