Multiple Sclerosis Expert Jake Crest shares Multiple Sclerosis management news and commentary at MultipleSclerosisCentral.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808 http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808 http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/66857/sorrow Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:15:00 -0400 Jake Crest "Can we talk for a moment?" he asked while waving to me over our backyard fence. I like this guy, a lot. He's quite a bit older than me, but fit as a fiddle. One of those guys who, when you look at him, you cross your fingers and silently hope that you look and feel as good when you're that age. Dropping my rake, happy for the break, I walk to the fence to chat. I know from experience that we can easily talk for a half-hour or so unless his... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/66857/sorrow http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/64347/game Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:08:00 -0400 Jake Crest Normally I write to an audience that knows MS; knows it because they live with it either as caregiver or as victim. But I've read that every hour of every day one more person succumbs to the MonSter. Every hour of every day we caregivers are joined by one more brother or sister in arms. Together we singly fight lonely wars against a jungle fighter of a disease. Skilled in the use of camouflage, our enemy attacks, often without warning, while we... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/64347/game http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/62060/month Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:45:00 -0500 Jake Crest March is National MS Education & Awareness Month. For those of you who come here because you either have MS yourself or live with someone who does, March is just another month and you most probably don't need to be made any more aware of the ways in which MS affects your lives. On the other hand, for those who have come in search of some understanding, to them I can only say "Welcome," advise them that MS is not catching, and suggest that... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/62060/month http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/59035/what-up Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:03:00 -0500 Jake Crest It was just a few weeks ago that I looked at my wife, Mandy, and asked with some trepidation, "I don't mean to sound crazy, but are you SURE that you've still got Multiple Sclerosis?" Hope, it seems, springs eternal and although I consider myself a pragmatist, I still fall victim to its seductions. Mandy looked at me quizzically, and said ominously, "Yes. I'm sure." The look on her face made me realize that I had asked a very foolish question... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/59035/what-up http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/57563/visit Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:34:00 -0500 Jake Crest During the past month, my wife, Mandy and I have made some new friends. Friends with names like @thepaintingdude and @mike2mb. Although the chances of us ever having a face to face meeting with them are pretty slim, we know a lot about them. Using a phrase that is getting more and more use today, we 'found them on the Internet.'How we found these folks is the interesting part. Why we found them, and others, is a whole other story. But what I... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/57563/visit http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/55371/records Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:17:00 -0500 Jake Crest President-elect Obama has made health care reform a cornerstone of his economic recovery plan. Skyrocketing costs, it's argued, could be slowed if patients health records were kept in a centralized database, accessible over a network and easily read by authorized healthcare professionals. Cost-savings created by a reduction in the duplication of labor, as well as a reduction in misdiagnoses on the part of physicians caused partly by inaccurate... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/55371/records http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/53881/mii Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:08:00 -0500 Jake Crest Right after Thanksgiving I wrote a piece titled "Wheeeee!!!" in which I stated that Mandy and I succumbed to Wii madness, purchased one of the video game consoles, and planned to delve into the world of Wii, Miis, and daily fitness tests. We guessed that perhaps, because of the physical nature of Wii gaming, playing Wii would actually prove beneficial to Mandy who, like so many others, suffers from Relapsing-Remitting MS. Now, after a month of... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/53881/mii http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/52650/fired Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:23:00 -0500 Jake Crest The holiday season is upon us. For many, the lights are not quite so bright as in years past. Parents wrap gifts for the kids, emotions contained amidst a continuous flood of depressing economic news heaped upon them by the media. 401K statements, which were once greeted with anticipatory grins as envelopes were torn open are now things to be avoided. Bad news can wait another day.Setting aside the blatant financial incompetence demonstrated by... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/52650/fired http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/50762/wheeee Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:45:00 -0500 Jake Crest I know this might seem a bit childish, but while Mandy and I were out of town visiting family over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I discovered something that a good portion of the game playing public already knows. I was introduced to Wii, a game machine by Nintendo that has apparently captivated gamers and non-gamers alike and that has been making tremendous inroads into the adult market.While Wii-'bowling' with my niece, it occurred to me that... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/50762/wheeee http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/49103/beer Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:15:00 -0500 Jake Crest "NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2008 as National Family Caregivers Month. I encourage all Americans to honor the selfless service of caregivers who support their loved ones in need."And so it was that, on October 29 of this year, we caregivers got a month of our own. Being curious,... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/95808/49103/beer