Health Expert Dan and Jennifer Digmann shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. 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/profiles/c/129542/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/129542/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/129542/index http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/153306/ms Tue, 29 May 2012 09:47:00 -0400 Dan and Jennifer Digmann Forgive my sensitivity, but… Ever have one of those mornings?   You know the kind where if something can go wrong, it will. Or a morning where you are running late for your something or other, and you’re not sure why. Or if you try to use your hands to hold something, and it continues to slip out of your stupid MS-numbed fingers.   Those mornings are so frustrating! Sadly earlier this week, I was having one of those... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/153306/ms http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/152799/week Tue, 08 May 2012 22:06:00 -0400 Dan and Jennifer Digmann   The night before this year’s Walk MS event in Frankenmuth, Mich., we’re planning to stay out late.   Not at a dance club. Not at a concert. Not a bar.   We have a date to join our respective siblings to see the movie that so many others, regardless of their age or gender, already have seen.   We’re going to see the latest showing of The Avengers. You know, the movie that shattered the record books with a... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/152799/week http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/152408/ms Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:41:00 -0400 Dan and Jennifer Digmann Memories of an old Nike advertisement when Charles Barkley proclaimed that he was not a role model got me thinking of something I am not.   I am not a caregiver.   I mean, I can't be. After all, I am the one in the wheelchair. The one who no longer stands without help. The one who says repeatedly throughout a typical day, "Would you help me with something?"   I just don't think of myself in a caregiving role. At least, I never... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/152408/ms http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/151804/plans Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:04:00 -0400 Dan and Jennifer Digmann Jennifer and I have been together for nearly a decade, but she has yet to set foot into my parents’ home.   We’ve gone back to my hometown of Monticello, Iowa, to spend Easter with my family each year, but the three steep steps leading into their home make it impossible for Jennifer to get inside with her power wheelchair.   And so, we adapt.   Instead of sleeping at my mom and dad’s house, we stay in local... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/151804/plans http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150956/month Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:41:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann We were so incredibly honored and excited when the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University invited us to present as part of its annual Speaker Series.   The library celebrates Michigan authors, and it was offering us the opportunity to discuss our recently released book, “Despite MS, to Spite MS,” with the campus community.   Our publishing debut is a compilation of blog-inspired essays in which we share... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150956/month http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150663/cold Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:28:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann I count my blessings that Multiple Sclerosis is like a fire smoldering inside of me. Seldom does it ever rage to a full-blown blaze.   With relapsing-remitting MS, it’s as though the embers continue burning underneath the surface of my skin. The numbness in my hands. Tingling in my feet. Increased levels of fatigue.   Every day I continue doing as much as I can, from working full time as a writer/editor at Central Michigan... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150663/cold http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150104/week Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:57:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann Nothing frustrates us more than when we go to do something that we do several times every day and, because of our Multiple Sclerosis, we can’t.   Case in point: Tonight we were working to transfer Jennifer in the bathroom but her legs wouldn’t lock and therefore she couldn’t stand to make the pivot and transfer.   I get so angry and I just want to give up, but then I look at Dan and realize that’s not an option.... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/150104/week http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/148885/make Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:56:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann The ball has dropped on Times Square, college bowl games are in full swing, and the ink likely still is drying on the resolutions you’ve crafted for yourself in 2012. This year Jennifer will enter her 15th year living with multiple sclerosis and Dan will enter his 12th with this chronic disease of the central nervous system. Guess time flies when you’re having fun, huh? As the calendar turns over, there often is a renewed... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/148885/make http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/146441/ques Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:40:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann Shortly after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I realized I hated the disease. Yes, I know it is not nice to hate anything, but MS could handle it. After all, this disease was a source of emotional pain and fear in the beginning, and really, has never become much different in the 14 years since my diagnosis.   And while I hate MS, I have always liked my neurologist. Right away this doctor became an important and trusted person in my... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/146441/ques http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/146440/aids Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:37:00 -0500 Dan and Jennifer Digmann It’s important to remember that two-thirds of people who have MS remain able to walk, though many will need an aid. With that in mind, here is my story:   I kept asking myself, “Are you sure you’ve really accepted your MS?” My answer always was, “Well, of course I have. After all, I have told everyone that I know about my Multiple Sclerosis. And if that’s not enough, I led an MS support group. So, of... http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/129542/146440/aids