My name is Francine Morrow Keehnel. I have MS, Multiple Sclerosis, one of over 80 conditions classified as autoimmune diseases. MS attacks the central nervous system (CNS), causing demyelination.

WHAT ON EARTH DOES THAT MEAN?
Simply, it's like a terrorist attacking the command center at your personal Grand Central Station every day! You never know exactly what will (or won't) happen. The effects of the disease can be devastating, so it’s important to keep positive coping mechanisms fine tuned.

At my online Health Spa, Chez François, I offer Faith Lifts and Funny Bone Massages, including inspirational poetry, stories, humorous anecdotes and links to comedy sites. You'll find helpful products and information by clicking the MS Links and Helps button.

HOW DOES MS WORK in the human body?

We were created with a protective, fatty sheath composed of a substance called myelin which surrounds the entire CNS, both the brain and spinal cord, keeping it calm and running smoothly. The myelin is like the coating on a bundle of electrical wires (in the case of MS, these wires would be the axons). When MS strikes, it causes the body's immune system to be hyperactive and mistakenly attack itself at the axonal level, hence the term "autoimmune" to categorize the disease. The attacks will leave many scars, or multiple sclerosis called plaques on the myelin. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used not only to help diagnose but also to track the progression of MS, since the scars "light up" and become visible with the aid of an intravenously injected contrast medium.

MS exacerbations or attacks can be likened to one or more rats chewing on the coating of the electrical cord and causing it to short out at random, so the CNS signals do not reach their intended destination, but are diverted or stopped altogether. These attacks or exacerbations have the element of an unwelcome surprise guest and tend to be fairly unpredictable. The resulting degrees of disability from exacerbations may be temporary or they may be permanent in nature.

Rob lived in a box by the rails
Only thing he knew, you don't fail
When you live in a box by the rails
Don't comb your hair, don't comb your tail

Sweep my mess away
Leave my body, leave my bones
Leave me whole and leave my soul
Leave me nothing, I don't need at all
Nothing, I don't need at all

He ate from the bins in the park
Stayed out with the rats after dark
Never left a trail, never made his mark
When he ate with the rats after dark

Calling on his friends, never made him sad
Didn't want the things he never had