Are you ready? National MS Awareness Month starts in just seven days!

[Fancy1959]

that's right family, March is National MS Awareness Month! It becomes our responsibility to help educate the general public about MS.

How many times have we seen the commercials on TV that deal with Alzheimer's, or cancer, or breast cancer specifically or any other health issues but MS. I don't recall ever seeing a commercial ad or Telethon that centers around this dreaded disease we all live with along with 4 million other people on this Earth. Can you?

Other than my very close friends and family, most people don't realize the breadth and depth and the effect that MS has on its victims. Heck, they don't even know what MS is! Well one person at a time we can change this. So the object of this post is to brainstorm together and come up with ideas we can use to work with and reach our communities to educate them about MS. If we each just spend a couple hours over the course of this next month think of the thousands of people we can educate and teach about MS!

This time I don't want to go first because I want you to come up with fresh ideas of your own! So, get thinking and get doing and get ready for March because it is Ms Awareness Month! We need to spread the word about MS, what it is and what it does!. Fancy.

[MarkUpnorth]

I'm sorry Facncymyage, how could I, if I couldn't even convince my own parents and sister who still lived with them till they died? They knew I had it, my wife and kids told them what I would go through for years. But they were bulletproof to acknowledging it. They died never facing it? So why couldn't I drive an hour there and back and clean their floors and toilets at least once a week? So what if I was too tired by the time they got up everyday?

You've got a real challenge ahead! Yes M.S. is well known as one of those things you hope you never get. BUT, if you don't look sick, you're not that sick. They don't get that.

[Hidden in reply to MarkUpnorth]

I'm sorry to say....just my short time dealing with this so far.....I don't know if people really wanna hear about it.

[MarkUpnorth in reply to Hidden]

It's much easier to ignore.

[Hidden in reply to MarkUpnorth]

Yup,

I have had people ask me....

“What happened to you?” Or “What’s wrong with you?”

I answer with MS...and almost all responses so far....have been a sad face and them saying....so sorry 😐.

And I am just starting this journey.

[greaterexp]

Maybe we all need t-shirts saying, “ Ask me about MS,” and then be ready to give a short, concise explanation, at least as much as possible. I have my MS sweatshirt, but don’t think to wear it. I guess I’m afraid I’m going to look like I’m asking for sympathy.

I think I may send a little blurb to a radio station I often listen to.

[Hidden in reply to greaterexp]

I saw a tee shirt the other day online.....

"I'm not drunk, I have MS"

[Cutefreckles72 in reply to greaterexp]

I receive emails from Positive Living with MS and this website has a lot of MS clothing. I was thinking about getting the sweatshirt that states "MS gets on my nerves." I think its a true statement.

[greaterexp in reply to Cutefreckles72]

It would also be a little bonus to Penelope. Thanks for the reminder. I so appreciate her posts.

[Cutefreckles72 in reply to greaterexp]

Great posts so positive and I need them. 👍

[greaterexp in reply to Cutefreckles72]

Thanks to you, I just ordered a sweatshirt for me to wear this next month. I don't go many places, but will wear it when I do. I hope it stirs up conversation and awareness.

[Hidden in reply to greaterexp]

Thumbs up!!! Take a picture for all of us to see.

[Cutefreckles72 in reply to greaterexp]

That's a good idea. I was thinking about buying one too. I will do it next month and wear it with PRIDE.

[pamgarner]

It makes me wonder why ms.doesn't have huge fundraisers?It seems to me breast cancer gets all the charity and donations,breast cancer is common and very serious.there are so many diseases that don't get the attention,no tv.ads ,no merchandise,we all know what a pink ribbon means.is it the funding?1st thing that needs to be done is stop showing meds on tv with ALL ms patients looking normal.We can all donate,what else can we do when physically we are not well?

[Cutefreckles72]

Thank you for the post. I didn't know we had a month. And the only commercial I have seen on TV has been about Ocrevus. That's it. People need to know about MS.

[Mermaidia11]

I’m actually fed up of goin on about it, and heck until someone can walk in my shoes; they will never truly understand and who would want to?

It’s horrific at the end stages, the ‘treatments’ cause as many problems as they solve, and there’s no cure... and what awareness going to do?

The powers that be need to find out definitively what causes it, and then they would be able to cure it

There’s far too much money to be made by not curing MS; and sadly that is the bottom line

In my humble experience ‘awareness’ involves getting talked to like a retard, patronised, pitied and marginalised

So I pretend as best I can frankly, (my fave response to ‘wtf happened to you’ is ‘remember? I fell off the back of that speedboat modellling in Monaco? That usually shuts em up or precipitates an amusing convo)

I leave the dmds and associated debates to the youngsters... but hey I’m obsessed with snails..what do I know?!

[twooldcrows]

yes we all need to talk about it so others do know the truth about it but it does help when they have the walks for MS and the ones that they have personally done things to raise money .there are swimming for MS ..riding a bike for a long distance for raising money for MS ...what ever someone wants to do ...see how many times you can jump up and down for an hour i don't think they care what you want to do to try to get donations for MS....just doing it ...in my town they have a Car Cruise to help with MS ....so there is lots of ideas that any can use to generate money for MS...can contact MSSS for help starting one ....