Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week Wisconsin Man Shares His Story

Every hour of every day, someone new is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).  To help generate awareness of MS the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has designated March 12-18 as MS Awareness Week.

In Wisconsin, one in 500 live with the disease – including Jeffrey Gingold. After he was diagnosed with MS, Gingold wondered how much time he had left before he would be forced to be permanently seated in a wheelchair. But MS is unpredictable and in addition to numbness, vision and balance problems, MS handed Gingold a symptom he didn’t expect: cognitive difficulties that included both memory lapses and confounded thinking – challenging his memory of faces, locations and tasks.

The National MS Society is encouraging people to share their experiences about living with MS. Gingold shared his own courageous and compelling personal account of his struggle with MS cognitive symptoms in the award-winning and internationally acclaimed book Facing the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis, Second Edition – which, upon release in July 2011, was a #1 Amazon best-selling MS publication. Gingold, a former attorney in Milwaukee, also wrote Mental Sharpening Stones: Manage the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis.

The National MS Society-Wisconsin Chapter is encouraging people to raise awareness of MS. Here are suggestions on how people can join the movement:

• Visit wisMS.org for more information about MS, including the latest research news, as well as available programs and services.
• Register for Walk MS, with 18 locations in April and May.
• Register for Bike MS (August 4-5) or Challenge Walk MS (September 21-23).
• Visit the Wisconsin Chapter Facebook page and share your story.