Six Questions with Kevin Kelley

Happy Friday to you all! This week's "Six Questions" highlights Kevin Kelley. Kevin is a MSF Ambassador and facilitates the Central Brevard MS Self-Help Group, which has over 200 members and counting! He attends health fairs and presentations on MS letting people know help is available. Kevin lives in Florida with his wife Roxan and his son Scott. He is a great guy and we appreciate all the work he does for the MS community!

1. How has MS changed your life?

In some ways, MS has changed my life for the better. I have gotten so many opportunities to help those living with MS. Our group, the Central Brevard MS Self-Help Group has allowed me to better understand what my life’s goals are – helping those living with this disease. I’ve heard others say, “why me” when it comes to their MS, and I say “why not me?,” am I any different from anyone else? We are all given 24 hours a day; it’s up to you to determine what you are going to do with those hours. I say that we should all strive to make our lives better by helping others.

2. What is the most important thing you’ve learned since your diagnosis?

That I cannot let MS be my whole life. Yes, there will be days when it feels like MS is my whole life, but when it’s not, get out there and live!

3. How have you found support?

Support for me comes from many places – my wife Roxan, my son Scott, and the members of our self-help group have been a blessing. My doctors act as a team to keep me going. The MSF and other MS agencies have provided support and education.

4. What is the best coping tip you’ve picked up?

The best coping tool I have found is to be educated about MS. Understanding what it is, what treatments are available, and just the knowledge of what others have shared with me has to be one of the greatest assets. Everyone should be in a support group. The knowledge that you gain from others who have had longer experiences with MS is really important.

5. What is your favorite MS- or health-related website?

There are so many different websites for MS and each has its merits.

6. This is the bonus question! What question would you like to ask our readers?

My bonus question to the readers is: Are they willing to take a “DARE?”

Your Answer?

Each day is an educational experience. I’ve asked my members to take that “DARE.” Each letter represents something. “D” stands for Dream, think up a realistic goal. “A” for Action, put that realistic goal into action. “R” stands for Results, see what happens when you put that goal into action. Finally, “E” for Education, you learn for those results – whether bad or good, you learn. Mistakes are just as important a learning tool as success. So I ask each of you to take that “DARE” tomorrow, the next day, and all the days you have. Each day has something to give. It will only give you what you put into it. 

 

Six Questions with Michelle Clos

Hey Folks - We are back again with another "Six Questions." Today we shine the spotlight on another one of our amazing MSF Ambassadors Michelle Clos! Formally diagnosed with MS in 2001, Michelle is an Associate Credentialed Coach, a Certified Employee Assistant Professional, and a Licensed Professional Counselor from Dallas, TX. She contributes to a column in the MSFocus titled, “Advice from the Job Coach.”

1. How has MS changed your life?

Learning about the unpredictability of MS, i.e., I could be walking one day and paralyzed the next was overwhelmingly frightening for a person like myself – self-motivated and highly structured, or as some people have noted a ‘control freak.’ I prefer the former description to the latter. When the initial shock of diagnosis and unpredictability wore off, I accepted the prognosis and made the decision I believed changed my life: I may not be able to control MS, but I definitely control how healthy I chose to be.  I could manage my well-being with exercise, eating healthy, and work on reducing my stress level. I became a consumer of all information related to maintain good health. The way I saw it, I may have MS, but I was going to practice all the preventive behavior there was to prevent from getting any our health problems.

 2. What is the most important thing you’ve learned since your diagnosis?

I have to be my own best advocate and respect my physical and emotional needs. It’s my responsibility to remain educated about MS and the treatment for it, as well as being committed to maintaining my well-being. To do this, I read several of the current MS magazines and have learned to pay attention to the signals my body and heart were sending me.

3. How have you found support?

Once I made a commitment to remain aware of my well-being and practice advocating for myself, I learned to ask for help to get my needs met. I also learned how to explain MS to others in order to educate them on how to support me, i.e., ‘Yes, I would love to go shopping with you, but let’s do it early in the morning when I am at my best.’

4. What is the best coping tip you’ve picked up? 

Gratitude for what I have rather than focusing on what I have lost or may lose. 

5. What is your favorite MS- or health-related website? 

The MSF Facebook page

6. This is the bonus question! What question would you like to ask our readers?

What have you learned from having MS and how do you use what you’ve learned to help others?

 Your answer? 

I have learned by practicing self-awareness and gratitude I can increase my well-being.  I use this information when I coach others with MS, whether it is on career, health, or life goals

Six Questions with Jeanna Waldroup, ThD

Hey guys! Have you heard about our MSF Ambassador Program? If you have, then you know about the awesome benefits of it. If you haven’t, let us take a brief second to explain.  Every year, we chose 10 people with MS to become MSF Ambassadors. It is a volunteer-based program where we train those with MS to learn to be an advocate for themselves, the MS Community, as well as informing others about the services of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. MSF Ambassadors hold fundraisers, distribute information to doctor’s offices, and participate in MSF Educational Programs in their area. We seriously have an awesome group of ambassadors, so we wanted to take the time on our blog to highlight them. Recently, we asked them six questions about themselves and throughout the weeks we will be presenting them. So without further adieu, please let us introduce Jeanna Waldroup, ThD from North Carolina.

  

Jeanne Waldroup is a MSF Ambassador who holds both a Master of Theology and a Doctorate of Theology. She lives in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and two children.

1. How has MS changed your life?

Multiple sclerosis has given me the opportunity to see life in a new way. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff! I have learned to face the challenges of the disease with the support and love of my family. I have two favorite sayings: ‘Attitude is Everything’ and ‘Never Give Up.’”

2. What is the most important thing you’ve learned since your diagnosis?

To hold each day as the special gift that it is.

3. How have you found support?

My family and friends at church are always there to help me. They offer me encouragement, prayers, and are always concerned for how I’m feeling. They are the greatest.

4. What is the best coping tip you’ve picked up?

Power naps!! If I need to rest, I do. When I wake up from a good nap I feel energized to continue on with my day and enjoy my family.

5. What is your favorite MS-or health related website?

Msfocus.org, of course!

6. This is the bonus question! What question would you like to ask our readers?

What is the most bothersome symptom related to your MS?

Your answer?

I actually can only narrow it down to two. They are fatigue and burning feet. I would love to have just one day where my feet wouldn’t burn like they are on fire!