MS Connection Blog

Share

Research, Politics, MS and Me

By Phil Posner

Blog Summary

In 1985, I started experiencing numbness and motor deficiencies. Like many people, I was tested,  and then undiagnosed . Maybe it was multiple sclerosis… but I was not heat sensitive – in fact I loved living in Florida and soaking in the  hot tub – and it took 14 years for anything to show up on my MRIs.

I was eventually diagnosed with MS. With ongoing treatment and attention to my overall health, I was able to keep working – as a university professor, teacher and researcher  – through my partial retirement and move to the Washington, D.C., area in 2004. My left leg doesn’t work very well, so for walking any distance or in a crowd I use crutches – or I fall down. That’s one nice thing about D.C.: there’s always a crowd to offer help if I fall. Also, the D.C. region is where decisions are made about state and federal funding. And as an MS activist, I like having a say in these decisions.

Celebrating the ADA

By Phil Posner

Blog Summary

Today, we celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law. The ADA is landmark civil rights legislation that resulted from the intense and selfless activism of individuals and groups including the National MS Society who fought for their right to receive equal treatment and access. Because of their activism, today, the rights of people with disabilities are protected in several areas including education, employment, public services such as public transportation, public accommodations (restaurants, hotels and retail stores) and telecommunications. Since the ADA’s passage, great strides have been taken to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and to allow them to more fully participate in and contribute to mainstream society. Even before I was diagnosed with MS in 1987, I personally witnessed others benefit from this statute. Prior to the ADA, in my role as a health center professor and teacher at the University of Florida, I saw how difficult it was for “students” with disabilities to mainstream in medical training. After the passage of the ADA, other faculty members and I developed teaching and diagnostic aids to help students work hard to complete their dreams of becoming health professionals. We used translators and transcribers; we developed augmented stethoscopes and other diagnostic aids; and our school upgraded buildings to make them physically accessible with ramps, automatic doors and elevators. In 1986, when I started experiencing symptoms of MS (fatigue, numbness and motor deficiencies), I was able to continue my work as health center professor, teacher and researcher due to accommodations made by my University.

Subscribe to the Blog

Other MS Blogs

MS on Twitter

MSConnection.org Blog FeedBlog RSS Feed

Tags