Badass Women with MS

MS (multiple sclerosis) can be scary and disorienting. It can also be liberating and empowering.

But the one thing it should never be is lonely.

Is Badass Women with MS for you?
If you are a woman with MS - in the greater Boston area or anywhere in the world - then this group is for you. Even if you don’t feel like a badass right now, trust me: you are.

Whole this group will certainly evolve, let’s start with small in-person and online get-togethers: walks, picnics, coffee, (gentle) hikes, and Zoom chats.

About Me
I was diagnosed with MS in 2007. Since that time…

I have learned:

• How to tell when I’m having a flare
• What triggers my symptoms
• How to mitigate them
• And that all those “mysterious” ailments (pre-diagnosis) were, in fact, my MS.
  • It wasn’t fibromyalgia,
  • Or labyrinthitis,
  • Or carpal tunnel syndrome,
  • Or stress.

Along the way, I have developed a few rules of thumb:

• If the answers you’re getting are unsatisfactory, dismissive, or minimizing - find a different doctor.
• When a doctor says they “could” run a test, tell them to run it.
• Your primary care physician should be your advocate - but they should not be your expert.
• An MS specialist is a neurologist, but a neurologist is not necessarily an MS specialist.
• Patience is not a virtue.

And I have discovered a lot of things about myself, including that:

• The only things that really matter to me are the things that matter. (Or, in other words, I don’t have to give a f*ck what anyone else thinks.)
• And one thing that matters to me is being visible - as a capable, strong, healthy woman with MS.
• I still get a thrill every time someone is visibly shocked when I tell them I have MS.
• I get viscerally angry when celebrities exploit their disease - spreading misinformation - in pursuit of notoriety.
• I cannot stomach the idea that there are women out there feeling scared and alone in their diagnosis - and I think we can do something about that.