“The smiles are real, but so is the struggle of living with MS. This year multiple sclerosis has kicked our asses.” Tamara & Terry
We are MS advocates who share an honest and authentic life experience living with a chronic disease. We are thrilled to share the good, the bad and the funny of our MS journey for 2022. We first would like to thank all of our social media followers, friends and family for all of your love and support through the year.
Everyone reading this blog has a story. Through our social media platforms, we have invited people into our lives. It is important to us to be transparent and real to our audience. We all have challenges and a story to tell. These life events may take many different forms and the expression may be unique to the individual on his or her journey. At Twins Coast2Coast we have often thought of this journey as “The Good, The Bad and The Funny.”
Let’s start out with “The Good”of the year. We launched our Mirror Image Madness podcast and completed 16 podcasts. We covered a wide variety of issues effecting individuals with MS. This included interesting and exciting members of the MS community, health care professionals and national organizational movers and shakers.
We featured on our blog exciting new therapies and equipment to help support the individual with MS. This included the Lokomat exoskeleton, the Vasper fitness technology and the newly FDA approved Cionic neural sleeve.
We had several MS high profile events with which we were involved. These included Nancy Davis’ Race to Erase Center Without Walls Gala in Los Angeles. This funds a number of well recognized national research centers across the nation.
Terry attended the launch of Botanical Sciences with founder Dr. Robin Fowler and Montel Williams in Georgia. Botanical Sciences donated $5000 in honor of Twins Coast2Coast to the National MS Society Georgia Chapter.
This winter Twins Coast2Coast partnered with AXR winery of Napa California for a wine tasting fundraising event. One of the founders of the winery Kelly Trevethan was kind enough to attend and donate a percentage of proceeds which will help to support our nonprofit mission.
We were interviewed and featured in the MSAA Motivator Magazine summer/fall 2022 edition. This is a national publication. Topics discussed included aging with MS. This was a collaborative article which covered the wideranging issues of moving through life with MS.
Tamara and Terry were featured models for EQL Threads adaptive wear. EQL Threads provides sustainable fashion with hidden adaptive features that allow for comfort and mobility.
So “The Bad” included Terry contracting a severe case of shingles which stimulated trigeminal neuralgia. The pain was unbearable. Terry underwent gamma knife surgery in order to treat the neuralgia. This was emotionally draining and scary for Terry and the family.
Unfortunately, Tamara’s disease this year progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. Both Tamara and Terry are now rolling ambassadors for the MS cause.
How about “The Funny?” A good sense of humor is a necessity when dealing with MS. Through it all we continue to find joy and meaning in life. MS also stands for Mighty Sisters!
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!
Hugs,
Tamara And Terry