Multiple sclerosis has been compared to an iceberg because 90 percent of the disease activity may be hiding under the surface and not visible to the naked eye. This is especially true with cognition and fatigue. If your energy levels are low or your memory becomes foggy, doing even simple daily chores and activities can […]
Many of you have read my previous article about how a denied insurance authorization led me to an MS relapse, rendering me nonfunctional on my right side. As it turned out, MRI studies revealed that I had two new active lesions on my brain and one on the right side of my cervical spine that […]
I come from a large, close-knit Italian family that lives in a small town about eighteen miles south of Boston. When I was first being diagnosed with MS, my little brother was on a downward spiral into the world of drug addiction. He is only eighteen months younger than me and as a result we […]
Last year at this time I wrote about how small changes can make a big difference in the New Year. Some of the advice from that post included: developing a financial plan, changing eating habits, exercising, getting back on your schedule and setting attainable goals. I used this advice to make major changes in my […]
In September of 2010, I was faced with a devastating decision. I was experiencing severe spinal stenosis and a fractured C6 vertebra, which my doctors believed was a result of complications due to my initial onset of transverse myelitis five years earlier. My decision was to have an emergency cervical fusion to address the problem […]
Having a chronic illness, like multiple sclerosis, can be lonely and isolating. Sometimes it is hard to talk to your loved ones because, try as they might, they just don’t understand what you are going through. Before the internet, in order to find other people with similar circumstances, one would have to go out and […]
Some of us are born to do certain things in life. James Frederic “Jimmie” Heuga was born to ski. Jimmie began competitive skiing at age five and appeared in a Warren Miller film at age nine. In 1958, Jimmie became the youngest man ever to make the US Ski Team. In 1963, he won the […]
Last year, Angela Haupt of US News and World Report, shared the story of ten people living their best despite having a chronic illness. I was humbled to be featured in this article. Here is what Angela wrote: Cavallo, 38, of Chandler, Arizona, was fully functioning and healthy when he went numb from the waist down […]
**Originally posted by Matt Cavallo on MSAA Conversations on 7-24-2015 at http://blog.mymsaa.org/worth-fighting-for/** In July of 2005, I was in a deep depression. I had just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in June of 2005 and I was in the midst of an internal struggle trying to come to terms with being newly diagnosed. I have a […]
June 10th, 2005, I remember it like it was yesterday. This was the day that I had my follow-up visit with my neurologist. During the previous month, I had lost my ability to walk, been hospitalized and had been seeing a physical therapist to learn how to walk again all due to an acute onset […]