4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| MARCH 13, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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ment for a redress of grievances.
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Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County,
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Letters to the Editor policy
What is Multiple Sclerosis and ‘MS fatigue?’
(Editor’s Note: March is Na-
tional Multiple Sclerosis Awaraness
month, with March 10-16 designat-
ed as National Multiple Sclerosis
Awareness Week)
D
uring our latest Multiple
Sclerosis (MS) support group
meeting, one member, Sue, de-
scribed MS fatigue. Before I share
with you her description, I will give
you the short version of what MS
is.
Your body is regulated by your
central nervous system (CNS).
The CNS is made of the brain and
spinal cord. Sensory nerves travel
to your brain. What you see, hear,
feel, smell and touch use the CNS.
Once a sensory nerve signal reach-
es the brain a response via a motor
nerve is activated.
For example: If you touch a hot
stove, the sensory nerve ending in
your finger sends a message to the
brain. The brain analyzes the in-
put and responds with a message
through the motor nerves and you
move your finger.
The nerves are protected with a
myelin sheath similar to the insu-
lation on electric extension cords.
MS is an auto immune disease,
which means it is caused by our
own immune system. MS attacks
the myelin coverings of the nerves.
This causes scars often referred to
as “lesions.”
Nerves affected by these scars
make communication to and from
the brain disjointed or not at all.
Guest Viewpoint
By Lloyd Little
Florence resident
If your extension cord gets dam-
aged you can buy a new one; if our
nerves get damaged, they are inef-
fective transfers of information.
Sue describes MS fatigue, one
of the most common conditions
of MS, as “Our brains steering
messages around pot holes in our
brains.” When the area of the brain
responsible for reading has lesions,
or potholes, the brain will work
harder to interpret the words on
the page. This extra brain activity
requires more energy and is tiring.
My fatigue theory is related to
the shortage of muscle stimula-
tion by motor nerves. You and I
have an equal number of muscle
fibers. Each muscle in our legs has
many nerve stimulating junctions
to contract muscles for movement.
When you walk, 100 percent of the
muscle needed to walk is engaged
through nerve stimulation.
Lesions in the brain of a person
with MS may disrupt the cycle. If
only 50 percent of the muscles get
stimulated, the MS person will
need to work harder and tire soon-
er.
If all five of your sensory nerve
endings are affected, imagine how
difficult and tiring it is to find the
right pathway for the seeing, hear-
ing, smelling, tasting and touching
we do every day.
A person with MS has no visible
sign of disability. The scars and le-
sions I have described are located
on nerves. Accident victims and
soldiers using handicapped park-
ing spaces usually have their dis-
ability recognized.
According to the National Mul-
tiple Sclerosis Society, MS is the
most widespread neurological
condition disabling adults.
Even if there are no outward
signs of disability, the MS fatigue
can make daily life challenging.
If you are someone with MS in
the Siuslaw Region, the Florence
Self-Help Group meets the second
Friday of each month, beginning at
1 p.m., at the Florence Senior Cen-
ter, 1570 Kingwood Street.
For more information, contact
me at Lloyd.f.little@gmail.com or
the Oregon Chapter of the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society at 1-800-
344-4867.
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi-
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criteria.
Email letters to:
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WHERE TO WRITE
Pres. Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments:
202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line:
503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office
Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
www.merkley.senate.gov
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
(4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609
541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan
(Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@
oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep.
Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email: rep.caddymckeown
@oregonlegislature.gov
West Lane County
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email: Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us