there is a reason I am still alive
and I hope I can find my voice
of advocacy. I just need to find
a way to make an impact. By
pushing myself to keep moving,
I am living!
Jeanie Collitte, Ohio
Too rosy a picture
The stories printed in
Momentum tend to paint a rosy
picture. They show wonderful
pictures of family and friends,
and all these tips and websites
where we can get all kinds
of help. The truth is we’ve
probably already done the things
suggested. We still struggle every
single day just like everyone else,
except we now have MS. The
pictures, wonderful stories and
websites really come short on
how MS actually is.
Jean Allen, Washington
concern health care, illness and
survivorship.
Gay and lesbian couples,
including gay and lesbian people
with MS, pay more for less (and
worse) in life and in healthcare.
It’s irresponsible to suggest
that they simply need to do a
little more paperwork and
they will then be protected
just as if they are a married
heterosexual couple.
Timothy Laden Crum, JD,
via email
Momentum
The magazine of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
WINTER.2012–13
The Pursuit
of Happiness
Seeking
Balance
PAGE 26
PAGE 34
Not Your Friend’s MS
PAGE 14
Editor’s note: Gay and lesbian
couples face many significant
challenges that this article didn’t—
and couldn’t—address, given its
broad focus. In no way did we
intend to minimize the impact of
those challenges on people’s lives.
Rather, we hope to provide more
focused attention on these issues
in future articles.
We are committed to providing
coverage that is relevant to
all our readers. We know that
people from many different
backgrounds—including (but
certainly not limited to) the LGBT
community, African-Americans,
Hispanics, people with primary-progressive MS or pediatric
MS—all face unique challenges in
IN A FLASH!
Read us on the Web!
Go to nationalMSsociety
.org/Momentum
• Enlarge print from bigger
to HUGE as needed.
• Email pages to others with
ease.
• Copy pages to your
personal computer files.
• Click on live links
immediately.
• Find back issues, too.
We need more
Your recent article on family
(“Many Forms of Family,”
Fall 2012), as far as gays and
lesbians are concerned, is a joke.
You make passing mention of
two lesbians who, after doing
some paperwork, felt protected
from life’s myriad unforeseeable
events. As an attorney, I can tell
you that they are dangerously
unprotected. The article ignores
the effects of anti-marriage
equality laws on people with
MS. Survivor benefits. Spousal
coverage. Inheritance taxes.
Pensions. There are 1,138 rights
granted under federal marriage
laws alone, many of which
accessing care, and making plans
for themselves and their loved
ones. We hope Mr. Crum will
keep reading Momentum to see
how we move forward with
our coverage.
<<<
We’ll look at issues specific to the Hispanic / Latino
population, including language barriers and access
to care—and where to turn for support.
Coming this Spring:
Hispanics and MS
