b'Life with MSover time my brain would make some more may enjoy based on their ability and then beneuropathwaysandthat,withpractice,I the best advocate possible for them.would relearn what I had lost. Im still working So much of what goes on in my headtowards it, but I can happily say that I do feel requiresmetobemyowncheerleader.like I gained some new ways of doing what Nobody is going to cure me. MS will makeused to come so easily to me. A lot of my you feel all alone in your diagnosis, simplyartwork involves repetition and repeating the for the fact that everyone responds dierentlysame kind of thing again and again. I have a totheirdisease,theirtreatments,etc. Thelittle secret, actually. A lot of times, I will just symptoms can become too much. So, at arepeat a simple pattern, or a simple type of certain point, one absolutely needs to becomeower. I have a small arsenal of line types their own advocate. I needed to do what wasandpatterntypesthatIusemany,many right for me. The same applies to art-making.times. This prevents me from inventing the An artist needs to be their own cheerleader,wheel every single time I sit down to make and truly needs to do the work they feel isart, all while allowing me creative freedom to necessary for them.mix and match lines and colors as I please.I mention specically cognitive issues and You wont really nd my artwork in gallerieshand issues for a reason. These are very often these days. At least, not the regular artiststhe symptoms that patients find to be a galleries, and Im far too interested in healingroadblock for their enjoyment of the arts. myself at the present moment. Im also muchOftentimes when I work with a patient in the more interested in seeing what I can bring tohospital, they might mention that they have the table as someone with a skill that I haveatremblinghandthatjustwontworkfor beenabletoturnaroundandusetohelpthem. Its a frustrating experience for these other people. Many people with MS may beindividuals.Ioftenliketoconsiderthese able to relate to me when I say that, uponthings when trying to come up with project diagnosis and in the months after, I feltideas for people with dierent abilities. I dont entirely useless as a once-productive memberhave any kind of professional training with of society. Like so many others, I would workregards to occupational therapies, physical 40-50 hour work weeks. Because of art, I havetherapies, or the like. I do, however, have the been able to nd a suitable-for-now balanceexperience of being a person with MS that in life, in which I can make a living o of mytried so hard to take back a sense of normalcy. own disease. You can even say that this is myWhen working with a patient on an art project, own way of ipping the bird directly at myI will always choose a project that I think they MS. It makes me so happy to do so. AArrttiissFFoorrEEvveerryyoonnee::AAWWoorrkksshhooppFFoorrPPeeoopplleeWWiitthhMMSSJoin Hannah Garrison for an interactive workshop and be ready to create your ownart with simple supplies you have on hand. The workshop will be held via Zoom on,Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. Eastern; 6 p.m. Central;5 p.m. Mountain; 4 p.m. Pacic.To register, visit msfocus.us/Garrison1121msfocusmagazine.org 26'