56 msfocusmagazine.org Life with MS Sew Pretty: Making Life Easier with Custom Accessories By Martha Hannigan Sew Pretty is a group of MSers and veterans, volunteering and giving back to our community while empowering ourselves through life skills and work. We design and create disability accessories, handbags, and other crafts. As a nonprofit organization, Sew Pretty’spurposeistoenhancetheopportunities forbothpersonswithMSanddisabledveterans, so they can engage in community activities, increase their awareness of community resources, and serve as advocates for the disabled. But we’re not just helping the MSers and veterans who are involved with Sew Pretty. These bags can be important tools to help all of us who need mobility devices. The bags we make can be mounted on a wheelchair or walker that has no space for transporting items. This is a small thing that can make a big difference. If you want a drink from the refrigerator and must use the walker to get there, typically you may have no way of getting the drink back to the area where you might be sitting. We have bags that can be used to carry just one or two items, and ones that can be used like a small filing cabinet, so you have your paperwork handy while doing business during the day. We had one MSer say using one of our bags is the first time they have been able to get groceries from the car into the house in one trip. This helped with their fatigue level, allowing them to concentrate on doing other things. Others have mentioned that the stylishness of the bags helped their self-esteem. The bags are attractive and make them less self- conscious about their mobility aid. The ability to make life less stressful and more productive for a person with MS is a significant benefit to having a wheelchair or walker bag. And anything that can help our fatigue level is wonderful!