b'to the workforce. Leaving clinical nursing inand occasional caregiver, Binns attended her 1996, Binns cocreated a quality-control positionrst annual voyage hosted by the nonprot, in the staff education bracket with her employer,formerly known as Cruise for a Cause, now enabling her to work in an office setting forMS Focus at Sea, an experience Binns considers half a week rather than operating at full-timelife changing. hours. "I didn\'t know much about MS Focus until "After a while with home care management,I saw a cruise ad somewhere; while I don\'t I no longer had the cognitive reserve to makeremember where we rst went, I remember it through an eight-hour day and adequatelyvividly the impact it had on me. Dr. Ben Thrower do what I needed to legally and logistically towas there, discussing high dosage and high care for my patients, so the occupational shiftfrequency medications. The U.S. had just was a load-off physically, but still professionallyapproved a fourth medication at that time. stimulating," Binns said. Reecting on her priorThe new drug was the same as the one I was supervision of senior patients and, subsequently,taking, with more frequent administration her own transition into middle age, Binns,and a much higher dose. Within months, I had curious about the physiology of aging, returnedmore energy and clearer thinking. I was to school and eventually earned a degree inimpressed with the level of education available gerontology. during MS Focus at Sea and how well they If we draw on the wisdom of older persons,balancedtheacademicsegmentswitha it will be easier for us to do our jobs. In thetypical cruise experience," she said. 1990s, the average age of diagnosing MS wasAfter sailing with the Foundation for four in the mid 50s because treatments did notyears in a row, Binns was asked to lead smaller exist; however, that did not stop complications unrelated to MS from occuring. Some of theseeducational gatherings while at sea. By 2013, complications such as bed sores, UTIs, sepsis,she had become a recurring in-person program and pneumonia led to mortality sooner thanpresenter and freelance writer for MS Focus MS would.Magazine.Our research pool was very narrow. PregnantAt the end of 2010, Binns assumed the role women, individuals with other illnesses, andof patient healthcare liaison for the nonprot. anyone over the age of 55 were not consideredIn addition to co-hosting educational webinars for clinical trials. That\'s still not much betterand writing, she manages four private Foundation regarding MS medications. Sixty is presumablyFacebook groups and answers incoming patient the cap for any medical intervention clinical,questions, including the townhall-style online and there is ageism where that\'s concerned.series, Ask the MS Nurse. It\'s incumbent upon those living with MS toBinns said, "The column and webinars know how it impacts us individually so wedidn\'t happen overnight; the demand for can advocate for ourselves," she said.information required creating new spaces to Beyond the sea addresstheissuesintheMScommunity. By the 2000s, Binns studies and experiencesMuch of what I do is a personalized interaction wellequippedherwhensherstcrossedwith some of the people we serve. paths with MS Focus: the Multiple SclerosisFind, own your nicheFoundation. Accompanied by her husband 33 msfocusmagazine.org'