b'as much as I can, for as long as I can, and explain MS. Everything in that book reallywith Jaeger I can do that. I cannot lean on happenedinourownlives,includingmyJaegers walking harness since that would daughter putting a box on her bears head tohurt him. So, using Jaeger is much better for take an MRI! Niah and I made sure to includemy walking than using a cane. guiding questions that a cute character, ourTo readers with young children, Darbis talking neuron, asks the readers. When ourname may be familiar. She is the author of daughter was young, my husband and I read toMS Focus childrens book, A Conversation her all the time. An engaging, interactive bookAbout MS. She discussed the books creation like this one would have been so beneficialprocess, When I was diagnosed, my daughter to us.was 4 years old, so I had a lot of questions Darbi and Niah generously donated theabout parenting while having MS, and also book to MS Focus, to be made available freethe impact this disease would have on my of charge to families aected by MS. In 2018,parentingandmymarriage.Ioftennd Darbi also arranged for students in thecomfort in scientic journals, and, thankfully, languages program at WKU to translate theI have access to them because of my work at bookintoSpanish,andtogetherwithherWKU, but I could not find answers in any daughter Sami, she recorded the English textresearch literature.of the book for a read-along version on theAfter hitting a wall, Darbi decided to take MS Focus YouTube channel. Now, Darbi andmatters into her own hands, I wrote a small Niahs second book for children of parentsgrant, and conducted a study with other with MS (Along Came Jae, sharing herparents who have MS. One of the major experiences with service dog Jaeger) will alsooutcomes of that study was that parents beavailable without charge from MS Focus.needed help explaining this disease to their When asked why she continues to contributekids. From that, the idea for the childrens to MS Focus, Darbi said, Every time I readbook was born.content from MS Focus, I am left with a feelingThe illustrator of the book, Niah Soult, is a of hope. To put it mildly, this disease is awful,student in the Child Studies program. Along but here is a beautiful community who has awith being trained in writing in a develop- purpose of assisting each of us with MS. Mymentally appropriate way, she is also an artist, goal is to share new ndings in ways that areand her illustrations bring the book alive. I applicable,understandable,andhopefullyam so thankful for her talents! We teamed up willhelpsomeonebattlingMS,andMSand wrote a faculty/undergraduate-student Focus helps me fulll that goal. The bottomengagement grant in order to obtain the line, though, is that MS Focus gives me suchfunds to create the book. hope, and also allows me to share my hope toInstead of creating a work of ction, Darbi the people who need it mostmy brothersused real-life experiences to help clearly and sisters in MS.To read a longer, unabridged version of Darbis story, please visit www.msfocusmagazine.org31 msfocusmagazine.org'