Cyn - First of all, I think it is great that she is doing this. Please share this with her . . .I started getting weekly massages back in late January/early February. The hug and spasticity were so bad at that time I was actually swollen all around my ribcage and basically had to just lay in bed due to the pain - muscle relaxers and/or Ativan barely put a dent in the pain. Over the course of the 1st month, things improved and have continued to improve. She only does a 1/2 hour gentle massage but it has helped me out so much. Recently, the hug started acting up again. All the intercostal muscles are in a tight spasm making it uncomfortable to sit and to breath. Once again, she has been able to work them out, for the most part, and has been coming twice a week. I have not had to take a muscle relaxer in months due to the massages, at least that is what I feel (although there are some days I probably should).

In addition to what others have posted, here is a link to a MS simulator. I know I posted it before but it is a great way for others to get a glimpse of what it is like to have MS. http://havingms.com/simulation If she has some sort of projecting computer or even a laptop to bring in to class and they have internet access, it would be both fun and informative to her classmates.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Oh, wait. Can bring in food, any kind would work, and walk up to those eating it and just shake their arm or jerk their arm to simulate the tremors some of us MSers deal with. It would be hard to give an example of fatigue but, as I explain to others, it is like coming down with the worst flu you have ever had - the kind where your body aches and you're so tired you just have to go to bed. Most people will know exactly what you are talking about. Some of us MSers deal with that on a daily basis.

I wish her all the luck in the world. Please let us know how her project goes and keep us updated.

The ideas here are so good, I am sure her presentation will be both informative and "fun" with the interactive ideas which will generate interest and hands-on understanding.

THANK YOU. She has two weeks to put everything together for her pathology class final and wanted me to pass along that she will have me add a note from her once everything is completed.

Until then, she still welcomes your ideas/thoughts. I always pride myself in coming up with creative concepts/ideas but truthfully, I do not hold a candle to what you all are giving her.

I was going to suggest she go to Multiplesclerosissucks.com But it seems that Ian Parberry closed it down....sorry???

I read that website back when first dx'd back in 2005. I wonder what happened to close it down.

Ian seems to have disappeared from everywhere. He is not on FB anymore either??

no clue. I have not looked at MSSucks in a long long time.

I find the most effective (in my experience) way to describe the 'technical' side of MS is to use the imagery of electrical wires with the plastic coating on them (to mimic the nerve in an MS patient).

People begin to 'get it' when you tell them that MS can affect the central nervous system as a whole (and most folk I meet don't fully understand the CNS either - I tell them, everything from the senses to mobility - walking, for example).

Then I explain the process of the disease eating away at the myelin sheath on the nerve like taking a knife and peeling back the plastic protective coating from the electrical wire. What happens when you expose bare wire running a current? Many bad things - and most people at this point have the 'ah HA!'.

If they really want to know how it affects me personally, I tell them "I'm very fortunate that I am not affected with my mobility and cognitive thoughts. I went for years thinking I just had a very bad migraine or headache". Which is the truth. I am very fortunate, but I too make it a point to explain that everyone with MS is like a fingerprint - completely unique from one another and with their disease course.

What a great project!

I don't think there's a single best way - there are so many different symptoms and it hits each of us differently.

I'm going to have to give this some serious thought! I'll be back...

I'M BACK ALREADY!

I liked dmplaura's 'technical' description so much that I'd like to tack onto it in computer lingo:

I have more than one medical condition - juggling heart disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis is like have several Windows tabs open simultaneously. You jump back and forth as needed and things seem to be under control most of the time.

My blood pressure is 185/110? There's an app for that...take one clonidine and it should come down soon.

Chest pains? There's an app for that, too...pop a nitro or two and the pains should subside. If not, reboot on the way to the hospital!

Glucose reading too high? Another handy app exists! Take the Metformin dose you forgot this morning or finally agree to go on insulin. Oh, yeah - and back away from the donuts.

The heart and diabetes problems are like running software programs with logical pathways and solutions. Updates are loaded onto the system periodically providing you with new solutions and better results. You still have the problems, but the software is there to make managing those problems much quicker, easier and efficient.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IS DIFFERENT. Rather than software developers working on programs to help you manage the problem, Hackers use MS to gain access to your system and spread havoc in your entire Operating System! An MS relapse is like opening the wrong e-mail attachment one morning and seeing the message, "HAH! You are SO screwed today!" flash across your screen!

Back to your project...there's one practical exercise I do recommend

So many here have left you excellent (and even fun!) suggestions for trying to actually demonstrate what it's like to function with MS. I don't think I can come up with anything half as good as stuff others have contributed. I will add a suggestion for a final homework assignment, though, and it's more geared toward having them try to imagine planning for the future with MS.

I'm sure most of your fellow students get to class in their own transportation, whether it is by car, scooter, motorcycle or bicycle doesn't matter. Suggest that anyone interested that day pick a safe spot along the route home to try a quick experiment: if there is no other traffic or obstruction around, have them briefly take one hand off the steering wheel and cover one eye, then try to imagine that they are going to have to drive the rest of the way home like that. Then ask them to imaging being struck with double vision in rush hour traffic, surrounded by cars on all sides and traveling at 65 MPH. And you're in the middle lane. Again.

That happens to some of us in real life, and covering one eye allows you to at least try to navigate to the nearest exit and get off the road. The real point of the exercise is to imagine the impact of a single MS symptom on many aspects of life:

INDEPENDENCE: When do you voluntarily hand over your car keys to your spouse because you're a danger to yourself and others and you never know when something like that will strike?
YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER: If you can no longer drive to the grocery store, your doctor appointments, the kids' soccer practice, did you just add another layer of caretaking duties to your Loved One's shoulders? He/She swears he doesn't mind, but YOU do.
FINANCES: You were driving home from work when this happened for the last time. Now what? Can you keep your job if you can't drive to work? How will you find another one? Are you off the job market permanently now, even before becoming seriously disabled? Possibly. Probably, in fact.
SELF-IMAGE: You have just made yourself less functional, less effective, less...well, just less. If you weren't clinically depressed before, this might be the tipping point.

The list of impacts could go on at length, and I think this homeword assignment might bring home the insidious nature of MS to some of your fellow students. One little symptom like sudden double-vision can ripple through every aspect of daily life. And there are no apps for that.

Good luck with your project and please let us know how you do on the assignment. We are all cheering for you!

Oh yeah I thought of something for the double vision. A lot of people can't cross their eyes, I know I can't. So you could bring in a pair of clear glasses and tape a piece of paper between the lenses so it is sticking straight out and not covering the lenses, that gives a bit of an idea of what my vision is.

There are some really great ideas here.. I can't wait to hear how this goes!

ROFL!!! I absolutely love this! Brilliant.