Welcome back to another season of The MS Gym Podcast. Jodi and I had planned on taking the summer off as we typically do, but opportunities kept presenting themselves that we simply couldn't turn down. 

We've been absolutely humbled and honored that potential guests have been coming to us, instead of the other way around.

That's right. Word continues to spread about The MS Gym. continues to spread about Coach Trevor, his 100% commitment to and extensive knowledge of how the MS body responds to movement, and his well-informed grasp on how neuroplasticity can restore functionality that was perceived as being impossible.

With that kind of reputation, word gets around fast and far, and that's exactly how it happened with this episode's guest. A friend of hers told her about The MS Gym, she took a look at some of Trevor's videos and was intrigued, so she decided to contact The MS Gym to see how she could work with Trevor, only to find out that we had been trying to contact her to be on the podcast. You see, this was no random guest we were reaching out to. This was a Hollywood actress, famous for her role as Meadow Soprano on the long running HBO series The Sopranos, and now appearing in the ABC series Big Sky, who, after keeping her MS diagnosis under wraps for around 16 years, decided to go public. Little did she know, the MS world was cheering her on, anxious to see how she could use her far-reaching platform to shine a light on MS. 

If you haven't figured it out by now, our guest on today's episode, as well as an upcoming episode, is Jamie-Lynn Sigler, a 42-year-old mother of two young boys, and wife to an incredibly supportive husband.

Over the next two episodes, Jamie opens up about a wide range of topics, from how she handled being diagnosed at a young age, making the decision to go public, the gift of workplace accommodation, raising young children, how she uses cannabis for relief, to, most importantly, her own experience with Trevor and The MS Gym.

EPISODE NOTES:

-Being diagnosed with Lyme disease

-MS at 20 when Sopranos was peaking

-Avonex

-Not being a good patient

-The stress of divorce

-Keeping her MS a secret

-Wanting to get rid of MS

-Finding a partner who was "in it" with her was a turning point

-The emotional side of MS

-Figuring out how to thrive with MS

-Dating with MS

-Being pleasantly surprised by the acceptance of 

others

-The tipping point for revealing her diagnosis to the public

-Making excuses for her visible symptoms

-Taking time off after having her son

-Coming clean about her MS 

-The People magazine article that changed everything

-Her celebrity status doesn't make MS any easier

-Feeling a great sense of responsibility as a celebrity with MS

-Accommodating her MS symptoms when filming

-Not wanting to feel like a burden on the set

-Masking her gait issues

-Using a stunt double

-Inclusivity in Hollywood

-Dreaming of a role that incorporates her MS

-Feeling guilt and shame about her limitations

LINKS

Jamie's Instagram Page

Big Sky on ABC

Big Sky on Hulu

THE MS GYM:

Website

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

BROOKE SLICK:

Website

Instagram