Today on MS understood we chat with Ashley Ratcliff. Soon after Ashley was diagnosed with MS she wrote a part memoir, part self help book, Jesus Year: The first year of the rest of my life after I was diagnosed with MS to provide others with what she needed when she got diagnosed. Ashley is passionate about people being their own advocates, finding a team to support you and about asking for help.

Jesus Year: The first Year of the Rest of My Life After I Was Diagnosed With MS

Ashley Ratcliff Instagram

Clare Reilly Instagram

Today on MS Understood we are chatting with Alanna from YO-T, where she blends the benefits of yoga and occupational therapy interventions. We talk about the difference between occupational therapy and physiotherapy. We talk about mental health support with yoga and the connection to sense of self through this modality. We talk about strengths that Alanna has seen in his clients with multiple sclerosis. She says that sometimes our strengths get ignored.

YO-T website

Dr Gretchen Hawley website

YO-T Instagram

@Clare.Reilly on Instagram

Find the Reassess Your MS interactive assessment tool at reassess.com.au

Today on MS Understood we chat with Sarah Preissner. Sarah's story takes us back to when she was

8 years old when she and her mother noticed that her hand writing was messy and she had no

control over it, she was then not diagnosed until the day after her 13th birthday. We talk about how

it grew with her and how grief for her looked so different to what it does for others given that she

was so young. She finds she now grieves for her parents having to go through that with their child.

And while she didn't grieve for herself when she was young, she's now finding it something she

really has to put focus on now that her and her husband are talk about having a family. We talk

about how an MS diagnosis can be seen as an excuse or crutch from the outside, and when Sarah

heard people saying this about her, she and her sister decided to run a half marathon.

This episode of MS Understood is sponsored by Novartis Australia and the Reassess Your MS

campaign #Ad.

Today on MS Understood we are chatting with Sarah who was my local area coordinator with the NDIS. Today we talk about all things NDIS. She shares tips on how to get initially accepted access into the NDIS, and then talk through the next steps. She answers questions from Instagram like, what's completely unreasonable to ask for, how does she recommend creating a good application, and what's the most outrageous thing she has heard anyone requesting. I know NDIS can be tricky to navigate and I really hope this can help you with your application.

Project Euphoria website

Project Euphoria Instagram

Find the Reassess Your MS interactive assessment tool at reassess.com.au

Today on MS understood we chat with Lance Lugo. He reached out to me to share his story, as a

man who is Native American/Hispanic it's not a story we hear often. Today is a big one so buckle in.

Lance is so open about his battle with alcohol and how that impacts his MS symptoms. He has two

half sisters who also have MS and since his diagnosis has realised that he could have reached out to

them more before this diagnosis. We talk a bit about Lance's cultural heritage and how that impacts

his diagnosis and how he has dealt with the emotional impact of the diagnosis.

This episode of MS Understood is sponsored by Novartis Australia and the Reassess Your MS

campaign #Ad.

Today on MS Understood is the first episode where I chat with someone doesn't have MS but can provide support to those who do. In the online MS community DR Gretchen Hawley needs no introduction. She is a physical therapist or physiotherapist who has trained specifically to support those with multiple sclerosis.

We talk about how improving walking can mean different things to different people, how preventative physiotherapy is so important, we talk about neuroplasticity and how our brains can find new pathways to send the messages, we also talked about how this process of improvement can take a long time.

Dr Gretchen Hawley website

Today is an interview with, well, me. When I interviewed Stephen way back when I started the podcast, we got off the recording he offered that if I ever wanted to be interviewed myself then he would be honoured to do that. So I reached out to him for my 12 month anniversary of starting the podcast to interview me.

In today's episode we talk about how the podcast has gone over the 12 months and tips that I've learnt from others while doing the podcast, how I feel about famous people getting diagnosed with MS, how having funding from the NDIS has changed my life and some highlights from my plans, as well as the best thing to come from my diagnosis and what I would tell people to make MS more understood.

Before we get into the interview I just want to say a huge thank you to Stephen for taking the time to interview me, I want to say thank you to anyone who has listened to even one episode, thank you to my parents and friends who listened to my idea before I was ready to dive in, thank you to anyone who has volunteered their time to be a guest on the show, obviously this podcast wouldn't exist without you and thank you to anyone who has listened to an episode and taken the time to send me a message, the podcast is still going because of you!

I'm really excited for the next 12 months of MS Understood, I'm mixing things up a little bit. I have some incredible interviews coming for you from an MS Physiotherapist, from someone who use to work at the NDIS, occupational therapists and someone who is all to close with grief, as well as incredible and inspiring episode from people from all over the world who live with MS.

Constant Pain and Multiple Sclerosis with Stephen Papadopolous

Multiple Sclerosis, the Great Wake Up Call with Jillian Kingsford Smith

Today on MS understood we chat with Rachel Reus. Rachel tells a story that will be all too common these days, being diagnosed during lockdown. We talk about having never met her neurologist in person. How she was diagnosed after having an epileptic fit. She yet another person living with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis who has no symptoms. And we talk about her desire to have kids and how MS impacts how she looks at the future.

Multiple Sclerosis Mamas with Clarissa Hidalgo

Pregnancy, Breast Feeding and Multiple Sclerosis Clare Wilkin

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of MS Understood. You can find me on Instagram @Clare.Reilly. The best thing you can do to support this podcast is click follow on Spotify, Subscribe on your other podcast listening platforms and leave a rating, this helps others find the podcast.

I'm always looking for new guests for the MS Understood podcast, if this is you or someone you know, please send me a message my instagram account. In an effort to make sure to have representation I'd love to hear from any members of the lGBTQI+ community, our Black and BIPOC community or any men willing to share their stories of living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Thanks again for listening and please share this episode with someone you think it might help.

Today on MS understood we chat with Dannii Orawiec. Dannii is an Emotional Health & Expression Coach; Holding her Bachelor of Health Science in Psychology and trained in emotional & energetic clearing, she now marries science with energetics to support epic healing and change for her clients. Her life mission is to show people that speaking their heart and showing their true selves - whether it's in the bedroom or the boardroom - can be safe, and create incredible depth, trust and intimacy in their relationships. We had a beautiful conversation about finding the diet that works for you, we talk about preventative models of health care, Dannii talks about her careful use of language around the diagnosis of MS, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. Dannii also includes the Wim Hoff Method in her health care kit, the cold therapy and breathing. As someone who lives with no symptoms Dannii shares so many things that struck a cord with me and I hope they do with you too.

You can find Dannii on Instagram at @danniiorawiec.

You can find me on Instagram @Clare.Reilly.

The Connection documentary

Wim Hoff method

When the Body Says No: The cost of hidden stress

Today on MS understood we chat with Cara Molloy from Derry in the north of Ireland. When Cara was dealing with her per diagnosis symptoms she was living in London working in the career field of her dreams in the entertainment industry. Since moving back to Ireland because of both covid and her diagnosis she has started volunteering as a music therapist as is loving it. Throughout this chat Cara talks about having no zero days, a concept that I love, where she aims to do something, just one thing every day. She also talks about how she hasn't yet accepted her diagnosis, but the fear surrounding what might happen and how her future might looks dissipated.

Before we get into todays episode, I wanted to share something that I'm super passionate about. For over 10 years I have been sharing simple living tips and tricks online. Initially our simple living adventure started because of our need to be budget conscious, and continued because of our passion for the environment. At the moment, if you signup to my newsletter list, the link is in the show notes or go to Clarereilly.com/newsletter, you can have access to my brand new ebook 10 Steps to living the simple life with a chronic illness and you can get a 15% off code to my sourdough bread made simple ecourse.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of MS Understood. You can find Cara on Instagram at @the_ms_adventure. You can find me on Instagram @Clare.Reilly. The best thing you can do to support this podcast is click follow on Spotify, Subscribe on your other podcast listening platforms and leave a rating, this helps others find the podcast.

I'm always looking for new guests for the MS Understood podcast, if this is you or someone you know, please send me a message my instagram account. In an effort to make sure to have representation I'd love to hear from any members of the lGBTQI+ community, our Black and BIPOC community or any men willing to share their stories of living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Thanks again for listening and please share this episode with someone you think it might help.