“Is it ever enough… or are we always waiting for the next breakthrough, the next voice, the next reason to hope?”

We found ourselves in an unexpected place for this episode: talking about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) through the lens of the NFL Draft.

Of course, the #1 overall draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was making lots of headlines, but the stories went way beyond his leadership on the football field.

Mendoza also was gaining attention for championing efforts to raise awareness and funding for research to end MS, the disease which his mom, Elsa, has lived with since 2008.

So when a high-profile moment shines a spotlight on MS, whether it’s with the #1 NFL draft pick or a celebrity diagnosis, it raises a bigger question:

What do we actually want from that attention?

Visibility definitely opens the doors for MS advocacy and research, but it can also create comparisons that don’t reflect the reality of living with MS. As with everything in MS, there is more than one answer.

In this episode, we explore the complicated mix of MS awareness, expectations, frustration, and hope that comes with seeing Multiple Sclerosis represented in the public eye and across media. We talk about:

• The impact of celebrity MS stories on awareness and perception
• Why increased visibility doesn’t always lead to a cure for MS
• How different voices shape the narrative around chronic illness and disability
• Why “control what you can control” matters when living with MS

We also reflect on how far the MS community has come—from just a few disease-modifying therapies to more than two dozen today—and why, even with that progress, it still can feel like we’re waiting.

Here are the links that offer further insights into our conversation:

• Listen to the MeSsy podcast with Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler
• Learn more about our Walk MS team, Team MonsterS, and how you can support us
• Check out the powerful video from Max the Dollar Kid and consider making your $1 donation

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We’d love to hear from you

What do you expect when celebrities or public figures talk about MS? Share your thoughts in the comments or email us at acoupletakesonms@gmail.com.

Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease

“I don’t expect to see a cure in my lifetime… but I will never give up hope.”

Some conversations feel bigger than the milestone they represent.

As we reach Episode 100 of the A Couple Takes on MS Podcast, we knew this moment was about more than looking back. It was about honoring the people who helped us move forward.

For us, that starts with Cathy Chester.

In our 100th episode, we sit down with Cathy, an iconic multi-award-winning MS advocate, writer, and someone who has played a meaningful role in helping us find our voice in this space.

She was diagnosed in 1986 and brings nearly four decades of lived experience to a conversation that is honest, reflective, and deeply needed.

We talk about what it really means to age with Multiple Sclerosis, the uncertainty of separating MS from “normal” aging, and how perspective evolves over time.

Cathy shares what it was like navigating a diagnosis before treatments existed, how hope has shifted over the years, and why community and communication still matter now more than ever.

This includes talking about:

• The evolution of MS treatments—and the emotional reality behind them
• Aging with MS: how do you separate progression from aging?
• The mental and emotional side of MS that isn’t talked about enough
• Why hope still matters, even when expectations change
• What it means to “control what you can control” in everyday life

More than anything, this episode is about resilience and learning to live in the unknown while choosing hope.

And this conversation is a reminder that while treatments, timelines, and expectations may change, the need for honest conversations and real connection never does.

If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it.

And as always, thank you for being part of this journey with us... 100 episodes and counting.

Here are the links that offer further insights into our conversation:

• Check out Cathy’s website An Empowered Spirit

• Enjoy the 7 Questions with A Couple feature with Cathy on our blog from several years ago

• Get social: Follow Cathy on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

“How would you feel if everybody’s talking about you behind your back? You need to be talking to the actual patient.”

Just days before our conversation for this episode, Briana Landis was on Capitol Hill advocating for the Multiple Sclerosis community and bringing real stories into rooms where decisions are made.

Her work in Multiple Sclerosis advocacy continues to push for better research, access, and patient-centered care.

This is nothing new for Briana.

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at just 4 years old, she has spent her life turning her lived experience into action.

In this episode, Briana, now 28, shares what it means to grow up with MS, step into advocacy, and speak up in spaces where patient voices are often missing.

We take a deep dive with Briana into:

• A behind-the-scenes look at advocating for Multiple Sclerosis on Capitol Hill
• Why patient voices must be part of healthcare conversations
• What it's really like growing up with MS and what still needs to change
• How small moments of advocacy can lead to real impact

Briana does so much more than talk about advocacy. She lives it.

And in doing so, she reminds all of us that our stories carry weight, especially when they’re shared in the right rooms, at the right time.

Here are the links we referenced that offer further insights into our conversation:

• Watch Briana’s TED Talk The Nerve to Synapse: Connecting as My Body Disconnects

• Explore the details about the two priority issues that Briana and nearly 170 activists took to Capitol Hill in late March

• Learn more about how you can share your voice and get involved with advocacy through the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

• Donate to support Briana’s fundraising efforts for Briana’s Team at the Raleigh Walk MS event

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Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

In this episode of A Couple Takes on MS, we welcome Brian Wallace, a former University of Michigan offensive lineman who helped lead the Wolverines to four Big Ten championships and three Rose Bowl appearances.

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1997 at age 27, Brian has spent nearly three decades navigating life with MS while continuing to move forward. Today, Brian hosts the MS Michigan Man 64 Podcast, where he shares honest conversations about life with chronic illness and the mindset it takes to keep going.

Brian joins us to talk about football, life after diagnosis, the mental challenges of chronic illness, and why community and conversation matter so much in the MS world.

• His journey from Michigan football to living with MS
• How a competitive mindset helped shape his approach to the disease
• How isolation can affect people living with chronic illness and the importance of community
• Why he started the MS Michigan Man 64 Podcast to focus on positive, honest conversations about life with MS
• The emotional and mental health challenges of living with Multiple Sclerosis
• Why building community and sharing stories matters

👉 You can explore Brian’s podcast here: MS Michigan Man 64 Podcast

From our blog Reflecting on the conversation with Brian, Jennifer recently revisited an essay she wrote about the Michigan football game she missed shortly after her MS diagnosis and the lesson it taught her about living with Multiple Sclerosis without regrets.

👉 Read the essay here: The biggest Michigan game I missed and the lesson MS taught me

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Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

When you’re diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), there’s often an unspoken expectation that you’ll process it, accept it, and eventually move on.

But what happens when the thing you’re supposed to “move on” from is a chronic, progressive disease that you carry with you every single day?

In this honest and deeply personal conversation, we unpack the myth of moving on with Multiple Sclerosis, and what it really means to live with a long-term neurological condition. From dreams of walking again to small victories like standing and pivoting, we explore what it looks like to live with MS nearly three decades after diagnosis as both patient and caregiver.

Is moving on even possible, or is the goal something different?

• The difference between moving on and moving forward after an MS diagnosis
• Living with Multiple Sclerosis for 25+ years and how perspective shifts over time
• Grief and chronic illness and why it resurfaces even decades later
• Caregiving and marriage while navigating progressive disability
• Society’s expectations around acceptance, resilience, and “getting over it”
• Finding gratitude in small, everyday wins while living with MS

Jennifer shares what it’s like to dream about walking and wake up to the reality of mobility challenges. Dan reflects on accepting numb hands, shifting abilities, and life as a caregiver to a spouse with MS.

Together, we wrestle with a question many in the chronic illness community quietly carry:

Can you ever really move on from Multiple Sclerosis or is acceptance less about closure and more about courage?

For those living with Multiple Sclerosis, caregiving for someone with MS, or navigating any chronic illness, this episode is a reminder that grief doesn’t have an expiration date. But neither does resilience.

• Do you ever have moments where you forget you have Multiple Sclerosis?
• What does “moving forward” look like in your life right now?

Email us at acoupletakesonms@gmail.com to help keep this conversation going.

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Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

In this episode of A Couple Takes on MS, we sit down with our pastor, Pastor Dana Hendershot, to talk about one of the biggest questions that can rise up after a diagnosis like MS (or cancer): Why did God let this happen?

Dan reflects on 26 years since his MS diagnosis and how faith can change over time, not always through easy answers, but through presence, perspective, and community. Pastor Dana shares the moment her theology of suffering shifted, what she learned during her own cancer journey, and why it’s okay to bring every emotion to God. Including anger.

We talk about prayer as breath, the difference between “God caused this” and “God is with you in this,” why joy only exists in the present moment, and how hope sometimes looks like being carried by others when you can’t carry yourself.

In this episode, we get real with Pastor Dana about: • Where God is in diagnosis and suffering • Why it’s OK to be angry with God (and why God can handle it) • Prayer as presence and the Spirit as the promise • Theology of the cross vs. theology of glory • Hope, community, and being carried when you’re worn down • Finding joy right now and why singing can help shift your mind

And Jennifer expands on this podcast (and a metaphor from Pastor Dana that she ca't getrb out of her head in her essay, “Multiple Sclerosis and faith: the rip in our canvas.”

An open invitation for you, our listeners Where have you felt God’s presence during a difficult season in your life? We’d love to hear from you at acoupletakesonms@gmail.com.

About our guest:

Pastor Dana Hendershot is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and has served as Senior Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, since 2011. Dana holds a degree in psychology with a focus in neuropsychology and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where her studies explored the intersection of science and faith.

In addition to her congregational ministry, Dana serves as Chair of the Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology, helping lead national conversations about how theology, scientific discovery, and human curiosity connect. Her writing has appeared in Working Preacher, The Lutheran, and Lutheran Partners, where she brings thoughtful theology into everyday lived experience.

In 2023, Dana was diagnosed with Large Cell B Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and underwent extensive treatment. That experience deepened her understanding of the body, vulnerability, and what it means to show up for others with compassion and presence.

Dana has also been deeply involved in community advocacy. She helped establish Mount Pleasant’s first rotating homeless shelter—Isabella County Restoration House—serves on Central Michigan University’s Institutional Review Board, and previously served on the Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida Board of Directors while advocating for farmworker justice alongside the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

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Remember to rate, review and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

Recovery doesn’t happen in isolation, and when you live with Multiple Sclerosis, even a “routine” surgery can totally upend daily life.

In this episode of A Couple Takes on MS, we get real and open up on the weeks following Dan’s hernia surgery and how recovery has affected our caregiving dynamic, routines and sense of normalcy.

Just 11 days post-surgery, we share what we feared most, what surprised us, and how preparation, flexibility, and community support have helped us navigate this unfamiliar chapter together.

This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply human as we get into everything that comes with having a routine (yet major surgery) when both people in a relationship are living with MS and serve as each other’s primary caregivers, including:

• Adjusting our caregiver schedules and transfer procedures
• Managing spasticity
• Altering sleep schedules
• Incorporating dignity-preserving tools
• Dealing with the emotional weight of temporarily giving up things we love

It’s also a reminder that healing is more than physical. It’s also relational.

Here are the links we referenced that offer depth and insights for our conversation:

• Dan’s healing: The night before – Link to check out Jennifer’s emotional essay written, well, the night before Dan’s surgery.
• Dan’s healing: The weeks after surgery – Link to check out Jennifer’s follow-up essay highlighting the realities we had to face.
• PureWick – Link to learn about the in-home urine collection system we discuss in the episode.

An open invitation for you, our listeners Have you experienced surgery as a patient or caregiver? What helped you through recovery? We’d love to hear from you at acoupletakesonms@gmail.com.

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Remember to rate, review and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.

In this episode of A Couple Takes on MS, we’re honored to welcome Sarah Locke, founder of Locke’s Promise, a New Hampshire–based nonprofit born from her own lived experience with Multiple Sclerosis.

Sarah shares how Locke’s Promise came to life, from the six-week paperwork marathon it took to get started to the community momentum that followed.

Through events like Climb the Peak, Rides & Wranglers for MS, and other grassroots efforts, the organization has raised more than $100,000 over four years and, in 2025 alone, has already donated over $42,000 to directly support six individuals living with MS.

In this episode, we talk about: • Turning an MS diagnosis into a mission grounded in community • What it really takes to start a nonprofit from scratch • How grassroots fundraising creates direct, local impact • Living authentically—and honestly—after diagnosis • Why no one facing MS should ever feel invisible or alone

We also talk with Sarah about her memoir, Living Out Loud, where she reflects on coming out later in life, navigating an MS diagnosis, and learning how honesty, humor, and vulnerability can coexist, even in the hardest moments.

Throughout our conversation, Sarah reminds us that advocacy doesn’t have to be loud to make an impact, and that real community built on connection and compassion can make all the difference.

Here are the links we referenced that offer depth and insights for our conversation:

• Locke’s Promise – Link to check out Sarah’s “… compassionate nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) while directly supporting local community members affected by this challenging condition.”
• Living Out Loud – Link to order Sarah’s honest, personal, and inspiring memoir.

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Remember to rate, review and subscribe to A Couple Takes on MS Podcast for two insightful perspectives on this one multifaceted disease.