Multiple Sclerosis…Why Not Me? by Vincent Spoto Upon being formally diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2006, I immediately began interferon treatment. For approximately two years after being diagnosed, there were no visible symptoms. Then in fall 2008 I began to limp. As time went on, my gait became impacted & has since gotten slowly but progressively worse. I currently suffer from secondary progressive MS. Presently, I am fully ambulatory but do utilize a cane. In addition to my gait issues, my balance is off and I do get fatigued often. I am determined not to let MS get the best of me. After falling victim in 2007 to a Reduction in Workforce (RIF) associated with the collapse of the secondary mortgage market on Wall Street, I teamed up with two partners & formed an advisory / consulting business. Today, my business continues to thrive & do well. My determination to deal with my MS & be ready for the cure is founded in four main principals. These are: Remain Engaged in the Marketplace / Workforce. Remaining engaged in the workforce keeps me abreast of current marketplace events, allows me to maintain relationships, network with others & provides me with a sense of accomplishment necessary for overall well-being. Remain Physically and Socially Active. I find exercise to be critical in that it keeps me active. Admittedly, some days are more difficult than others, but I push myself to get out of the house & exercise. Additionally, meeting with & talking to others on a regular basis keeps me engaged and socially relevant. Remain Positive. Dwelling on the negative takes too much energy & only drives one to become depressed. While I am often times frustrated, I remain optimistic about the future & remain confident that a cure is forthcoming. Remain Knowledgeable. Having knowledge is having power; with respect to MS, this is essential. Today, progress towards a cure is being made at a rapid pace. It is critical to always ask questions, stay informed and do your homework. When, not if a cure is identified, I plan to be ready to take full advantage of all those little things that life has to offer. MS … Today it stands for Multiple Sclerosis. Let’s hope tomorrow it stands for Mystery Solved.
Multiple Sclerosis…Why Not Me? by Vincent Spoto Upon being formally diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2006, I immediately began interferon treatment. For approximately two years after being diagnosed, there were no visible symptoms. Then in fall 2008 I began to limp. As time went on, my gait became impacted & has since gotten slowly but progressively worse. I currently suffer from secondary progressive MS. Presently, I am fully ambulatory but do utilize a cane. In addition to my gait issues, my balance is off and I do get fatigued often. I am determined not to let MS get the best of me. After falling victim in 2007 to a Reduction in Workforce (RIF) associated with the collapse of the secondary mortgage market on Wall Street, I teamed up with two partners & formed an advisory / consulting business. Today, my business continues to thrive & do well. My determination to deal with my MS & be ready for the cure is founded in four main principals. These are: Remain Engaged in the Marketplace / Workforce. Remaining engaged in the workforce keeps me abreast of current marketplace events, allows me to maintain relationships, network with others & provides me with a sense of accomplishment necessary for overall well-being. Remain Physically and Socially Active. I find exercise to be critical in that it keeps me active. Admittedly, some days are more difficult than others, but I push myself to get out of the house & exercise. Additionally, meeting with & talking to others on a regular basis keeps me engaged and socially relevant. Remain Positive. Dwelling on the negative takes too much energy & only drives one to become depressed. While I am often times frustrated, I remain optimistic about the future & remain confident that a cure is forthcoming. Remain Knowledgeable. Having knowledge is having power; with respect to MS, this is essential. Today, progress towards a cure is being made at a rapid pace. It is critical to always ask questions, stay informed and do your homework. When, not if a cure is identified, I plan to be ready to take full advantage of all those little things that life has to offer. MS … Today it stands for Multiple Sclerosis. Let’s hope tomorrow it stands for Mystery Solved.
Excerpt: Some account of what befell Father (Saint) Vincent de Paul, Religious of La Trappe, with observations made by him when in America, where he has spent about ten years, with the permission of his Superior, in obedience to whose orders he writes the following. In 1812, I, in company with two other brothers, was sent by him to the United States, there to found an establishment of our Order. We left Bordeaux on the 15th June, and on the 6th of the month of August we arrived at Boston. We had with us one of our Trappistines, whose object was also to found a community; with this intention she had preceded her companions, but now found herself alone, as passports were refused to the other sisters. We were welcomed by the worthy Mr. Matignon, parish priest of the town, who coaxed us to remain in the diocese of Bishop Cheverus. However as we had received orders to establish ourselves near Baltimore, after a few days rest I started for that town alone, leaving my brothers and the nun in Boston, intending to send for them when I should find a suitable site for the two projected establishments. I paid my respects to His Grace the Archbishop of Baltimore, who received me kindly, but appeared at a loss where to find a site such as we desired. After many unsuccessful efforts and researches, he established me temporally on a farm belonging to the Society of Jesus (of which he was a member) until such time as we could procure the sort of place we wanted; then as I thought that time might be long in coming, I summoned my brothers to me, and arranged for a suitable lodging for the nun. During our stay, a rich man of Baltimore, who was once a Protestant and had been converted, offered us 2000 acres of land in the mountains of Pensylvania, near a river called the Delaware. He was even generous enough to offer me the services of his son, who was also a recent convert, and who came with us to point out the property which, however, I was not able to inspect thoroughly as I remained there only one day. I returned soon after with two young men who were inclined to join our Order. They commenced a somewhat rude novitiate, for we fasted and kept silence on the way, going always on foot for want of money. After great suffering from fatigue and heat (as it was summer), we arrived at a little town, distant about sixty miles from Philadelphia, whence we had started on our tour of inspection. This little town, which was called Milford, was quite near to the land that was to be ours. Additional Excerpt: Still these souls have been created by God and bought by Jesus Christ, and the more abandoned, and the further from the religion of heaven they seem to be, so much the more do they call for our compassion. We have succeeded in civilizing many barbarous nations and in rendering them Christian and Catholic, we may equally, with the help of God, bring others to the knowledge of the true religion, and since pretended philosophers have abandoned the faith, it must, according to the divine oracle, go to other men. If this faith is extinguished for many, who have deserved the misfortune in closing their eyes to its light, it goes to others who will render themselves worthy by allowing this divine truth to enlighten them. Thus faith is never lost, if it leaves us, it is our own fault.
Using the Bible (especially the Gospels) as a source of consolation for the believed potential devastation that would result in the Wrath of God once seen imminent through Global Warming, one is led through by the author to view positive signs of God’s mercy and a new City of God that the Bible promises in Revelations. The dolphins trapped in our rivers were our delight as we witnessed the twists and turns brought upon life through our eco-systems and society. Also a film-maker, Risoli-Black details this additional dialog in the novel with anecdotes and criticisms of films of the fifties, sixties and seventies when one had choices of decent role models with ideal standards, not idols that led away from God. WRONG TURN: The Fifth Season of Love is a novel of true events where the townsfolk are the heavies that recall plots like Peyton Place and Town Without Pity. Also includes the novella, “The Song of the Bow” about the love between Jonathan and David, a love greater than the love of women.
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