Vim & Vigor - Summer 2017 - Community Healthcare - 13

Even after her diagnosis at age 38, Holt
was still trying to outrun the disease.
She didn't have time for a chronic illness,
she thought. She hoped her kids wouldn't
notice the changes in their mom.
But things had to adjust for the
whole family, Holt soon found. She
had to stop working, she walks with
the help of a cane or a walker, and her
hearing is diminishing. Because MS
always changes, sometimes she has to
crawl out of bed and sometimes she
can stand without issue in the morning.
She's learned that "just because you're
in a bad stage or funk right now, doesn't
mean that it's forever," she says.

A WHOLE-FAMILY
CONDITION

Families are on the front lines of MS, and
spouses and children have to make big
adjustments, just like the person diagnosed. Kalb compares it to a stranger
showing up in your home, spreading his
stuff everywhere and never leaving.
"When one person is diagnosed with
MS, the whole family is," Kalb says.
"Everyone is living with this disease."
In her book, The Girl with the Lower
Back Tattoo, Schumer writes about her
father still trying to be a dad through his

MS symptoms. He once drove her to the
airport but couldn't pull her suitcase out
of the trunk.
"This must have looked strange to
other people, seeing this strapping man
watch his 18-year-old daughter lift and
tote her giant suitcase all by herself,
but they didn't know he was sick," she
writes. "I didn't really understand the
symptoms of the disease, but I did know
that it slowed him down, that even if he
looked normal he could still be in a lot
of pain, unable to do the small physical
acts he used to do with ease."
Her dad walked her into the airport,
where he had a bowel accident, she writes.
He had to switch into a pair of her shorts,
but he still wanted to walk her to the gate
as he had promised. He pushed through,
not wanting her to see him break down.

THE CHALLENGE OF
CAREGIVING

Caregiving can be tricky, as Schumer
showed in her 2015 movie Trainwreck. In
it, Colin Quinn plays her acerbic dad who
has MS, uses a wheelchair and recently
had to be moved into an assisted living
facility-just like Schumer's real-life dad.

WEBSITE

NEUROLOGICAL THERAPY
SERVICES AT CHS
Those suffering from multiple sclerosis
may have a variety of symptoms, including
difficulty walking, dizziness and vertigo.
Physical therapy can help prevent injury
and restore balance.
Licensed vestibular therapy specialists at
Community Hospital, St. Catherine Hospital
and St. Mary Medical Center provide outpatient therapy for patients experiencing
dizziness caused by vestibular or neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis
or stroke. Patients have access to a full
range of services, including vestibular

One scene shows Schumer's dad
struggling and failing to zip up his
sweatshirt. Schumer's character finally
just says, "Can I do this, please?"
That's a common interaction in MS
households across the country, Kalb
says. Kids, partners and families need
to figure out when to help and when
to step back in the midst of an everchanging disease.
"No matter how much you love
someone, you can't read their mind. Is
this a day they want help or a day that
they're going to bite my head off and
say, 'Leave me alone'?" Kalb says.
Schumer said her dad's disease has
given her a perspective that helps her
laugh more, and make other people
laugh, too.
"I seek laughter all the time," she
told CBS Sunday Morning. "I think that's
something that also comes with having
a sick parent is you don't know what's
going to happen, and so I'll be like, 'I'm
psyched my legs still work.' And I want
to experience all I can and make as
many memories as I can." ■

rehabilitation therapy (VRT) to treat
conditions like vertigo, chronic migraine,
peripheral or central vestibular dysfunction, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
(BPPV) and balance disorders.
Our professionals work with your
primary care physician to evaluate and
diagnose the source of your dizziness and
prepare an individualized treatment plan.
Therapy sessions are supported by stateof-the-art diagnostic and rehabilitative vestibular balance equipment and innovative
rehabilitation techniques.

Learn More
For more information about physical therapy at Community Hospital,
St. Catherine Hospital and
St. Mary Medical Center, visit
www.comhs.org.

"Vestibular therapy is an excellent tool
to resolve dizziness and improve balance,"
says Community Hospital Fitness Pointe
physical therapist and geriatric clinical
specialist Priscilla Mulesa. "Patients need
to be checked by a doctor first to diagnose
the condition and then go to a therapist
specializing in vestibular rehabilitation
for treatment."
SUMME R 2017

http://www.comhs.org

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