Multiple Sclerosis Fact #147

Photo credit: istock

This is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week. I know, I know, it is technically MS Awareness Month. I guess at one point in time it was just one week and was eventually expanded to the full month. MS Awareness and Education (I have been leaving a word out) Month was established by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2003. MS Awareness Week focuses on warriors and their stories. It gives people living with MS an opportunity to discuss their singular experience. If you are unaware, MS affects every single person differently. Often called the snowflake disease. When a warrior shares their story, it allows the world to see all the ways that a person can be effected. Oh and don’t let me start counting the ways.

So here I am, telling my updated MS stories this week. The facts I will be sharing with you aren’t scientifically proven. They are Ebony proven. Which means they are not up for debate. Unless, you walk my walk and live my life, these facts cannot be disproven. And the numbers are also randomly selected by me πŸ€·πŸΎβ€β™€οΈ.

Multiple Sclerosis Fact #147

Carpet is the devil and rugs are its little demons.

I hate carpet and rugs are a close second. I cannot manage to walk on carpet or over a rug without tripping. It is unavoidable. Unfortunately, my walking has gotten worse and I cannot pick my legs up fully to walk. I kind of scrub my feet across the floor. My right is worse than the left. This unflattering and unconventional walking style does not work well on uneven surfaces, things that can catch my feet, and any little area unseen by the human eye. Walking is a concentrated effort. And occasionally I have the nerve to try to walk fast. Never a good idea. Thanking God for all the times I could have hit the floor, but didn’t πŸ˜†.

More MS facts to come this week. I will also highlight another MS resource that I hope you will share with any warriors that you may know. I cannot spread the message by myself. I need your help. Stay well and whole. Much Love 🧑 πŸ’š

Black Fact: Ursula Burns

Since it is Women’s History Month, all my Black Fact posts will be about women and women owned businesses and endeavors, past or present. The value of women is immeasurable. We are leaders in the film, music, beauty, and fashion industries.Β  Women may not have dominated the technology and science industries yet, but they are breaking in and making a name for ourselves. Ursula Burns is one woman who not only worked with technology for a number of years, but went on to be one of the first to run a Fortune 500 company.
I don’t remember exactly how I found out about Ursula Burns. Maybe it was through a book recommendation on Scribd, a digital library app. Ursula Burns was the first black woman to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Xerox. She held this position from 2009 to 2016. Ursula started working with Xerox as an mechanical engineering intern at 19 years old climbing her way up the ladder to CEO 25 years later. She also was the chairwoman at Xerox from 2010 to 2017.
Ursula stepped down from her position as CEO at Xerox going on to work at Teneo and VEON. She also co-founded the non-profit, Change the Equation,Β an initiative that helps students become interested and proficient in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). On top of serving on the boards of ExxonMobil, Uber and American Express, Ursula has written a memoir called, Where You Are Is Not Who You Are.
I have referenced information from this article, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ursula-Burns and Ursula’s memoir for this post. Here is another link to gather more information about this pioneering woman. Or you can just read her book and hear it all in her own words.
If this blog post, or any other previous posts, has resonates with you, please share it with someone else. Someone who you feel may benefit or enjoy this content. It would be greatly appreciated. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧑 πŸ’š

MS Awareness Month Spotlight: Samantha Salvaggio

Here we are in our second week of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month. As I stated in my last post, Novellia with The Skoop, I will be highlighting websites, podcasts, newsletters and other resources for people living with MS. Today I am ecstatic to feature one of my favorite MS Warriors, Samantha Salvaggio (Vanderman). Samantha and I have stayed in touch since she was a guest blogger last March. She is doing wonderful things for the MS community and I knew I had to share it with my readers. I invited Samantha on a Zoom call so we could discuss what’s new with her and what she has planned for the future. Watch our Zoom call at this link,

https://www.youtube.com/supported_browsers?next_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoJat1g-BAR0&feature=youtu.be

I seriously don’t like how YouTube always stops the video at the worst moment. I look crazy πŸ˜†.Β  Oh and I don’t know how to edit, so… Anyways, Samantha has been very active in spreading her message with the world. You will be able to find links to other publications and podcasts Samantha has collaborated with on her website, samanthasalvaggio.com. In the About tab on her webpage, just click on Collabs. You can also sign up for her weekly newsletter on the website. Follow Samantha on all her social media pages to keep up with this incredible human being and her future endeavors.

IG: @slsalvaggio

Facebook: Samantha Vanderman Salvaggio

TikTok: slsalvaggio

I am so thankful and grateful for Samantha. She comes through everytime I reach out to her. Samantha is also a true Warrior that shines her light bright for all to see. If you haven’t read her previous posts from last year’s MS Awareness Month, please go back and read them. Hopefully, Samantha and I will have more collabs in the future πŸ˜‰. If this blog post, or any other previous posts, has resonates with you, please share it with someone else. Someone who you feel may benefit or enjoy this content. It would be greatly appreciated. Let’s help spread Samantha’s message to “Become Aware. Accept It. Adapt. Thrive.” Stay well and whole. Much Love 🧑 πŸ’š