Barb Abrams’ mother had Multiple Sclerosis and she remembers being a preschooler and watching her mother fall down the stairs. “She took me aside and said ‘Don’t tell Grandma.” When Barb was in high school, her grandmother broke her hip. While visiting her in the nursing home, Barb’s dad took her aside and showed her a person hunched over in a wheelchair and said “that person has what your mother has.” No one had even mentioned MS until her mother had to move to a walker and eventually a wheelchair. There weren’t any therapies back then and no one knew anyone with MS. Just before Barb’s 40th birthday, a piece of wood fell and hit her on the head. Four stitches later and many trips to doctors for mysterious sensations, numbness and eventually optic neuritis, Barb began her journey with MS.
Barb doesn’t really consider anything in her life an obstacle as much as a personal challenge. “I have had times when I’ve had an exacerbation and had difficulty walking, but still went to the gym every day. I’ve had bilateral hamstring surgery and rotator cuff surgery and had to rely on the help of others to shower and dress, but still pushed on. I have cognitive issues and can’t even remember my kid’s names sometimes, so I refer to them as ‘boy and girl.’ I get easily confused, but thank goodness have wonderful friends who are there to finish my sentences for me, set me in the right direction, and laugh with or at me, whatever the situation requires.”
Barb currently is a substitute teacher and crossing guard for Dublin City Schools. For the past 23 years Barb and her various dogs have helped children make it home safely from school. Barb is a Peer Advocate for Shared Solutions. She calls people who have been newly diagnosed with MS and helps them through the myriad of feelings and concerns with which they are dealing. Barb is also on the Government Relations Committee for the National MS Society, an Ambassador for the Society, and serves on the planning committee for the MS Walk in Columbus.
Even though Barb lives with MS, she doesn’t let it stop her from living her life the way she wants to. At the age of 50 she took up endurance cycling. “I couldn’t reach my water bottle without losing balance, couldn’t stand on the bike, couldn’t signal turns and couldn’t ride more than 18 miles.” This past summer Barb put 3,500 miles on her bike, rode to the top of Vail Pass and Independence Pass, did back-to-back rides for MS and Pelotonia, and even did her first Triathlon – coming in second in her age group. Barb’s ultimate goal in life is just “to remain vertical.”
For more information on Multiple Sclerosis and how you can help, please visit www.nationalmssociety.org.