Like a kid in the candy store! Attending CMSC 2017!

Written By
Kim Fryling-Resare

Next week I will be in New Orleans to attend the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting. I’m really looking forward to this event and I know I’m going to be like a kid in the candy store. I have to bring my excitement level down a notch or two but I can’t help it! It is so thrilling for me to be surrounded by the leading minds and practitioners in MS treatment, research, and care.

While my primary purpose for attending will be to help spread the word about LiveWiseMS.org, I’m also hoping to absorb as much information and knowledge as possible. I know I will be spending most of my time working the LiveWiseMS exhibit booth but I hope I can sneak into some of the sessions or lectures, as well as check out the latest products and services in the exhibit hall. I feel so fortunate to be exposed to this knowledge, and in turn, I can share my experiences and what I learn at this event with all of you.

I’m also really looking forward to meeting fellow MS bloggers and putting a face to people I’ve only engaged with electronically. There are so many incredible MS patient advocates and bloggers sharing their personal experiences and spreading awareness about MS. I really hope to connect with as many of them as possible at this meeting. 

I think it is essential to have multiple sclerosis patients at events such as the CMSC Annual Meeting. I mean, after all, we are the true reason and purpose behind this event. The information and collaboration that will come out of the CMSC meeting will not only benefit these practitioners but ultimately us – the patients!  I’m proud to be there as a patient representative, and to serve as a reminder of the ultimate goal of this meeting – to improve the care, treatment, and overall quality of life for MS patients.  

I'm looking forward to spending time with my colleagues and my fellow LiveWiseMS editorial board members, the nurses from the International Organization of MS Nurses (IOMSN) and award-winning blogger Cathy Chester. Hopefully, I’ll also meet some of the top minds in MS research and treatment. Well, at least I can admire them from a far. Do you think they would be taken aback if I ask for an autograph? 😉 These people have become like rock stars to me, and to be honest, they have more of my respect and admiration.

Finally, I don’t think the CMSC could have picked a better location. New Orleans is the perfect backdrop for #CMSC2017. It is a city that has experienced many hardships but yet has persevered with remarkable resilience. (Sound like a familiar journey, my fellow MS Warriors?) New Orleans continues to share with the world so much extraordinary music, culture, and beauty.

“Through pestilence, hurricanes, and conflagrations the people continued to sing. They sang through the long oppressive years of conquering the swampland and fortifying the town against the ever threatening Mississippi. They are singing today. An irrepressible joie de vivre maintains the unbroken thread of music through the air. Yet, on occasion, if you ask an overburdened citizen why he is singing so gaily, he will give the time-honored reason, “Why to keep from crying, of course!” – Lura Robinson, It’s An Old New Orleans Custom

Stay tuned next week via our social media pages as I post photos and information live from the meeting! If you’re attending #CMSC2017, please visit LiveWiseMS at booth 717. My colleagues and I would love to meet you!  

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