Marti’s MS Life

Marti’s MS Life Follow my journey with MS!

I am a Disney adult. Full stop. No qualifiers. No apologies.And living with MS has not taken that from me. If anything, ...
04/20/2026

I am a Disney adult. Full stop. No qualifiers. No apologies.

And living with MS has not taken that from me. If anything, it has made me hold onto it tighter.

Chronic illness has a way of trying to shrink your life. You stop making plans because you are not sure how you will feel. You start saying no before you even ask yourself if you actually want to go. You build a smaller and smaller world because it feels safer.

I decided a long time ago that was not going to be my story.

Joy is not something you earn after you get your health under control. It is not a reward for managing your illness perfectly. It is something you build into your life on purpose.

Even when things are hard. Maybe especially when things are hard.

For me that looks like Disney trips, my dog Harper, dinner with people I love, and boarding a plane to somewhere new and remembering that the world is still big and I am still in it.

Your version will look different. But whatever it is, protect it. Not as an afterthought. As part of the plan.

This week on Substack I wrote about why joy is not a luxury. It is part of my treatment plan. Link in bio to read the full piece.

MS did not take travel away from me. But it did force me to get a lot smarter about how I move through the world.Over ti...
04/13/2026

MS did not take travel away from me. But it did force me to get a lot smarter about how I move through the world.

Over time I built a system. A real one. Things I will not leave home without. Adjustments that are the difference between a trip that completely drains me and one that actually feels worth it.

Some of what I pack might surprise you. Some of it might make you laugh. All of it is intentional.

I also put together a full Amazon travel shop with everything I actually use and recommend for traveling with a chronic illness.

But first, the full breakdown of what I pack and why is on Substack this week. Link in bio.

The diagnosis does not have to be the reason you stop going places.

When people ask me how I do it, how I stay steady in the middle of a disease that has no cure and no guarantees, I want ...
04/06/2026

When people ask me how I do it, how I stay steady in the middle of a disease that has no cure and no guarantees, I want to be honest with you.

It is not me. It is God. God is carrying me.

Living with MS means waking up not always knowing how your body will respond. It means holding uncertainty as a daily companion. It means the fear that flickers at 3am. The exhale after an appointment that is never quite complete because you know next time the answer could be different.
I carry that fear. I will not pretend I do not.

But I do not carry it alone.

Before MS I thought strength meant independence. Doing everything myself. Holding everything together. I thought needing support was weakness.

I know better now.

Strength looks like surrender. It looks like saying, God, I trust You with this body. Even when the MRI is next week. Even when the brain fog is thick and I cannot see past today.
Prayer is not my escape from this life. It is my anchor inside of it.

This week on Substack I go deeper into what faith actually looks like when you are living in a body with no guarantees. Link in bio.

If I wasn’t worried about hurting your feelings, I’d tell you this:Stop waiting for the perfect moment. It’s not coming....
04/01/2026

If I wasn’t worried about hurting your feelings, I’d tell you this:

Stop waiting for the perfect moment. It’s not coming. Life’s messy and loud, and clarity shows up in motion, not hesitation.

Some of the people you’re chasing will never meet you halfway, and that’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility to stop chasing. Protect your time like it’s sacred, because it is.

Your softness isn’t the problem, but your lack of boundaries might be. Being nice and being kind aren’t always the same. One keeps the peace, the other keeps you whole.

And let’s talk about shrinking. As a Black woman and an eldest daughter, I learned early to take care of everyone else first. To be the strong one, the capable one, the reliable one. But I’ve also learned that strength doesn’t mean silence. You can be solid and still say no. You can love people and still disappoint them.

Also, eat before you’re starving. Don’t skip your dentist appointments. And stop ghosting your to-do list just because it feels overwhelming. Take it one item at a time.

You don’t need to be palatable to be worthy. You don’t need to have it all figured out to take up space.

What would you say if you weren’t afraid of how it might land? Drop it in the comments. I want to hear the advice that’s been sitting on your chest.

Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.OWN Your Health, Oprah Winfrey Network’s platform dedicated to Black women’s phy...
03/16/2026

Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.

OWN Your Health, Oprah Winfrey Network’s platform dedicated to Black women’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellness, chose my work to be part of their Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month coverage.

My article.

And they didn’t stop there.

They also spotlighted All In My Head, my documentary centering Black women living with Multiple Sclerosis.

On Oprah’s network.
During MS Awareness Month.
Featuring my work. My words. My film.

I have been working toward moments like this for a long time. Showing up consistently. Writing honestly. Making a film because I refused to let Black women living with MS remain invisible.

Now that work is sitting on one of the most powerful platforms dedicated to our health and our lives, during one of the most important months for our community.

To every woman who has read an article, shared a post, or shown up for this work, this belongs to you too. It has always been for us.

Read the piece and watch the trailer at the link in my bio.

MS really said let me add some character to your life. And by character I mean the occasional stumble, the unexpected tr...
03/12/2026

MS really said let me add some character to your life. And by character I mean the occasional stumble, the unexpected trip over nothing, and the very real possibility that my feet and my brain are not always on speaking terms.

But I am still out here. Still smiling. Still finding the most beautiful places to sit down dramatically.

That counts.

Fertility was never supposed to be this complicated, or this painful.I’ve sat in countless waiting rooms, done the blood...
03/11/2026

Fertility was never supposed to be this complicated, or this painful.

I’ve sat in countless waiting rooms, done the bloodwork, tracked the cycles, taken the shots. I’ve watched test after test come back with results that left me questioning everything.

And with MS in the mix, the weight of it all feels even heavier. This disease doesn’t accommodate doctor appointments, hormones, or emotional exhaustion. It just keeps going, no matter what else you’re carrying.

This journey has come with deep sadness. It’s forced me to face parts of myself I didn’t want to. It’s made me reassess what hope looks like. I’ve smiled when I didn’t feel like smiling. I’ve tried to stay optimistic in rooms that felt impossible.

Right now, I’m stepping back. I need space to process what I’ve been through and decide what I want next. And that choice doesn’t come from weakness, it comes from protecting my peace.

Some seasons aren’t about pushing. They’re about pausing.

Motivational quotes are great until you have MS and your body has a full list of terms and conditions.Keep pushing forwa...
03/10/2026

Motivational quotes are great until you have MS and your body has a full list of terms and conditions.

Keep pushing forward. Just maybe not uphill. Or in the heat. Or after 3pm. Or on a day when the fatigue decided to show up unannounced.

We move at our own pace around here. And that is still moving.

MRI season hits different when you have MS.It is not just a scan. It is days of quiet dread before you even walk through...
03/09/2026

MRI season hits different when you have MS.

It is not just a scan. It is days of quiet dread before you even walk through the door. It is a cage locked around your head, a cold table, an IV, and being completely alone inside a machine while your mind is very much awake.

I take a Xanax beforehand. Prescribed. Intentional. No shame attached.

I bring Mariah and Whitney into that tube with me. And when it is over, I do not rush back to normal life like it was nothing. Because it is not nothing.

Ice cream. A smoothie. A chair massage. A book I did not plan to buy. Something that says I made it through and I deserve care now.

If MRI anxiety hits you harder than you think it should, you are not being dramatic. You are responding to something real.

I go into all of it, the prep, the scan, the waiting, and the ritual I built around it, in this week’s Substack. Link in bio.

Sometimes the hardest part of healing is realizing not every friendship will make it to the other side with you.There wa...
03/06/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of healing is realizing not every friendship will make it to the other side with you.

There was a time when I would bend myself into pieces to keep a connection alive, even when it no longer fit who I was becoming.

I’d over-explain, over-give, over-apologize, just to avoid the quiet ache of someone walking away.

But what I’ve learned is this: letting go doesn’t make you cold. It makes you honest.

When you’re living with something like MS, your energy becomes sacred. You don’t have the bandwidth to chase people who don’t check in, who don’t make space for your hard days, who make you feel like you’re “too much” for needing more care than you used to.

If a friendship fades or falls apart, you’re allowed to grieve it, but you don’t have to resurrect it. You can close the door. And you don’t owe anyone an apology for locking it behind you.

Not every ending needs to be revisited. Some are just the beginning of honoring yourself better.

Every year I show up to the Rose Bowl and walk for every single one of us living with MS. This year is no different, and...
03/04/2026

Every year I show up to the Rose Bowl and walk for every single one of us living with MS. This year is no different, and I would love for you to be there with me.

March 29th. Pasadena. The MS Walk. One mile. You can absolutely do one mile.

If you have ever wanted to walk alongside someone who will be fully emotional by the halfway point, I am your person. Join my team and let’s do this together.

And if walking is not in the cards right now, a donation goes directly toward research and support for people living with this disease. Every dollar matters more than I can say.

Twelve years of diagnosis and I still show up to that Rose Bowl because this community keeps me going. Let me return the favor.

Link in bio to join my team or donate. Either way, I am grateful for you.

The what-ifs have been loud lately.What if I get worse? What if my mobility changes? What if the fatigue becomes somethi...
03/03/2026

The what-ifs have been loud lately.

What if I get worse? What if my mobility changes? What if the fatigue becomes something I can’t work around?

My brain fog has been getting worse. Words slip away mid-sentence. My vision has been shifting in ways that are small but noticeable enough to make me pause.

Living with MS means living alongside uncertainty. Not as an abstract idea, but as a daily, quiet companion.

I’ve been sitting with the harder questions too. What it would mean to need more care. The financial weight of a disease that is impossible to predict. What legacy I leave behind if my world gets smaller.

There’s grief in that. Some days it feels manageable. Other days it sits heavy.

But I’m still here. Still paying attention. Still naming what’s changing instead of pretending it isn’t.

The what-ifs don’t make me pessimistic. They make me honest.

If you’ve been feeling this too, you’re not overreacting. You’re responding to your body with awareness. And that matters.

I go much deeper on all of this in this week’s Substack. Link in bio.

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1001 Rose Bowl Dr
Pasadena, CA
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