My new article is out. Christina Applegate spent five years living under an MS diagnosis and speaking openly about it, only for her doctor to walk in and say “Congratulations, you don’t have MS.” She’s still disabled. She still needs a wheelchair to get from the parking lot to the doctor’s office. The same progressive symptoms that cost her her career are still there, and now she has no name or community for what’s wrong. The disease didn’t get the memo. Then the mean-girl commentary arrived. Megyn Kelly framed Applegate’s distress as disappointment over losing her status as the public face of the disease and the platform that came with it. Janice Dean, who has lived with actual MS for more than 20 years and left her long career at Fox News because of it, called the remarks disgusting. She noted that she’s one of those people who talk about their diagnosis precisely to help others. As am I. As someone who has lived with MS for 16 years after years of being told my symptoms were psychological, I agree. Losing the label while remaining sick is its own special hell. The people policing the “correct” emotional reaction rarely live inside the body in question. Christina is still sick. She's still disabled. She still lost her career. She just no longer has any answers for it. For the full article, see below. @JaniceDean this one is for you and all of us who struggle with this terrible disease.

My friend and my boss. It's a privilege to see how far he's come.