Well, dear readers, it's MS Monday! Bet you thought I had forgotten seeing as this post is coming pretty late in the day. I didn't forget. I was in Calgary for some immigration stuff. I'll write more about that later. But I will say this...I'm beat!

Today for MS Monday I want to give you a preview of things to come:

There will be a very cool raffle to raise funds for the MS Walk.*

Anyone who donates can have their name (or a screen name) added to the "Dust Bunny Honor Roll" with a link to their blog or another website of their choice.*

There is a Facebook Group already up and running.

I also want to spend a moment discussing signs/symptoms and diagnosis of MS.

The symptoms of MS are varied and numerous. They can include pain, spasticity, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, partial paralysis, vision problems, and even dementia (though rarely). For a more thorough look at the very, very long list of possible symptoms visit here or here.

MS is not an easy disease to diagnose. Unfortunately it isn't as simple as doing a blood test and getting a positive. Getting a diagnosis requires answering a lot of questions about one's medical history, and undergoing lots of tests (such as neurological and vision tests). Then, after all that, an MRI is usually used to confirm the diagnosis. For a look at the current criteria used to make a diagnosis see this Wikipedia entry on the McDonald Criteria.

MS diagnoses are almost as mysterious as the disease itself which researchers are still trying to find the cause and cure for. To help fund the ongoing research and to help those affected by an MS diagnosis click here.

*These perks will be retroactive for those who have already made donations.