Two Steps Forward

摘要

Robin giese, 59, kicks off each day by getting out of her wheelchair for a half-hour ride on a stationary bike followed by 30 minutes of stretching exercises. Most afternoons she visits friends or one of of her five grandchildren, and in the evenings she and her husband, Clifford, entertain guests or go out to dinner.rnGiese hasn't always been so active. She has multiple sclerosis, the degenerative disease of the central nervous system that afflicts 400,000 Americans. In MS the immune system attacks myelin, a fatty substance that protects nerve fibers much the way insulation protects electrical wires. When the unprotected nerve fibers, or axons, are damaged, signals are blocked or delayed traveling to and from the brain. This causes a variety of symptoms that can include blurred vision, incontinence, difficulty walking and paralysis.