Shows
A Couple Takes on MSEpisode 89 – Taking on exercise & MS with Professor Rob MotlIn this episode, we’re honored to welcome Professor Robert Motl, a leading researcher whose work has revolutionized the understanding of how exercise and physical activity help manage Multiple Sclerosis.
As a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, Rob (as he prefers to be called) has dedicated his career to studying how movement, fitness and behavior change can improve mobility, cognition, fatigue, and overall quality of life for people living with MS.
He’s published hundreds of studies and is recognized worldwide as one of the leading voices in the neuroscience of exercise and MS.
2025-11-0638 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 88 – Taking on Allié McGuire & Because I CanWhen Allié McGuire was 41 years old and learned the reason behind years of unexplained symptoms was Multiple Sclerosis, that moment didn’t silence her.
It sparked a mission.
Today, Allié uses storytelling to elevate voices and causes that often go unseen. She is an award-winning speaker, media producer, and co-founder of AwareNow Media, which is home to AwareNow Magazine – a global platform that reaches more than 8 million readers each month with stories that create awareness and inspire action.
In this episode, we chat with Allié about how MS changed the way she sees the wor...
2025-10-2643 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 87 – Taking on taste, Tigers & 20 years of teamworkIt’s been a busy (and meaningful) stretch for us these past few weeks!
In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of our latest adventures across Michigan — from savoring local flavors at the Taste of Generosity event in Royal Oak to celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary (20 years!) at a Detroit Tigers game, complete with accessibility wins at Comerica Park.
But our travels didn’t stop there.
We also traveled to Lansing for MS State Action Day, where we met with lawmakers to advocate for solutions to medical debt, a critical issue for ma...
2025-09-2737 min
A Couple Takes on MSEpisode 86 – Taking on Ardra Shephard and her influential memoir Fall-osophyIn the epic episode, we welcome legendary blogger, podcaster and fashion icon Ardra Shephard. In our conversation, we celebrate her trailblazing work in the MS and disability communities and get an inside look into her highly anticipated memoir, “Fallosophy: My Trip through Life with MS,” released in March 2025.
Ardea shares her journey with writing, how MS has affected her identity, and the importance of honesty and humor in her storytelling. She also discusses her award-winning blog and podcast, "Tripping on Air," and touches on the growth of adaptive fashion and the vital role of community and support for...
2025-09-0442 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 85 – Taking on taking on too much with MSWhen you are living with Multiple Sclerosis, how do you know when you need to take on fewer activities? To take a break. To say, “Not today.”
To give yourself permission and just stop.
In this episode, we reflect on these thoughts after a busy month filled with activities—everything from family visiting for a week to undergoing several MS treatments; making a trip back to Iowa to see more family; being interviewed by several media outlets; and attending several baseball games, concerts, and church committee meetings.
All that, on top of Dan working...
2025-08-2137 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 84 – Taking on MSd with the Wrong MFRAdam Powell’s social media account name says it all.
Indeed, Multiple Sclerosis MSd w/the Wrong MFR when it decided to enter his life as Primary Progressive MS in June 2019.
Join us for this engaging and insightful conversation with Adam Powell, a committed MS advocate and inspiring voice for the MS community.
Adam shares the frustration of an initial misdiagnosis—with his symptoms first mistaken for a sports hernia—and the life-changing shift when his condition rapidly worsened, forcing him to use a wheelchair. Using vulnerability and humor, he emphasizes the importance of men...
2025-07-1048 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 83 – Back to moving forwardYes, it’s been 10 months since our last podcast, but we didn’t stop moving forward. Rather, we stepped away to give ourselves time.
Dealing with Jennifer’s dad's illness and coping with his passing on October 5, 2024, revealed realities no one could have prepared us for.
It still is hitting us hard.
Time has gone on, and with it, we realized it was time to continue moving forward with the things we had set aside, such as our A Couple Takes On MS podcast and blog.
Join us for this comeback episode...
2025-06-2524 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 60 (Encore) – Take a look at our MS caregiving experiencesTo complement our recent blog post – From love at first sight to a focus on in-home care – about our love story getting featured by the IMPART Alliance at Michigan State University, here is an encore post of one of our top-performing podcasts that gives insights into our lives as each other’s caregiver. Enjoy!
There’s more to our relationship than 18 years of marriage and each of us living with Multiple Sclerosis.
We also are in a caregiving relationship. Jennifer is my primary caregiver, and I am hers.
We were so humbled and honored...
2025-04-1128 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 82 – Distracting my MSelfLooking for a way to overcome your chronic illness? Fuggedaboutit!
Seriously. Forget about it.
Easier said than done, right?
Jennifer recently reflected on this when she wrote:
“I am aware of my Multiple Sclerosis every single day. The disease cannot be avoided, as it is everywhere in my life, from its treatment, symptoms, and progression. It’s easy to let disease be our focus, but it is important and valuable to distract ourselves from it too.”
Join us for this episode of A Couple Takes on MS Podcast as we exp...
2024-08-3032 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 81 – Taking on Cadense Adaptive Shoes & Tyler SuskoTyler Susko, Ph.D., knows a thing or two about walking a mile in the shoes of people with walking difficulties. So much so, he is making their experiences better… one step at a time.
Tyler is the Chief Technology Officer and Founder of Cadense, the company that's revolutionizing the way the world thinks about adaptive footwear.
We mean, that’s what happens when a person with mechanical engineering expertise and a compassionate heart pursues his passions and builds a team that combines robotic design, neurorehabilitation, and functional biomechanics.
They create groundbreaking adaptive solu...
2024-08-1435 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 80: Taking on talking to children about disabilitiesContinuing our focus on Disability Pride Month, I started thinking that we all are different, but is disability just another form of different?
It’s one thing for an adult to stare at me in my power wheelchair and make unintentionally insensitive comments such as, “I wish I had one of those today!” or “Do you have a driver’s license for that?”
The reality is adults should know better, but such comments open the doors for a constructive conversation and teachable moments.
Yet how do we talk to children about people living with disabil...
2024-07-1530 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 79 – Taking on Disability Pride MonthDisability Pride Month is celebrated every July. Pride in disability? For real?
Yes, for real.
As A Couple Takes on MS, Dan and I are proud, but it is complicated. Am I proud that I no longer can walk and the whole world can see I truly am disabled because I need to use a power wheelchair for mobility? Likewise, is Dan proud that he struggles and nobody can see his invisible disabilities triggered by the limited feeling in his hands and feet?
Absolutely! But, as I said, it’s complicated.
Prid...
2024-06-2433 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 78 – Taking on cognition, forgetfulness & MSIn Episode 77, Dan (and he admits it) was struggling cognitively. But was his scatteredness because he was tired? Age? Doing too much? Living with Multiple Sclerosis?
In response to these questions, we can answer potentially, maybe, possibly and perhaps.
It’s hard to tell what the cause was, but MS seems to lead the pack in reasons why.
It turns out that cognitive problems are a common issue of MS, affecting 40 to 60% of people at some point in their disease course. These problems can vary from person to person. According to the National Mul...
2024-06-0533 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 77 – Taking on Step Therapy Reform & the Crap GapNot every person could seamlessly tie together the concepts of Step Therapy Reform and the Crap Gap.
You just need to leave it to A Couple.
Because to us it makes perfect sense to connect:
• A bill in the Michigan House of Representatives that will ensure people with Multiple Sclerosis can get the medications they need without detrimental delays
to
• The stretch between disease-modifying therapy (DMT) infusions when MS symptoms seemingly feel worse.
Seriously. We originally thought we were just run down from doing so much over the...
2024-05-2434 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 76 – Taking on accountabilitySo often it seems the more you do, the harder it is to keep your head above water. You tell yourself you just need to get through this task. This morning. This day.
Phrases like, “It can wait until tomorrow,” “I don’t need to ask for help,” and “I got this,” fire up your sense of determination. But all they’re really doing is forcing you to burn your candle at both ends, and this leads to, you guessed it, burnout.
We are learning that a key to remedying this kind of overwhelmingness isn’t so much about as...
2024-05-0328 minA Couple Takes on MSEpisode 75 – Taking on A Hot MSSince her MS diagnosis in September 2019, Brittany Quiroz—also known as a “A Hot MS”— has been a powerful voice in the Multiple Sclerosis community. Brittany is an author, speaker, MS activist and a talented singer/songwriter.
Whew!
Did we say she’s a powerful voice? She figuratively AND literally is! Her recently released single “Never Have My Soul” is a powerful, empowering and inspirational masterpiece that encapsulates the triumph every person living with MS strives for each day.
We are thrilled to share a snippet of her single to kick off our engaging and po...
2024-04-1239 min