Mary Jo Nickum

Mom’s Story; A Child Learns About MS tells the story of a young girl who sees her mother with some frightening health problems and learns she has MS but she will not die from it. This book is a compassionate, accessible and easy to understand account of symptoms, search for help, diagnosis and adaptation to this heart-wrenching disease. Amy fears the worst, which is common when one is confronted by the unknown. Her best friend, Kayla, doesn’t quite understand why Amy is so worried. Amy’s older sister, Kelly is concerned and does her best to help, while older brother, Tony, tries to deny the whole situation. Information is the key to allaying much of her fear along with understanding from parents, adult friends and her older sister.… (altro)

Mary Jo Nickum has been living with MS since 1989. There are about 400,000 people in the US with MS. 200 People are diagnosed with it every week. 2.5 Million people have it worldwide. Ms. Nickum’s website can be found at www.marynickum.com

While this story is fictional, the information it presents is factual. The story is about a family of five. The mother, father, Tony & Kelly the twins, and Amy the youngest. It begins with a fall, then a plate of dropped eggs, followed by temporary blindness. The Verdict MS. This is where the most important parts of this book come in. The questions people have when faced with a debilitating disease, or in this case, kids have about a parent facing them. You have Amy who’s worried that her mom is going to die, and about how life is going to change. Then there’s Tony, who it seems feels a bit embarassed that his family isn’t going to be “normal” anymore. I was able to relate to the kids, and understand what was going through their heads.

I think this would be a great book for children who’s parents have been diagnosed with MS. I also think the ideas behind it could be used to discuss any major parental illness with children, such as getting the videos, books, internet research, etc. Kids get afraid very easy, and to deny the facts in order to protect them can sometimes make things much worse.

The Author includes a section on internet resources, places to get videos that were suggested, a glossary of terms, and information on MS itself. If you or someone you know has MS, and has children, I’d recommend this book.… (altro)