InTouch with Southern Kentucky March 2020 | Page 20

FIGHTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
SUBMITTED
Rick Sexton addresses Kentucky legislators re-
cently about MS.
Somerset’s Rick Sexton advocates on behalf
of Kentuckians facing multiple sclerosis
BY TIM MINTON
COMMONWEALTH JOURNAL
W
hat is multiple sclero-
sis (MS) like? One
description or meta-
phor compares it to
being a delivery driv-
er and having delays while dropping
off your packages in a busy city.
There may be detours or road-
blocks slowing you down. The
packages arrive eventually—just not
at the pace you want due to circum-
stances beyond your control.
Your nervous system is like a
network of roads running to every
part of your body. It continuously
receives communication from your
brain.
Due to damages caused by MS,
some brain signals will be slowed
down. Some may not get delivered
20 • I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky 
at all.
“I have secondary progressive
MS,” states Rick Sexton. “My symp-
toms are becoming more severe
now and last a lot longer than they
used to with the numbness in my
legs.”
Diagnosed with MS in 2006, Sexton
is a local native and a 1979 gradu-
ate of Pulaski County High School.
He remains an employee of Som-
erset’s NewLife Industries for over
30 years. Additionally, two of his
sisters have MS too.
Sexton is a board member of the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
(MS Society) and represents Ken-
tucky along with Southeast Indiana.
He remains a member of the organi-
zation for 10 years while serving on
its board for seven.
“Our organization exists to fund
research for the disease,” Sexton
says. “We are an excellent source to
connect you to information, re-
sources, and supportive advice.”
March is MS Awareness Month.
Over one million people in the na-
tion are living with the disease.
Some people can become serious-
ly disabled with MS flare-ups while
remaining relatively functional at
other times. It is not known what
causes MS.
Common signs of MS can include
fatigue, trouble walking or maintain-
ing balance, sensations of numbness
or tingling, and vision problems.
However, symptoms vary widely
from person to person—depending
on which nerves are affected and
the level of damage.
“MS generally has been hard to
diagnose,” Sexton says. “It is such
an individualized disease affecting
everyone differently.”
M arch 2020