David, welp, things just got real—real fast—didn’t they?! So sorry for turning your world upside down with the bombshell last three paragraphs of Chapter 1, where I wrote about hunting for the medical “zebra” that had been causing all of my unexplained UTIs. I warned you it was going to leave you shaken like a Bond martini! For those who might have forgotten what I wrote (umm, yeah) or hadn’t yet gotten around to reading that fateful introductory chapter, I figured a brief encore is in order.

There’s a reason why I’m urgently telling this story, and why I asked my doctors to sit down before reading that email. I'd recommend you sit down as well before taking in another word. Because I’ve come to the sickening realization that what has been happening to me isn’t just happening to me. If you’ve been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or another puzzling disease, it could unknowingly, stealthily, horrifyingly, be happening to you, too.

When hunting for that zebra, I didn’t just unearth the root cause of my UTIs. Missed by dozens of doctors, specialists, and researchers, I discovered the origin of all my disabling symptoms for the past 17 years. And they weren’t triggered by multiple sclerosis.

Because I don’t have MS.

Today, Chapter 2: 100 Meters releases along with a preview for Chapter 3. There is some overlap with an earlier version I shared with members back in February, but you won’t want to miss this. Below is the link to the home page of Sit Down Before Reading: A Memoir where all available chapters are displayed. Don't like clicking links in emails? Copy or retype the direct link above into your internet browser or go to the home page of ActiveMSers.

When I launched ActiveMSers in the spring of 2006, I was also editing (as co-owner) the international car magazine Nissan Sport. At the time, Infiniti was running a promotion that featured owners of their cars, and Laura and I had recently purchased a G35x. Here is the half-page ad that ran on page 3 of The Wall Street Journal that summer, effectively putting ActiveMSers on the worldwide map. And for those unfamiliar with medical zebras, I added more on that topic on the forum.