Across the world, many people live with debilitating neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is best described as an “inflammatory-mediated demyelinating disease of the human central nervous system” and affects more than 2.5 million people worldwide (Trapp & Nave, 2008). To cope with multiple sclerosis, like other chronic illnesses, many choose to write about their experiences, including how they received their diagnosis and their overall struggle with the disease. In the autobiographical novel, Wish in one hand: The true story of a young life with multiple sclerosis, Jill Barton describes her journey from being misdiagnosed with a terminal brain tumor to being diagnosed again with multiple sclerosis. . Multiple sclerosis (MS) is generally considered to be an autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin sheaths or oligodendrocytes that cover nerve axons in the central nervous system (PubMed Health 2013). This immune response causes inflammation, which triggers immune cells to destroy axons “in any area of ​​the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord” (PubMed Health 2013). When the myelin sheath “is damaged, nerve signals slow or stop,” thereby hindering the propagation of action potentials and limiting function (PubMed Health 2013). With MS, most people experience exacerbations, where symptoms get progressively worse, which are then “monitored.” by periods of reduced or no symptoms,” indicating remission (PubMed Health 2013). Although for many it is “common for the disease to return (relapse), […for some] the disease may continue to worsen without periods of remission” (PubMed Health 2013). Additionally, the severity of the disorder may be amplified by exposure to extreme heat in addition...... middle of article .......Works Cited Barton, J. (2013). A wish in a hand: the true story of a young life with multiple sclerosis. Portland, OR: BookBaby. (Barton, 2013) National Multiple Sclerosis Society (nd). What we know about MS. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/index.aspxMayo Clinic Staff (2012). Multiple sclerosis. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/basics/definition/CON-20026689?p=1.PubMed Health (2013). Multiple sclerosis (MS); demyelinating disease. ADAM Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001747/Nave, KA and Trapp, DB (2008). Multiple sclerosis: an immune or neurodegenerative disease? Annual Review of Neuroscience, 31, 247-269. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.30.051606.094313