I came across Famous People with Multiple Sclerosis somehow (who can remember how one comes upon these places?). I’m not sure if it’s a validation of my cluelessness about celebrity, but most of the “famous” seem pretty obscure.
Here’s a chunk of the “D” names:
- Bruno Tassan Din – Italian publisher
- Wayne Dobson – magician
- Deborah Downey – Cabaret Performer
- Khiawatha Downey – American Footballer
- Jacqueline du Pre – cellist
OK, I know the last one. I saw her play at Berkeley in 1970, in the last year of her career. Who are those others?
A few names on the list were a surprise: Terri Garr, Lena Horne, Joan Didion.
And then there was St. Lydwina or Lidwina of Schieden (1380-1433), a Dutchwoman who is patron of ice skaters. She fell and was disabled while skating at age 15, but with prayer, she recovered. The rest of her life, she would have periods of paralysis that miraculously lifted, again with prayer. To modern ears, that sounds a lot like relapsing-remitting MS.
I learned about St. Lydwina in a speech at an MS Society meeting by a visiting neurologist. I’d give you a link to more info about her, but aside from Wikipedia, which may not be accurate, and the Catholic Encyclopedia, for whom it’s all miracles all the time, the sites all seem to be in Dutch.
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