March 2023 Newsletter

Celebrating MS Awareness Month

Happy MS Awareness Month, family! It’s our time to shine. This month is particularly important for us as we come together to raise awareness about our condition and support each other in our journeys.

As we know, living with MS is challenging and unpredictable, but you are not alone. We Are ILL is a community of strong, resilient Black women who face this illness with courage and determination. This month, let’s celebrate our strength and resilience, prioritize our self-care and well-being, connect and learn.

Remember, we are in this together. We’re hopeful that March will be an enriching and memorable time for us all. See what we have in the works for MS Awareness Month throughout this newsletter!

Your First Look at Our ILLume Boxes

We wanted to do something special for our community this month. For the first time in We Are ILL history, we’ve curated a box full of branded products to support your self-care and wellness! Available on a first-come, first-served basis to a limited number of We Are ILL members, the “ILLume” box was designed to provide you with tools and resources to aid in your journey of self-care.

“Illume” means to educate, edify, inspire, nurture, enlighten, and illuminate — all things that our box aims to do! The QR code included on the insert unlocks some thoughtful educational content about topics especially important to Black women living with MS (more on that below). Plus, you'll notice that “u” and “me” are highlighted. That's because “you” and “me” equals “we” — as in WE Are ILL.

Inside you will find:
• An orange tumbler to help you stay hydrated
• Affirmation cards to remind you how strong, capable, and powerful you are
• A journal to document your daily thoughts and reflections
• A pill case so you remember to take your vitamins and meds
• A We Are ILL enamel pin to show your pride in our community

We hope that the contents of our “ILLume” box help bring light to your life and be a source of comfort, joy, and love.

Recipients of the box, we’d love if you shared your unboxing experience! Please film a video of you opening your “ILLume” box and reacting to all the goodness inside. Be sure to tag @weareillmatic and use #weareillmatic on Instagram so we can find it and reshare.

Big thanks to our sponsors — Bristol Myers Squibb and Biogen — for making these ILLume boxes possible!

Video: Diversity in Clinical Trials

Clinical trials and the opportunity for increased representation among Black patients has been a hot topic within the MS space. We’ve decided to tackle the subject head on with the hopes of demystifying the world of clinical research by speaking with the women who are immersed in it.

This video conversation speaks to barriers to clinical trials and highlights Black clinicians — Dr. Jacqueline Rosenthal and Dr. Annette Okai — who are a part of the change we want to see. Also hear from Anita Williams, an MS patient and advocate who has participated in an array of clinical research.

Video: Self-Advocacy Made Simple

Self-advocacy is crucial to those living with MS. This candid conversation — featuring Chicago-based MS patients and advocates Nicole White and Brianna Pearson — illuminates what it means to advocate for oneself and demonstrates what it looks like in practice by sharing concrete tips and dissecting real-life scenarios. We hope our community feels empowered to take control in speaking up and managing their wellness after viewing this discussion.

Upcoming Events

March 15

We Are ILL Virtual Member Meetup