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Climate Change

Climate change impacts us all. Here's how sustainable family habits can help us all fight it.

Climate change impacts us all. Here's how sustainable family habits can help us all fight it.

Shannon Brescher Shea and family at rally.

If you grew up in the late '80s or early '90s you probably remember all the talk of the ozone layer deteriorating. We traded our Aqua Net cans for the pump hair spray that often left our hair more damp and floppy, than the beautifully coifed waterfall bang teased to the heavens that we were actually going for. We yelled at our parents for not cutting up their plastic six-pack rings because of the sea turtles and their survival. Suddenly, news of the environment and earth's impending doom was constantly on the news and sneaked into our television shows on Nickelodeon and commercials on MTV. We heard about oil spills and animal extinction, and we were rightfully cautious and outraged.

Today, we still cut our plastic rings before discarding them and opt for the pump sprayer over the aerosol can. We didn’t know then that we were young activists, we only knew we wanted to be good stewards of the planet we inhabited and we were going to drag our parents along with us. The fight for climate change and maintaining a healthy Earth didn’t end in the '90s. It’s something people are now more intentional about and are working to raise their children in a way that helps to prolong the life of the planet we call home. That’s why I connected with climate activist Shannon Brescher Shea, author of Growing Sustainable Together: Practical resources for raising kind, engaged and resilient children.


I wanted to know what brought Shannon into climate activism, and how people can involve their children in making a lasting impact on the earth. Shannon was full of insights and ways parents can make small changes to their daily lives and ways they can get involved on a larger scale, joining a growing number of climate and sustainability activists.

Shannon said her activist origin story started in the summer of third grade where she learned about manatees and how they became endangered due to being hit by boats. This prompted her to talk with her class about adopting a manatee. “That was my first, very specific thing I remember falling in love with, and then also wanting to take action at the same time.” After adopting a manatee in third grade, Shannon fell in love with nature and animals, and as she got older, she says, “I came to understand the human impact and how humans and nature are not separate things. What humans do affects nature, but also it affects everybody else too.”

Shannon Brescher Shea at a rally.

Shannon Brescher Shea

Incorporating the passion she developed as a child into her own parenting and current climate activism is what prompted Shannon to write a parenting book on sustainability. When talking about the importance of incorporating the changes in her book with your own family, the climate activist says, “If we fully embrace these, yes, they can be big changes in our lives and sometimes changes that are kind of radical, but they can also lead to much better quality of life and have it help us have more fulfilled, healthy, and not just physically healthy, but emotionally and mentally healthy parts of life.”

Shannon talks about some children experiencing climate anxiety, which she describes as “this feeling that like climate change is happening and there's nothing I can do. And the adults are old school. And they betrayed us. They've handed us this future that we can't do anything about.” According to Shannon, there is something we can do about it and it’s something the whole family can be involved in. She says small changes can make a big difference, such as choosing to bike to school or using public transportation to get to work, which reduces your contribution to pollution and also encourages other people to consider following suit.

Kids at climate rally.

Shannon Brescher Shea

The important thing to remember, says Shannon, is to not stop at the small things. Composting is a great way to produce less waste, but getting involved in local cleanups of streams and advocating for bicycle lanes are tangible things you can do with your family that make a difference for the environment and the community as a whole. Involve children in climate activism, she says, and “just keep kind of expanding these conversations outward and outward, using very practical, concrete experiences that the kids are having, you can have that much more of an impact and help them think about how you have that ripple effect. Not to cause guilt or to shame, but to show how we're all connected and how things we do affect other people.”

Climate change continues to occur, and living a sustainable lifestyle can help combat some of the effects humans have on the climate. More and more young people are joining the fight against climate change and families like Shannon’s are helping to make a difference. If you’re unsure on where to start with living a sustainable lifestyle with your family, you can grab Shannon’s book, Growing Sustainable Together, for ideas on how to get started.

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Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

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It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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