Good morning (home based) party people, - It is a sunny Saturday in Oxfordshire. - Biggest news, I guess, is that we have made a second video featuring Gavin Giovannoni and Muggins. Due to the fast evolving nature of things it is key that we stay ahead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4oPSlKK3eI - The next biggest news is that Aaron Boster MD is the next interviewee. We will be speaking to him next week. If you haven't seen his YouTube channel it is an absolute must-watch. Subscribe here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUGEWqgHjx0KWIMAmjZac_jP2Tj9uhFhE - Neither of the above is actually that big a news. I am just normally vain but if I watch it one more time I'll probably go straight to hell for some sort of vanity related sin. Oh well, not really Narcissus staring into the pool stuff. As I am confined to home my hair (sorry @highlander ) is going to look progressively more feral. This mostly amuses my brother and friends who are full of less than helpful remarks. I can't change it so I will not worry about it. - Real MS news is that the picture is improving and having MS does not increase the risk of catching Covid-19. Unless you have recently finished (last 3-6 mo) either HSCT (stem cells) or Alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) then being on a DMT is probably a good thing. It seems that the Covid-19 likes to trigger the body's immune response to over compensate. Being on a DMT that is either an immunomodulator or immunosuppressant which is all of the newer ones may well help in so far as it dampens down the over-reaction of the immune system. Time will tell. There are growing reports of MS patients contracting and recovering from the virus in exactly the same way as the 'normal/ordinary' population. - Deep breaths everyone. Deep breaths are the order of the day. We've got this. Follow the advice. Social isolation, washing your hands, washing your hands and, oh, did I mention? Wash. Your. Hands. :) - Unanswered questions? Pop them in the thread below. We'll try and incorporate new stuff. @amala made a good point earlier about how lymphocyte counts are expressed. 1.2 sounds like you ought to be on the slab but it is doctor shorthand for 1200. Not obvious if you aren't a doctor. - Twitter is becoming an increasingly good place to get information about MS/Covid-19 . Just ignore that idiots as Twitter is a particularly good Idiot Magnet. - This is awesome: www.ms-selfie.com ------ Societal ------ FYI - I am so happy that we have Netflix AND Amazon Prime in Chez Shadbolt. Just putting that out there. - I initiated a sourdough starter 12 days ago and have called it Bobbles. This was a genius idea from @eatsruns on Twitter. She is also a forum member but mostly active on Twitter. I called it Bob as it is alive and it seemed right to name it. It needs to move from Bob to Bob Big Bubbles so calling it Bobbles seemed appropriate. - I am baking and cooking and freezing things and cooking some more. It is good therapy for being at home. - STRETCH people. It is hard to be active when cooped up. Don't come out of this worse off. Your home is your gym. I am trying to get a friend who is a neuro-physiotherapist to agree to be interviewed, She is shy. I am working on it. - It is Saturday, politics bore me on a weekend. Yay, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak is coming across as far more statesmanlike than the Buffoon that is the PM. That is reassuring as he is clearly far far cleverer and is holding the purse strings. Are you looking at the future PM? - Watch BBC, Watch Channel 4, Watch ITN. Stick to the reputable stuff. Fox News, RT etc, maybe not so much unless you are doing it for the humour factor. - Take care folks, you've got this. - No Sunday update.