Check out my previous Musings From a Geek Dad blogs here! Updated every Monday.

For those of you suffering from MS or any disease that affects mobility, I may have an answer for you. I call them my ninja stix.

I have been dealing with Multiple Sclerosis for over a decade. For those who don’t know, MS is a condition where your immune system thinks the myelin coating of your nerves is particularly yummy, and gradually turns your nervous system into a bundle of frayed wiring. There are numerous types of MS, the most common of which involves attacks of symptoms every year or so with no symptom in between. However, I have Progressive-Relapsing MS, the rarest form of the disease. My symptoms are always present AND I have attacks where my symptoms get cranked up. All of this is just as fun as it sounds.

Along with common symptoms like fatigue and heat sensitivity, I have a constant struggle with mobility. At my best I look drunk when walking. I have used both a cane and a walker to help, though neither help that much and both take a sizable piece of humble pie to use. Yes, even after a decade it’s hard to both admit I need help, and ask for it when I need it.

But in preparation for our trip to France, my wife found sidestix, which has changed my mobility picture.

Yes, the blur is from the speed at which I’m moving.

Sidestix are customized forearm crutches made in Canada. Each set is individualized based on your height, leg and arm length, forearm circumference and grip size. The are light, adjustable and improve my walking more than any other aid has.

I have ditched both my cane and my walker in favor of these. I don’t have major terrain concerns anymore, nor the risk of falling or fatigue. I originally called them my gimp stix, but my wife thought that was too derogatory. So since I am now going to train to be a handicapable superhero a la Daredevil, I call them instead my ninja stix,

Watch out, criminals of Seattle. I’m coming for you.