Lorna Jean Moorhead

Lorna J. Moorhead is an author, health columnist and health advocate. She is one of the first writers on the subject of women’s health issues pertaining to Multiple Sclerosis. She has written many articles on the subject of advocating for one’s self as well as using humor to deal with the embarrassing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and other chronic illnesses.

Lorna was born in Carmichael, CA. Her mother is former Assembly MemberJean Macpherson (Moorhead) Duffy (member of Clan Macpherson). Her father was George Moorhead, 12 November 1927 - 24 March 2008.

At the age of 23 she was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Lorna is the mother to four children, Stephan Starkey (1995) , Aidan Moorhead (2004) , Abigail Moorhead (2005) and Arthur Moorhead (2007) , and wife to Mark Reed. She is also the author of two books, Coffee in the Cereal: The First Year with Multiple Sclerosis (2002) and Phone in the Fridge: Five Years with Multiple Sclerosis (2006) , as well as many articles and blogs concerning multiple sclerosis and health advocacy.

In 2009 Lorna was showcased in Hoi Polli II in recognition of her literairy accomplishments.

Lorna's writing is known around the world. Her books are recommended for MS Patients by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Paralysis Resource Center, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada BC Divisionand many other MS related organizations.

Her book Coffee In The Cereal was required reading for a class at Stanford University.

Health Advocacy

In 2000 she founded MS MOMS, “a California non-profit organization for women and mothers with Multiple Sclerosis.” Lorna’s motivation for founding MS MOMS was a lack of support for parents with Multiple Sclerosis. She requested support from The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, they did not have any programs specifically designed to assist with women’s issues, parenting with Multiple Sclerosis, or maintaining relationships, at the time. Lorna took it upon herself to do what she could to share her experiences in the hopes of helping others like herself.

MS MOMS commonly participates with Renaissance fairs for fundraising and advertising.

In addition to founding MS MOMS, Lorna has written many articles. One of the most influential articles that Lorna wrote was concerning a subject that few other writers had approached, “How to explain the symptoms of chronic illness to children?” Lorna uses her humorous writing style to share her emotions, fears, and experiences with others who were suffering like her.

• Herbs for Multiple Sclerosis: Catnip, Chamomile, and Cayenne Can Help Ease Symptoms
• Explaining Illness to Your Children
• HealingWell.com Articles”
  • Herbs for MS
  • MS: The Silent Partner
  • Telling Your Kids You Have MS
  • A Woman's Touch: MS and Femininity
  • Slurry Speech and MS

Coffee in the Cereal: The First Year with Multiple Sclerosis was first published in 2002 by Pathfinder Publishing. It was later edited and republished in 2003. It was edited again and had a significant update of content, as well as a new ISBN, in 2010.

Lorna began writing Coffee in the Cereal in 2001. She had already successfully published multiple articles and had a “burning desire” to write a book about learning to live with Multiple Sclerosis. She focused the content of the book on the issues she experienced within her first year of having Multiple Sclerosis.

Phone in the Fridge: Five Years with Multiple Sclerosis was first published in 2006 by Pathfinder Publishing.

After many years of surviving her Multiple Sclerosis, Lorna sat down and recounted the significant life lessons from her first five years.