Chris Morris

Location: Cleaveland, OH

Challenge: Multiple Sclerosis

 

Chris Morris is a guitar player/composer who has multiple sclerosis. Chris has been writing and playing music for over 25 years.

He says "My MS diagnosis happened 10 years ago when my speech became very slurred one day, out of the blue (I have since rehabilitated a lot of that but it is still difficult to speak for long periods of time)".

Musically, Chris enjoys playing and writing in all styles. He plays everything from blues to thrash metal with a little bit of mellow acoustic guitar music thrown in for good measure.

Chris adds "Upon leaving my job two years ago due to MS fatigue and other issues, I have been able to dedicate more time than ever to music. I plan to continue to produce as much music as I can as long as I live, switching over to composition as my MS progresses".

Chris says "Some ways in which MS affects my playing are: weak and stiff hands, memory problems (songs, scale patterns and leads), fatigue (I have to nap a lot so that is less time for music) and vision (30% of my visual field is gone although I have been playing long enough that I don't always need to watch the fretboard these days). I recently started physical therapy for my hand strength and I take baclofen which provides some relief from the spasticity. I am pursuing botox and stem cell therapies as well".

"It can be frustrating to lose technical and cognitive ability in something that I love so much as playing and creating music. I try to do as much as I can to stave off the progression of the disease and accept whatever damage that does occur in stride.

I do have my bad days where I get frustrated and angry with it, but I find that to wallow in those kind of emotions to not be very helpful and possibly destructive so I do my best to avoid them or do things to get myself out of moods like that. In the end, I have a lot to be grateful for (friends and family, I'm looking at you!) and I believe I will always be able to write and mix music, no matter the level of my disability".

Chris Morris - "Raining Blood (Slayer Cover)"