@allisonratkovich.bsky.social
62. MS warrior. Isaac's Baba. Writing Honest Ink from Charlotte, NC. Found my voice after betrayal, diagnosis & watching my daughter get MS too. Raw essays for democracy fighters, MS warriors & anyone 55+ refusing to be done. Everything for Isaac.
March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. I have MS. Some days, I move mountains. Some days I cancel everything & lie in the dark. Both days are real and valid. If you know someone with MS, don't wait for a hard day to check in. Do it now. We're here — even when you can't see us fighting. 🧡
02.03.2026 03:51 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
I fell asleep during the longest, most boring SOTU in my lifetime. Sitting up. At my desk.
Turns out I didn't miss anything — except the things they very carefully left out of the script.
New essay. The show, the grift, the name nobody said.
allisonratkovich.substack.com/p/about-that...
Tonight, while senators leave their seats empty in protest, family members of Virginia Giuffre and dozens of survivors of JE will sit in the gallery in plain sight and refuse to disappear.
That's the story I'm watching. Everything else is noise.
My essay is up.
Almost everything evil in America right now can be traced back to the abhorrent SCOTUS decision "Citizens United"
21.02.2026 23:47 — 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
If you know someone who's:
• Living on retirement that doesn't stretch
• Dealing with chronic illness
• Wondering if AI is actually useful
• Trying to build income with unpredictable energy
Send them this. It might help.
allisonratkovich.substack.com/p/what-happe...
Finally, on May 27, 2021, at 58, well past the average MS diagnosis age of 34, I was diagnosed with MS for a second time in my life.
I had an answer. But I’d lost 13 years to undiagnosed, untreated MS. And so much more.
Today, my second act is about making up for that. 🧵 5/5
In 2018, at 55, the physical symptoms hit like a brick wall. For two plus years, I was visibly sick. But dozens of doctors didn’t take me seriously. Except one. My PCP, an amazing doctor, kept pushing until he finally put all the pieces together and got me on the right path. 🧵 4/5
17.02.2026 19:38 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0As my life went down in flames, I couldn't find the hose to put it out. The shame was debilitating. I was consumed with embarrassment, self-loathing, & regret. I watched myself make decisions I knew were wrong & couldn’t stop. I was failing at everything, with no explanation for why. 🧵 3/5
17.02.2026 19:38 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0I am highly educated. I’ve had a successful career. And I couldn’t hold my life together. From outward appearances, I looked fine. I was at my best physically, thanks to twice-a-day workouts & healthier habits. So my spectacularly public spiral was judged harshly, especially by me. 🧵 2/5
17.02.2026 19:38 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0This is from the essay I published this week. It's the part I was most scared to write. 🧵 1/5
17.02.2026 19:38 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Senator Murphy asked a simple question: “Tell me what white culture is.”
The nominee flailed. Church styles? Food? Music?
He couldn’t answer because there’s no answer. American culture was ALWAYS a quilt.
You can’t pull one thread without the whole thing unraveling.
To the good people of the United States of America...keep squashing those proposed detention centers. They. Cannot. Be. Built. They cannot.
17.02.2026 02:48 — 👍 3488 🔁 1026 💬 89 📌 42
A Trump nominee just testified that white Americans face more discrimination than Black Americans. When pressed to define "white culture," he couldn't do it.
I know why. I saw it in a Dutch art gallery—row after row of white-on-white canvases. Boring. Empty. Desperate.
About living on $1800/month and building a business anyway because the gap between what SSDI covers and what I actually need is real.
It's also about how AI became the cognitive prosthetic I needed when my brain could no longer do the heavy lifting.
LINK UP NEXT: 🧵 2/3
I just published a personal essay about something I've been working on.
It's about the 13 years I spent living with undiagnosed MS, thinking I was failing at everything. Not understanding my brain was losing the ping pong match in my head.
About fighting for 5 years to get disability. 🧵 1/3
United Healthcare called me again this morning. They want to send a nurse to my home. I want physical therapy because that actually helps with my MS symptoms.
We’re not talking about the same thing. More soon.
I just discovered it last year and it looks like it would help my pain if I could do it consistently. Sending you my best! 🧡
15.02.2026 04:28 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Quick question for people living with chronic illness: What's the ONE service that actually helps you that insurance refuses to cover long-term? For me, it's PT. Curious what it is for you.
15.02.2026 04:22 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0You know, I needed this kind of energy today! Thank you!
13.02.2026 12:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
I've been quiet here for a bit. That wasn't the plan. MS had other ideas. But I'm back, and I have something to say about what happens when your retirement check isn't enough to cover what you actually need.
More soon.
Help me out. Is it common practice for a president or governor to pardon people daily or routinely? Rather than at the end of their term or in extraordinary circumstances?
13.02.2026 12:17 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
On Feb 3rd, Congress restored $15M in MS research funding they'd completely eliminated. Why? Because thousands of us wouldn't shut up.
When you CALL you count as 100-1,000 voters. One call from you drowns out hundreds of form emails.
This is proof that the method works. Now use it for every fight.
Judges like this one give me hope. 🧡
02.02.2026 22:43 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Hi Richard! I like that the platform is privately owned, and I retain ownership of my content and lists. SS doesn't sell user data. Plus, the features are more than I need now, but should I decide to grow my little page, SS has the features that work. I also followed writers I trust to the platform.
28.01.2026 01:50 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
If you can look away from this, you might as well have pulled that trigger yourself.
Full essay: allisonratkovich.substack.com/p/they-shot-...
For Isaac. For all of us.
#AlexPretti #Minneapolis #CallYourReps
CALL YOUR REPUBLICAN SENATORS/REPS:
📞 (202) 224-3121
Say: "16 Republicans could end this tonight. I'm watching. Choose democracy or lose my vote forever."
Call EVERY DAY.
Here's what matters: 16 Republicans could stop this TONIGHT by voting with Democrats.
16 people. That's it.
Trump is underwater in 40 states. 10 of those voted for him in 2024. They're terrified of 2026.
That's our leverage.
Kristi Noem claimed he went there to "inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement."
Complete bullshit. Multiple video angles prove it.
They know we know they're lying. They don't care. This is authoritarianism in real-time.
