question: My sister has MS. I recently spent 1 1/2 months with her after she had a benign tumor removed from her spine in the T3 region. She has been very Independent, not wanting anyone involved in her business. What I found in the time I was there is that her house had not been cleaned for some time and she hadn t thrown away a lot of unnecessary paperwork since the 1990 s when she was determined disabled. While cleaning her house and going thru the paperwork, I found some diagnostic comments from her neurologist for which I can use further understanding. They are: 1) cerebral vascular disease, severe; 2) cerebral ataxia secondary to MS; 3) mild bilateral middle cerebral artery stenosis; and 4) vascular risks include chronic smoking. Based on the fact that she didn t smoke while in the hospital and rehab which was over a month and the fact that she started again as soon as she got home, it isn t realistic to expect her to quit even though I wish she would and encouraged it every chance I got. Can you shed light on the diagnosis comments and what can be expected in the future, especially since she continues to smoke?