Shadows of Resilience

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In the quiet of the morning, when light begins to breach,
There lies a silent warrior, with strength you cannot teach.
Multiple Sclerosis, a name whispered with fear,
Yet within its shadow, courage blooms, oh so clear.

Each day is a canvas, painted with strokes of pain,
But also with moments of joy, a reminder that we gain.
The body, once a temple, now a puzzle to solve,
With every piece that shifts, we learn to resolve.

The nerves, like pathways, sometimes lost, sometimes found,
Guide us through a maze, where silence is profound.
Each step might falter, each hand might shake,
But the spirit within, oh how it does not break.

Through blurred visions and tremors, through numbness and ache,
We find new ways to dance, new paths to take.
With every MS flare, a lesson is taught,
Life’s beauty is not in the battles that we’ve fought,

But in the moments of stillness, in love and in laughter,
In the bonds we create going through life’s disaster.
We adapt, we adjust, we learn to embrace,
The life that MS gives with a unique kind of grace.

So here’s to the warriors, with scars deep and wide,
To those who see MS not just as a tide,
But as part of the journey, a chapter to pen,
With resilience and hope, again and again.

___________________

I also want to share this post of my favorite poem for this Christmas season.
I hope you enjoy it.

A Multiple Sclerosis Night Before Christmas

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through my body,
Not a nerve was behaving, making me move rather shoddy.
My daily activities were chosen with care,
In hopes that each one could be done from a chair.

Each word that I spoke seemed to come out all wrong,
So much to be finished, I had to stay strong.
And John in the kitchen, and Missy making frappe,
Everyone busy working, no time for a nap.

When somewhere outside there arose such a clatter,
I peeked through the window, to see what was the matter.
I tried to move fast, to get to the door,
But I didn’t quite make it, and wound up on the floor.

As I lay on the rug, making sure nothing broke
Through tears I could see it, even gave it a poke.
Yes, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the cane that I had lost, earlier this year.

Then the front door cracked open, and before me he stood,
I immediately knew help had arrived which was good.
And more rapid than eagles, his phrases they came,
As he whistled and shouted, and called them by name.

“Now hang on, now slow down, now take more life pauses,
With stressful, and chaos, and tearful day causes.
To the end of the checklist, to the end of the hall,
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

And then I could see, as I wiped away tears,
Why, his words and his wisdom had settled my fears.
As I sat on the floor, too weak to even move
He knelt down beside me, and said I have nothing to prove.

He looked a bit weary, as a glance we exchanged,
And he said that my focus is what needs to be changed.
What’s important is family and those who are nearby.
(On that last one he spoke with a twinkly eye.)

Your weakness…it’s real. Your limits…real too.
MS has this way of making even brilliant days blue.
He smiled as he spoke, and I knew he was right.
No more pity party moments or MS fist fights.

He spoke not a word more as he helped me to stand.
I found myself smiling as I reached for his hand.
I sat on the couch as he gave me a nod,
He helped me to see that my thinking was flawed.

Then he sprang to his sleigh, and to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, “You’re doing great, don’t forget,
To pause more and smile, you have nothing to fret.”

Here’s how to explain multiple sclerosis

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Multiple sclerosis, or MS for short, is a condition that affects the brain and the spinal cord, which are like the control centers for your body. Imagine your brain and spinal cord are like a busy highway with lots of wires (called nerves) that send messages to different parts of your body, telling them what to do.

In MS, something goes wrong with the protective covering of these wires, kind of like if the rubber on the outside of a wire got damaged. This covering is called myelin, and it helps the messages travel fast and smoothly. When it gets damaged, the messages can get mixed up or slowed down.

This can make someone feel different things, like:

  • Tingling or numbness in their hands or feet, like when your foot falls asleep.
  • Feeling very tired even after resting.
  • Seeing things a bit blurry or feeling dizzy.
  • Muscles might not work as smoothly, making it hard to walk or hold things.

But here’s the important part: people with MS are still the same people they were before. They might just need to take a little more time or use different ways to do things. There are lots of treatments and ways to help manage MS, like special medicines or exercises, to make sure they can keep doing the things they love.

Think of it like this: everyone’s body is like a unique puzzle, and sometimes, some pieces need a bit more care. People with MS are just solving their puzzle in a special way, and they can still play, learn, and have fun, just maybe a bit differently.

Comparing yourself to others is a losing battle

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Either way you look at it, comparisons tend to be bad for us. They are bothersome at the very least. From birth our parents start comparing us with other children. Simultaneously, our teachers and coaches compare us with other children. We compare everything and anything these days. We compare our incomes, our houses, cars, children, and yes even our illnesses. In doing so, even if we feel we win in comparison, WE LOSE!

Just as we are all unique and cannot be compared, it is the same with illnesses. There is NO illness worse than another. ALL illness is terrible. When a person compares someone who has multiple sclerosis with someone that has another illness, they are speaking from a lack of understanding and through filtered lenses. No one can know what someone is experiencing unless they crawled into that person’s body to feel what they feel, and experience what they experience.

One of the most awful experiences is when you share your illness with someone and they proceed to tell you how their approach to MS or some other ailment is the only way you should be living? That you need to adjust your diet and get rid of meat, diet soda, and gluten. That because you aren’t living like they say, you are doing it all wrong? That if you only _____ (fill in the blank) you would feel better?

It can get extremely frustrating when someone assumes they know your body and your journey better than you do. Comparing illnesses or even progressions of the same illness between two different people never works out. When someone does the comparing like that, they have fallen victim to comparisons.

The problem with focusing on other people’s achievements is that you will never measure up. It can make you dissatisfied with your own daily activities and even gives you less strength to keep working towards greater things. Comparison is a thief of joy.

Instead of seeing how you measure up to another person, analyze yourself and ask yourself how well you are doing with the things you need to be doing for yourself. The only one we should ever compare ourselves to is ourselves…

Stay focused on your goals and what you want for life. There is only one of YOU in this world, don’t waste time comparing yourself to others. Instead, make your life count. Striving to live a life that is authentic to your own personal goals.

In the process, don’t get caught up in the envy of another person’s successes or goals attained. Envy is the emotion that you experience when someone else has or does something that you wish you could have or do. If another person gets positive results from a medication or a treatment that you wanted, it is natural to feel a jealous twinge. Instead, consider sending a note of congratulations and enjoying their success.

Focusing on gratitude helps, because much of what you’re grateful for involves the people around you… individuals who have looked out for you, mentored you, and cared for you when you were are your worst. That makes gratitude a wonderful antidote to negative comparisons. It reminds you that there are a lot of people around you who are contributing to your success and who love you.

You are loved for who you are. Don’t you ever forget that.