Entries by Penelope Conway

Once diagnosed with MS, you find out who your real friends are

True friends are a rare thing for the chronically ill. It takes guts to stand with us. Thanks for having the guts to stay. Amazingly, you discover who your real friends are once a challenge arises. They will either stand by you and hold you up or they will walk away dropping you like a hot potato. If they choose to walk away, let them. You don’t need anyone pulling you down. MS is doing a good enough job of that already.

How to Cope When Everything Keeps Changing

How can anyone keep a positive attitude while facing such hard times? Staying positive is not about hiding from the reality of what you are going through by trying to cover up the struggle in an attempt to keep the world from knowing it exists. MS exists. Hard times are real. Tears happen. No amount of covering it up is going to make it go away or lessen its troubles.

Don’t lose heart

Multiple sclerosis has taken so much from me. Some things I don’t miss, but it is heartbreaking to discover that my ability to play the guitar is now one of them. I decided this week that I was going to get my guitar out to try and get my music going again. I was a really good guitarist playing for weddings and even played in a few concerts singing before thousands of people. I have missed it and was hoping I could get it going again.