I can honestly say I’m thankful for MS
You cannot bargain with multiple sclerosis. No amount of self examination will alleviate the pain and destruction it is causing in your body. I tried at first and wound up feeling more defeated than victorious. I had to move past all the quick fixes people tried to push my way. I even tried some but there was no benefit or relief.
Is taking supplements helpful? Are good clean diets helpful? Is there a medication that will reverse everything taking place? Does anyone really have a remedy that works without fail? The answer to all of those questions is NO! They may make you feel better about yourself or even some of your symptoms may lessen and your body will fell healhier, but none actually heal you.
There is nothing to do about an MS life other than living it as happily, healthily and comfortably as you can. Make sensible choices in how to modify your home and even your life. Do your research and take the medications you believe will help you. After all that’s your choice, not your doctors. I have fired a couple of doctors over the years because they refused to actually listen to my needs. A doctor is there for you, not you for them. You are not their project, pin cushion or a patient to practice on.
Once you have moved past the diagnosis stage you eventually get to the point where you just don’t give a crap what other people think about you or your new normal. Are you physically disabled? Do you move slower than in times past? Do you have trouble with cognition making even day to day tasks troublesome? Do you have trouble breathing or even swallowing? Ugh… so many troublesome issues happening day to day.
Once I moved past the trauma taking place I looked back at life and what I have learned from everything I had experienced….
I can honestly say that I’m thankful for MS. Yes, that sounds crazy but it’s true. I’ve grown as a person. I’ve developed muscles I didn’t know I had. I can handle additional challenges in a way that I never could have done before. I’ve gotten closer to the person I really am and it has forced me examine my own values in a way few events ever have. All of that to me is a gift.
That’s my life with MS… all the nuts, bolts and springs of it.
1. Simplify your life.
I think I will agree with you in this very moment. But, just like the monster known as MS, my mind, thoughts, and feelings are constantly changing.
I am thankful MS has opened my eyes to all the good, bad and ugly in my life (circumstances, people, places or things) that I may not have seen before.
Thankful for the many things that I have learned about myself while living with MS.
MS definitely brings the warrior out of us!
So true. We are warriors!
It’s a great article. Expresses how I feel. I have lived in denial 20 some odd years. August 2022 what is the real tipping point. It’s when my MS started to flare again. It took 20 years plus for it to come back with a vengeance. Now things are just falling apart quicker. I can’t ask anyone to understand how I’m feeling and even when I explain, I truly don’t believe anyone understands or gets it. I had seen a glimmer of hope from my wife while we were on vacation in the UK. But I push myself pretty hard walking when I should not have been not sleeping long enough to even start to recoup. I keep my mouth shut because I’m not a pity party. I’m not looking for sympathy. Although that’s what they all believe. Even now as I write this I know what the comments are going to be. I know what those with MS are going to say. I probably did a stupid thing going on this trip. Staying home I would’ve regretted it. Going I believe I’m regretting it even more. It’s a no-win situation.
That’s so hard to deal with. Do I stay or do I go? Which will help, which will harm? There’s just no easy solution. But I believe you did what was best for you in your heart. You will have created lasting memories whether good or bad that you can reflect on with a grin or a tear. But I know it has given your strength regardless or the outcome. You are stronger than this crap from MS and all the trouble it causes. I think you won even in a no-win situation.