Things that make you go hmm...

It is interesting and sort of funny when I tell people that I have multiple sclerosis.  That statement is usually immediately followed by "You don't look disabled or like you have MS."  It used to upset me but after a while, I got accustomed to hearing it.  I curbed the anger with realizing that not to many people know what Multiple Sclerosis is, how it affects its inhabitants, inside and out; how I found out, what were the indicators that prompted me to get checked by the doctor, tests I had to take, etc.  Multiple sclerosis not only effects us physically.  MS also effects us emotionally, mentally, and socially.

Truthfully, they are caught off guard when I and ask "what does a person with MS look like? Or what does someone with a disability generally look like?"  That usually leaves them tongue tied or at a loss for words since many disabilities can be or begin as hidden.  I then go into how MS specifically effects me, and generally effects a person, and the common symptoms that are shared.  MS is as different as fingerprints and affects each of us MSers differently but we do share some commonalities. Not all MSers experience all of the symptoms listed below but the experience of one or more is expected:

·                 Slurred speech/mumbling

·                 Tremors

·                 Bladder & bowel dysfunction

·                 Difficulties swallowing

·                 Hearing loss

·                 Insomnia

·                 Foot drop

·                 Muscle tension/tightness

·                 Muscle spasms

·                 Dizziness / Vertigo

·                 Muscle weakness

·                 Difficulties walking

·                 Headaches

·                 Numbness

·                 Fatigue

·                 Loss of balance

·                 Loss of coordination

·                 Pain

·                 Sexual dysfunction

·                 Spasticity

·                 Cognitive problems

·                 Memory loss

·                 Temperature (Heat/cold) intolerance

·                 Tingling

·                 Vision disturbances

·                 Involuntary eye movement

·                 Falling down

·                 Paralysis

·                 Anxiety

·                 Seizures

·                 Depression

·                 Exhaustion and breathing problems

 I ask you... Do you know what MS is? What someone with a disability looks like?  What someone with MS looks like?  What is it to you?  MS not only effects the individual who was diagnosed.  It not only effects the individual with the diagnosis but also their families since they witness firsthand, what the MS patient deals with on a continuous basis. Maybe even effects some friendships.

It is not always days full of minor or major difficulties. There are also days of accomplishment and prosperity. The prosperity and accomplishment comes more often after focusing on what CAN be done instead of focusing on what cannot be done.