The View From Here

'In his introductory blog for MS Ireland, Trevis L Gleason talks about how 12 years of MS and living on the edge of the north Atlantic have changed his point of view'

The question, “What is an American with multiple sclerosis doing living in the wilds of West Kerry?” or some such, is often asked of me. My answer is quite simple, “Yes, Living!”

Living with an incurable, degenerative, often debilitating disease (and those are some of the tidier descriptors) changes the way a person thinks about the world. It shuffles one’s priorities. It has altered the way I look at life. Likewise, living in a place like this – a place where the phrase, “Next parish, Boston” isn’t an offhanded remark; it’s the truth – is transforming my views.

Together, these factors are continually grinding and polishing the lens through which I view the goings on in the world. What I intend “The View From Here; Opinions from a Life With MS” to be is a public offering of a peek through my “lens”.

We’ll not always agree; I’m pretty sure of that. I’ve learnt from my conversations down the pub, however, that it’s easier to disagree yet not be disagreeable here than it is in my native America. Thought we have the same disease, everyone’s MS is different, everyone’s experience is different, and everyone’s view will be different. Different doesn’t mean “wrong”.

When I first agreed to write the “Life With MS Blog” for Everyday Health nearly eight years ago, I had no idea what a blog even was. I won’t say that I’ve gotten good at it, I won’t even say that I’ve gotten used to it. I will say that I have discovered an amazing sense of community though the pages of the blogs I’ve written.

Some of you may know my work, some of you may know my writings from “The Unspeakable Bits; From a Life With MS” that I write, monthly, for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA) or from the monthly installment of “A Yank’s Life With MS” for the MS Society (UK). I hope this blog for MS Ireland to complement those other platforms and engage an even broader conversation about living with multiple sclerosis.

I don’t intend to “report” on the goings on in the MS world, rather I intend to comment upon them. I hope that you’ll join in the conversation as well. There may be a delay in your comments posting, but we’ll make sure they get up there. Please feel free to comment, to expound and even to disagree with my point of view. I even encourage an open dialogue within our community and hope that conversations between readers will take place in our pages.

I hope that you will soon begin to see my blog as our blog.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers
Trevis

You can also follow me via my Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter and don’t forget to check out TrevisLGleason.com