Now that the same sex marriage referendum is over, #holidayplans is currently trending in my world. “Are you getting away this year?” is the hot topic! Before MS entered my life, holidays meant something very different. Having spent 51 weeks of the year chained to my work desk, I wanted to get as far away as possible and pack as much activity as I could into 7 precious, hectic days.
Greetings fellow travellers on the long, winding, pot hole strewn road that is Multiple Sclerosis!
'With World MS Day upon us blogger Trevis Gleason believes that he is #strongerthanMS, but not alone'
I recently made a pact with a friend to go to see as many of this years Oscar winning films as possible, which were being screened at the arts centre where I work. With that in mind, we went to see biopic, 'The Theory of Everything' last week. I knew the film was about Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist and cosmologist, but didn't think about it much more than that. It was more a case of how quickly I could dash home from work, collect my children, pick up my friend and most importantly, get back to the arts centre in good time for a pre-screening glass of vino.
Have I imagined it? Could there be a social aspect to medication?
I never gave too much thought to how my MS medication affects other parts of my body! I take medication because I don't want my health to decline. I suppress my immune system so it doesn't attack itself. But when I suppress my immune system I leave myself open to other things. I protect one organ and leave the rest open to damage. This one is primarily for the ladies, but of course everyone is welcome to read on.
I suspect that you can’t properly complain about MS to friends, family or colleagues; I’ve come to the conclusion that they just don’t don’t get it. Not even understanding spouses, partners, BFFs or parents, can really understand what you are feeling or experiencing, living with MS. I try to share that with MS-friends only, and keep it to a minimum with everyone else. MS is such a complex disease and it can take you so far from what a normal body experiences. I value my real MS-friends so much and the support that we can give each other. Online MS’er’s are a great source of support and information too, and you can meet people that are going through so many similar things to yourself.
As a follow on to my last blog about eating healthier, I decided I would make more of an effort to increase my fitness and mobility, which has taken a back seat for a long time!
I often hear people say that all MSers are different. I know where they are coming from. This chronic illness has so many, seemingly random symptoms. The brain is supposed to be conducting the orchestra but due to inexplicable glitches, certain instruments go out of tune from time to time- or stop playing altogether. It’s tempting to turn down the volume or stop the music completely. It’s true that all MSers are affected differently. Yet- we are all the same. We ALL have MS. Just like organisations like the IFA or the GAA- we have something massive in common, even though we are different.
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