Partners of MS are those people in our lives who travel some of the road with us. They hope for the best for us, worry with us and rejoice with us when things go our way. Nobody is perfect and people can sometimes let us down. I wonder how many of you experienced a loss similar to mine when roughly 50% of my so-called friends melted away after I was diagnosed? If a friend of mine at age 25 had been diagnosed with MS, would I have been any different? I would like to think I would have been helpful and caring and not let the diagnosis change my friendship, but who can tell for certain? MS can be a great clearer of deadwood and the friends that remain are so wonderful. Quite a few relationships went the same way in those early days of MS. One abruptly ended the first day I had to rest up due to MS; it was an instantanous deal-breaker. It really decimated my sense of self for a long time. Many relationships break down amongst ordinary people but the potential toll on our relationships can be much higher when one of us has MS. Sometimes we have just had the misfortune to partner or befriend a jerk; that can happen anyone.