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| Nana and Mom |
MS is a horrible, debilitating disease. It breaks down the messages in your nervous system being sent from your brain to other parts of your body. It can take away your sight, your ability to walk, your ability to feel, your ability to speak, and a variety of other motor skills.
It's not something that's taught about a lot in school. You hear about the big diseases--cancer, leukemia, herpes. But Multiple Sclerosis is a bit more unknown.
They tell you how to not get cancer--don't smoke, don't tan, don't do this, don't do that. You can't do that with MS. It's still unknown what exactly causes it. And unfortunately, there is nothing to cure it.
Oh, sure, there are plenty of ways to "treat" it. There are drugs you can take. There are random homeopathic things you can try. But it never goes away.
When I was growing up, my mom seemed pretty normal. Rarely using a cane, she really only went to the hospital once, when I was 9, after falling in the kitchen and being unable to get up. Her legs just wouldn't work. The message her brain was sending to make the legs move was never getting to her legs. It was scary. It was sad.
After returning home from college, my mom was in much worse condition. Using a cane or walker all the time, and oftentimes being in a wheelchair. It's horrible to see anyone like that.
This isn't a whole oh-feel-sorry-for-my-mom post, but it's just to make you aware that MS isn't just some random thing out there you sometimes hear about. It's real. Real people get it; real people live with it; real people deal.
I love my mom, and I only wish I could give to her so many of the experiences she's had to forgo because of this dreadful disease.
Do you know anyone with MS? Has it affected your life at all?
