Ten happy MS years

A milestone like no other. A curious, strange one indeed.

Ten years of living with MS.

Ten.

In fact, ten years and one week.

Reality suddenly became a very different kind of living. As strange as it sounds, it became a more fulfilled life, a happier one also.

Of course, I wasn’t prepared for a diagnosis that spelt trouble ahead; after all, MS is a neurodegenerative illness. There would be trouble ahead. And there was.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

It’s safe to say that I was that fish and I was trying to climb a tree the first year of my diagnosis. My neurologist said I needed to change my lifestyle. Seriously? I could have been knocked down with a feather of surprise.

I started working hard. Went out. Went on holidays. Did silly things. Serious things. Loved and lost.

Anything but changing my lifestyle. Of course.

Reality indeed was a different kind of living. But you know what? I loved every moment of it. Even after a superbug. Losing selfish friends. Gaining even better ones. Losing unreasonable boyfriends. Deciding I didn’t need a relationship in order to be happy.

Happy, even after relapses, 30 pills and 1 injection a day, even after reading terrifying stories or new research results that will spell disaster for some.

I love the person I’ve grown into. My mind, my soul and my life have taken serious knocks over the years, but I found my voice, my reason for being. I’ve family and friends who have my back, just as I have theirs.

If I want others to know about MS, I would say, “Life goes on. It really isn’t the end of the line.”

©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2014. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner are strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.