Game, set, relapse!
"In short, if I’d have to sell myself with these words, I still wouldn't receive a Booker prize. I could post “Another MS Relapse” award on the fireplace mantel, but they’re just a waste of space. I thought of referring to a relapse as something you just have to get your teeth in, but I don't want to steal Luis Suárez's limelight."
Defined by myself
"As you can tell, I have lots that strengthens me and drives me forward. I also have (dis)abilities: severe bouts of pain and fatigue, which I bent into a positive writing tool for others to lean on. My limitations serve as other people’s motivation. Their motivation became my inspiration."
The first day
Change is good. So they say, anyway. I totally agree, in fact, I welcome change with open arms. Afraid of new challenges? No, not me. Because change is good.
Now what?!
Life with MS. You never wake up alone. In the first five minutes of waking up, facial pain pulls my left cheek west, while my eye wants to move north, and my scalp just seems oblivious to any sensation at all. Fantastic! Just the way I want to feel on any given day! NOT. Today, however, I want to feel as bad as I possibly could.
A future without chronic illness
I could think of many dates, funny ones, productive ones and those that would mean to a lot of friends and family. If I could choose though, I’d want to be there when a cure for MS is found. Two million people worldwide are living with this incurable illness in their brain and spinal cord, leading to disabilities that maim them or make them withdraw from society, even life.
Raining roses
Back after a much-needed break from writing. There were doctors’ visits and hospital waiting rooms, a very slow stroll through Dublin Zoo as well as lots of sleep and trying to lose weight before the Christmas holidays arrive. Friends came and went, and books were tossed aside after reading half a page. On a more exciting note, I ended up on writing.ie, the home of Irish writing online. I finally convinced myself to stop and take stock with the words “Being this overly, mentally busy doesn’t work for me anymore,” because deep down I knew I had arrived in Klutz Central. KC truly is the final destination and home of being unable to gather and store new information while having the energy levels of a sloth on Valium.
2014 Budget plea to the Irish government
"A heart transplant is easy enough these days, but brain transplants belong in the world of fantasy. Because of that, urgent reconfiguration of existing services should be done."