MS, here today, gone tomorrow?
Degeneration happens, yet it forgets to enlighten you in which physical state you will wake up in the morning, and how you will eventually go to sleep at night. If your persistent MS fatigue is anything like mine, powernaps are overrated, and you go for XXX-large naps.
You retired at age what?
So, yes, I retired at age 36,5 and it will never be what I envisioned when I moved to Ireland. I ‘ve crashed and burned, stumbled and found hope in tiny triumphs and friendships larger than life that will stand the test of time.
Let’s be frank
"Too many times we like to blame others for our own problems. Situations and people create our experiences, but these situations and people don't create you. Understanding our past helps us to distinguish why we hold on and repeat self-destructive behaviours. When we feel anger, resentment and other non-positive emotions, the only one we annoy is ourselves. So, choose taking ownership over blaming others, happiness over negativity, a new way of life over just remaining in a rut."
10 ‘Little rebel, me’ mistakes
Are you a list person? I am, that’s a given. After wasting time on websites like List Challenges, I thought, ‘Well, how about the ten worst things I’ve done since being diagnosed, with a follow-up on the best things I’ve done since that day in 2005?’ Quotes are added to underline my thinking, ideas or just as some way to kick-start goodness in my life. Once the 10 best things have found their way onto paper, I will link them to each other here if you want to read lists for a while!
Dream, Think, Believe, Dare, Do!
"I admire Montel Williams for all the passion he puts into advocating MS in the US, and I could have picked his much-used his phrase “I may have MS but MS does not have me.” For a good while it was a crutch to lean on every day, but I am now at a stage where it has worn out to the very one thread it was built upon. I'd rather opt for a different benchmark so, and therefore chose to underwrite an adapted Walt Disney quote instead."
Lifetime membership
"Looking back at my physical self between the end of November 2009 and today, my MS took a fairly big step backwards twice. With hindsight being 20/20, retiring was the right thing to do. I cannot even begin to think where I’d be medically had I not retired, so if you want anything to work out in your life, then please let it be your early retirement."
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."
