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.
Caged
In a recent visit to Dublin Zoo, I sat down next to a snow leopard busy contemplating life, separated only by a thick window. It was still early morning, and nobody was around. Time seemed suspended as we were taking in each other’s presence and it was a soul-searching as well as soul-enhancing experience. While there, I thought about the kind of people that create problems on so many levels while others mean well and only speak from the heart. On the other side of that coin, so many incredible, misunderstood animals like Amur leopards as well as snow leopards, wolves, whales or arboreal mammals are ruthlessly hunted or driven from their habitats and a only seem to have a future on Planet Earth when they’re protected and locked up…
Malala’s books
“Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons." Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for wanting an education and survived, in her keynote speech to the United Nations, 12th July 2013.”
A powerful letter to my MS
"I thought you were just another Monday morning case when you walked in," my consultant said, followed by lots of apologies and the promise that I would be very well taken care of."
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.
A future without chronic illness
Oops! This page has moved to A future without chronic illness Why not read one of these posts when you’re finished? A powerful letter to my MS MS anxiety Do I have stupid written on my forehead? I’m an ex and I’m loving it! You will survive! Responsibility hurts Ignorance Let’s be frank Fake it ’til you make it Use it or lose it! Are you getting enough? Hope cures old wounds The five-second MS rant Books, great medicine! MS, a lesson in minimalism Death, a fearful thing Balancing life and a chronic illness Updated: May 16th, 2018 ©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2018
9/11 Heroes
The word “hero” is often misused, declaring celebrities as the one we have all been waiting for. We attribute them a talent or other star-like characteristics that might not exist once they close the front door behind them. Real heroes are at work every day: rescue workers like firefighters policemen and women, doctors and nurses in overcrowded hospitals, or in war zones. Oftentimes heroes are just like you and me, saving a child from being run over by a car or caring for animals who were abandoned by their owners. When I think of heroes, I think of firemen, especially those that made incredible sacrifices on 9/11. When they ran up 70 flights of staircases with heavy tools strapped to their backs, they knew there was a real chance they…
