The first day, 18 years later
Fiercely independent as always, my first thought was that, "Erm...wait, what?! No, I am not adapting to anything. No way. Nope. Nada. Not happening. With all due respect, Professor... I moved to Ireland 2 years, 6 months, 12 days and about 23 hours ago. That change you ask of me? Ain't happening.
Bliss, the MS-way
I long for autumn since the first few warm days. I long to walk in Phoenix Park, kicking up fallen leaves that have been building up under large oak trees. The changing of colours in nature is invigorating, it serves as a token that life goes on, that seasons come and go, each year bringing new fragrances and new stories waiting to unfold.
The five-second MS rant
When physical restraints curb your potential, you realise that you want so more from your life. Life is moving forward outside your medically induced world, and you feel annoyed when healthy people don’t realise the worth of their bodies, their unused potential.
TN triggers, symptoms & diagnosis
"Other disorders that cause facial pain should be ruled out before trigeminal neuralgia is diagnosed. Some disorders that cause facial pain include postherpetic neuralgia (nerve pain following an outbreak of shingles), cluster headaches, and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ, which causes pain and dysfunction in the jaw joint and muscles that control jaw movement). Most people with TN eventually will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to rule out a tumour or multiple sclerosis as the cause of their pain."
Life’s meant to be…
Talking down on people’s illness is something I avoid at all costs, as everyone has some cross to bear. Because of other people’s reactions towards my own illnesses, character and lifestyle, I simply know that blaming an ill person for being sick can destroy many things. Whatever people may get up to in their life, never attack them on their weakest point, i.e. an incurable illness they never asked for. It’s low, it’s patronising and it doesn’t speak well of the person doing it. In fact, it says more about the person being this offensive than the person they blame.
Death: a fearful thing?
"Within Gandhi’s description of strength, however, was some fear also, and within that fear, there was indignity. That superbug wasn’t meant for me. I wasn’t an elderly person, I didn’t live in unclean housing and I hardly ever used antibiotics. I could’ve continued listing pessimism, unhappiness and disaster, only, I unconditionally refused to. Clostridium Difficile wasn’t indeed mine to get, or to give in to, so I fought my way back. I am not now, have never been and will never be one to give up without at least trying five different ways to solve a riddle of life. I wasn’t ready to go. I had lived enough for two lives, but I wanted a third."
Big pharma’s friendship
"I’ve never been one of those anti-pharmaceutical protestors who claim that all medication is just a load of sugar-coated candy. It's extremely unlikely I'll ever take sides with those who protest. My view is that sometimes you just have to get off the warpath and look after yourself, even if it means bombarding your body with chemicals in order to get healthy, or better at least."
