World MS Day 2025: What I would tell my newly diagnosed self
Within your diagnosis lies the potential for transformation; it can either forge our strength or test our resolve, shaping us in profound ways. Mine was no different. Find out what I would tell my newly diagnosed self twenty years ago.
Dogs and Multiple Sclerosis: a bond made of steel
As 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of my diagnosis, there is much to tell, feel, experience, and even hide when needed. Hopefully, there will be plenty to write about this year as the search for a new puppy begins.
He was not “just” a dog
"When MS and trigeminal neuralgia attacked my face, Oisín looked at me as if to say, “I’m here, I got you, I’m not going anywhere. You can count on me. ” In addition, when daily severe fatigue kept me depleted of energy, he showed me we could always play when I felt better. The list was endless. Oisín was the easiest-to-please MS nurse who learned fast and forgot even faster, just like his human. He reminded me that there is always tomorrow when my body refused to cooperate."
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.
MS: the lies we tell ourselves
Schadenfreude must be MS's middle name because it seems to enjoy the trouble it is giving you by dragging other symptoms along in an orgy of severe fatigue, numbness, cognitive issues, neuropathic pain, and trigeminal neuralgia.
A harsh letter to my MS
MS, you really have no idea of the damage you created when you left me on the ruins of your castle. In fact, Sigmund Freud once said "Anatomy is destiny." It is as unpredictable as it is varied, and in need of its own psychoanalysis.
Life with MS… legs on fire!
I just didn't know, and frankly, I couldn't care less. A teardrop more or less wouldn't shake my world into either accepting or destroying neurodegeneration. Call me Waterloo so if you like. Neither the battle that took place when Napoleon Bonaparte lost face, nor the Eurovision ABBA song Waterloo could undo any hardship caused by the hands of MS. I've been told my dancing to ABBA tunes is rather epic though. My singing, not so much, so I gave up the dream of being a Eurovision song contest winner by age 6.
