May 25th is World MS Day. This year’s theme is Independence. #strongerthanMS
MS doesn’t stop me from being me. I’m a purple person, so of course my rollator is purple (her name is Violet). I don’t walk around with a sterile medical cane. My cane is covered in neon bubbles. MS does not take away my personality – it just gives me some different opportunities to show it off.
MS does not stop me from taking care of my family. I’m not the field trip chaperone, but you’ll see me at the school book fair. I don’t go into the bouncy house, but my sons have no doubt that their mom loves them and will always be their champion.
- My kids made a presentation for my birthday last week, and my 11-year-old reminded me that he thinks MS stands for “My Superhero”.
- We’ve turned our house into Camp Sparky when my cousin visits with her three kids, keeping the kids at my house while she and her husband stay with my parents.
- When the thunder booms, I hold my boys and hug the fears away. When they wake up worried, I’m the one who holds them and listens. When they’re sick, I’m the nurse.
MS does not stop me from standing up for my beliefs. It does take longer to get to my feet, though.
- When the school board made yet another change to my children’s school assignments, I was a vocal advocate on the online feedback forums. At the school board’s open meeting, I was one of the parents at the podium, speaking out for the children in our district.
- If I disagree with the stance of my elected officials, I will let them know by clearly and respectfully voicing my concerns. I may not be at the protest or blowing air horns outside of the Governor’s Mansion, but I am voicing my views. My state senator definitely knows what I think about a new passed state law. When I left a political party to register as an Independent, I had an email conversation with the county vice-president of the party to explain exactly what platform changes led to my decision to leave.
- You do not want to park illegally in a handicapped spot at a school or community center event I’m attending. If I see you, I will start a polite but pointed discussion with you about the impact of your selfish behavior. If I don’t see you, I will make sure that the staff knows so that they can call out your selfish behavior. If I have the chance to embarrass you, I will. One day, I couldn’t get into my car at after-school pickup because a person parked in the walkway between the handicapped spaces. I walked back to the lobby, opened the door, and shouted, “WHOEVER ILLEGALLY PARKED IN THE HANDICAPPED WALKWAY MOVE YOUR CAR NOW SO THAT I CAN GET INTO MINE!” She waited until her little angel came out, so I bluntly pointed out to her the impact of her illegal and inappropriate behavior as we walked back to our cars. I’ll bet she’s been parking legally ever since, so she doesn’t get called out in front of other people again.
MS reminds me that most people are good, no matter what you hear on the news or read on internet forums. People are quick to hold doors open for me. When I fall, people are immediately offering to help instead of standing and staring.
Independence doesn’t mean doing everything by yourself. Independence is making the contributions to your community based on your capabilities. Independence is figuring out who you are and how you fit into the big puzzle we call life.
