I have wanted to write for a very long time.
Something about writing has always had a strong draw for me…maybe it’s the self expression, the creativity, the chronicling of my life, sharing with and helping others or maybe just the sheer indulgence of it…I’ve never been able to put my finger on it.
But something has also terrified me.
And stopped me dead in my tracks. So, needless to say, I’ve had many false starts throughout the years. I started my first journals as a teenager, and then burned them. Since the inception of the internet, I’ve started blogs and then abandoned them. Never sure about what I have to say that anyone might want to hear. And truthfully, I’m still not sure.
The Universe has given me something though that I now feel I have to write about. Something that has challenged how I view (my) life and how I will continue to experience and live in the world. I need to overcome my fear of writing, and of judgement, to share with you my experience of a possible diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I admit until faced with a diagnosis myself, I had absolutely no idea what MS was. I’d never known anyone with MS and had nothing other than a vague image of some debilitating disease. I’m the first to admit that’s a pretty ignorant, and narrow, understanding of a disease that afflicts so many people (I’ve since learned).
I’ve learned a lot over the last number of months.
A lot about MS, as well as a lot about myself. In the coming months I will continue to learn more about MS, as well as myself. And I will share that with you on this blog in the hopes I might comfort or inspire others living with a similar diagnosis or those being faced with a potential diagnosis. Unfortunately, MS is a very complicated disease that effects every individual very uniquely. I’ve heard that if you were to put 100 people with MS in a room, it would look like 100 different diseases. It’s this about the disease that makes it so difficult to diagnose, and to deal with. And why so many, if not most people, live with MS for years before receiving a formal diagnosis.
There’s a lot of ground to cover so to get you started I’m going to leave you with one of most inspiring things I have come across yet in my search. There are others, but we’ll get to those in time. I’d like to introduce you to the book Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS) by Professor George Jelinek.
Diagnosed with MS in 1999, Professor Jelinek has gone 13 years without relapse. Read how as both a doctor and person with MS, he has helped countless people with MS lead healthy and productive lives.
If you or someone you know has MS, I encourage you to hop over and browse through the many resources and wonderful community he has created. His experiences with MS and the OMS program are detailed in his book below, and which you can order from Amazon.
Blessings. And be well…
Jacqueline
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