This just a little piece of my story...
The National MS Society is the worst offender – posting inspiring stories about people with MS who are climbing Mt. Everest, running marathons, wrestling bears, dancing on high wires,… It makes me wonder how they think it will help them raise money to tell the world that people with MS are not only just fine, but we’re super human! I don’t feel super human very often, but I remember when I did.
I hear it a lot in forums like this one, too. It could be worse, quit complaining, change your attitude… I’ve heard all the cheerleading about it ever since my diagnosis in 1991. But here’s the thing – none of that is very helpful, because it’s like this:
You can step in a pile of dog poop and call it daisy-doodle, but that won’t change the fact that you have sh*t on your shoes. You can thank your lucky stars that you weren’t walking on your hands, but you still have sh*t on your shoes. You can refuse to be annoyed at the dog or its owner, refuse to complain even to yourself, but you still have sh*t on your shoes.
So here we are, all of us. We’ve got sh*t on our shoes and sh*t stinks.
So does Multiple Sclerosis.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, esme2288! I honestly mean that. I think you will find that this community runs the gamut, from "tough love" to "brutally honest". And, by that I mean that you will read posts about toughing it out here. You will also read articles about how hard living with MS is. I think your colorful analogy explains it very, very well. Sometimes, people think our community is too 'doom and gloom', but when you're talking about chronic, progressive diseases, you can't really beat around the bush and pretend everything is ok all of the time. People living with MS deal with really hard stuff. Every Day. I know you're probably thinking, "Well, Duh!" at this point! I hope you are able to find articles and community members here that you can relate to. We are a large, diverse community and that's a good thing. We may not always agree on everything, but we are happy to have a variety of life experiences, opinions, and ideas to share here. Our community is better for it. So, thank you for feeling free to share your feelings here. We sincerely appreciate it! Thanks, Erin, MultipleSclerosis.net Team Member.
P.S. I really, really do like your analogy! It's funny and brutally accurate!
esme2288, I love what you wrote from its tone right down to that very evocative metaphor, lol. I echo Erin's remarks, I couldn't have said it better. Keep telling the truth, lots of people will appreciate your unique voice and sentiments.
Kim, moderator and contributor
