I Have MS, But I Have a Name

How many times have you said to yourself, “I have MS.”

That one sentence, the gravity of it. It never seems to vanish, its weight never feels like it will lift off of you. The cloud that always seems to float above your head, always lingers, always covering you from the light above.

“I have MS.”

Dreams turned to dust

I still say it almost daily to myself. Even after all these years, I still say it quietly. A whisper, a thought.

My life has changed, my dreams of what could have been, what should have been have crumbled before me, shattered and turned to dust.

Found my strength, will, and passions

Oh, I know. My life will continue, my dreams are still there. I have made the best of the situation as much as I could. We must, we can’t give in, as much as it wants us to. So, I found my strength, I found my will, I found my passions.

Looking the beast in the eye

We have to look the beast in the eye daily, for it is a beast. You can hear It snarl, it breathe and wither about you. You can feel it’s touch, it’s hold on you. You can hear it inside, whispering, trying to confuse.

We want our identity

But we do look it in the eye, we clench our fists, we stomp our feet and we fight it with such fierceness, such determination, such anger. For we want our life back, we want our identity.

We are ourselves, we will not let it take that away.

We will fight.

Yes, I have MS.

But I have a name, I have an identity.

My name is Tom.