I am an optimist, fighter and survivor by nature never giving up was drilled into me as a small child, for which I am extremely grateful. My wish for National MS Awareness Month is simple, I would like to see those that aren't afflicted with the disease to be more understanding, compassionate and educated. I have been thru the gamut of emotions and situations that range from akward to humiliating and I have to say the worse are the hurtful and uniformed. Anyone with MS knows of what I am referring to, the comments that you wish unimformed well meaning people would keep to themselves!
My step son is my beacon, always lifing my spirits with his ancedotes and making my uneven gait disappear with his goofy antics. He always makes me laugh when he tells strangers that he hears comment on my gait, "It's inherited" then he will walk silly. It is his sense of humor that makes the socially akward situations seem non existant.
I hope that anyone with MS challenges themselves daily, you will be surprised what your inner self can accomplish. I challenge myself everyday by not being stopped by MS! I have MS it doesn't have me and I will never give up. When you feel down and are struggling look for the humor in the situation, it is really hard to NOT LAUGH. It can be a very unpredictable and unpleasant disease and no two people have the same exact issues. Please don't give in to the problems, fight for the solutions. Talk about what your going thru, your problem could be anothers solution. Reach out to your community, don't ever look down on yourself or be afraid to ask for help. Helen Keller put it best, "I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but I can still do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do something I can do"
That is something I say every morning and live by all day, I hope that some of you benefit from this post. I wish that I could be a friend and support everyone that has MS, I can't so maybe my words can. Be happy, safe and enjoy life.... Maria
I am so glad, really really glad that I found this site!! It is so nice to have people with the same "crazioms" as me.. That is what my step son labeled my crazy symptoms LOL. I could never put my finger on it or explain exactly how I was feeling to my husband and step son so that they would understand. 
Maria,
I want to welcome you to MS HealthCentral! Thank you so much for this post. I love how your stepson is a shining light of goofy humor and support. That's great. You have shone that same light here and I'm sure that others will find your post helpful and inspiring. I agree that it would be nice if those who are not educated about MS could live with more kindness and compassion. Perhaps, it becomes our job to help educate those folks and show them how it is done, just as you've done here.
So glad that you've joined us.
Lisa
Thank you so much for you kind words! I do agree with you that it is our job to educate those who don't know. I do wish that everyone could have one person in their lives that provides humor and unconditional support and love. That is so very important, it makes this disease so much more bearable, to laugh well it just makes everyone feel better. I hope to help others deal with the up's and down's of this disease in anyway that I can.
Maria