June 21st 2010
 
Today has been an important day for me since the day I was born. Because it is, in fact, the day I was born. And I’ve always been proud to announce how long ago that was in any given year. Continuing to survive is, after all, an annual celebration. This year I’m celebrating my 42nd anniversary of that happening; that being, my birth. 
 
I have always enjoyed being a Summer Solstice baby. What could be better than being born on the day that boasts the most light? So, if the day offering the most Vitamin D birthed a baby that one day (20 years later) would be diagnosed with MS (on that same date) the ironic laughter would fade to a minimum and rest on “hmmm.” 
 
While at the time, it seemed like a sad birthday coincidence – with that whole “fear of the unknown” thing going on - in the long term it’s been quite the opposite. These 22 years living with MS have shaped me in ways I would never have imagined at its onset.  And while I look back frightened to recognize what I can’t do today, that I could do years ago, I pause and look at how much I’ve lived through and what a strong individual its made me. And while I’m still afraid to look ahead and look back too closely, I’m impressed by the strength I never knew I would have, facing what I did 22 years ago today.
 
Have you learned anything about yourself since you were diagnosed?