One of the most significant issues with multiple sclerosis is the many hidden symptoms leading to accusatory statements from strangers. The invisibility of these MS issues means others do not see, perceive, or believe they even exist. The primary posed proclamations towards me or other MSers are that we do not look sick, so we must be okay. My friend Jim even told me about Mark, a guy he knows who also has multiple sclerosis and does not complain like a fellow MSer, Eileen does. These statements drive MSers insane and can cause us to stand our ground vociferously in defense of ourselves.
All people with multiple sclerosis are different, so if you know one person with MS, you only know one example of this inexplicable, unaccountable, and unpredictable medical condition. I have been a member of several local MS support groups and am currently in a variety of MS Facebook groups. I will do my best to explain the experiences of those dealing with these covert complications with my knowledge. With this blog entry, I must help defend my unwell brothers and sisters by spreading these comprehendible words to the ill-informed masses. I only hope that using my words can do justice to all of us warriors stricken by multiple sclerosis. While I sit in my wheelchair, rarely does anyone question the unseen symptoms affecting my day-to-day life.
In the multiple sclerosis family, we deal with many dilemmas and even daunting doubts from others. MS on a good day is merely a beastly condition continually taking from every aspect of our daily lives. People question our courage and persecute our pride as we struggle through our every movement. Most people will never understand the debilitating issues we warriors go through to simply get out of bed in the morning. Yet with every strike against us, we persevere like a baseball star hitting out of the park, every psycho spitball thrown by the diabolical devil himself.
We no longer have the luxury of taking any part of our lives for granted and must consciously consider every minor task. Drinking a glass of water, for many MSers, requires extra steps that could choke and kill us if not followed. Like a pitcher watching the catcher’s hand signals, we must follow the extensive steps for every essential task. We have a deep-seated fear of having dinner with friends or family, as we wonder if the night will end on an ambulance trip. It is no wonder why melancholy and depression fill the manipulative and maleficent world of MS.
We have a deeply drenched fear of every movement and how our multiple sclerosis-riddled bodies react to our locomotion. Will the next treacherous step we take land us in a motorized movement machine, changing our lives forever? We think about the terrors while awake and maybe get a reprieve when we slumber. This respite from our daymares is only if the sandman does not brutally bombard us with cruel memories of what we will never be. So much depression forces us to cry as the rivers of fears turn into oceans of tears, drowning out our thoughts of survival.
There is a symptom with a magnificently merry moniker that has a devastatingly sinister impact on the body of the MSer. MS Hug is the name of this symptom, and physical terror is its game. The explanation from Bill was a python that wrapped itself around you and squeezed hard enough so every lifesaving breath was excruciatingly exhausting. These breathing complications are challenging and can last for weeks, months, and, sometimes, years, from my understanding. Janet detailed it as five bands wrapped around the torso tightened like a vice grip, allowing only slight pain-filled breathing.
Pain is a common theme across these invisible indicators, severely affecting my multiple sclerosis family. Some MS patients undergo such painful torment that they need a proper pain patch to barely ease their suffering. Most people know the mundane pain of a headache, stubbing your toe, or maybe even a broken arm. However, the pain of those with multiple sclerosis continues forever, yet we have learned to smile through it like the warriors we are.
People without multiple sclerosis have been tired from a long workday or a vigorous fitness routine. However, from an MSer perspective, we sometimes get dreadfully debilitated and need a respite from merely taking a shower. Needing a major rest after a minor task is as common as the sun rising in the east. Fatigue affects parts of our lives we do not always expect, like it can make us ridiculously weak and make speech slur. If I do not find relief, my disabilities can get excessively worse, requiring a more extended respite.
I hope I have done justice explaining some of the invisible symptoms plaguing some multiple sclerosis patients. My MS brothers and sisters and I courageously combat these unseen issues as the battle-tested warriors we are. I believe these hidden afflictions would take down most mere mortals, yet we stand with our heads held high, like superheroes in a movie. Like Tub Thumping said in their song: I get knocked down, but I get up again; you’re never going to keep me down.
They cannot stop us, superhero warriors.
Scott's MS Life 