Yes, I have multiple sclerosis (MS)
October 13th, 2009 by Grandpa OddballCopyright © GetOddNews and Grandpa Oddball October 13, 2009. All rights reserved.
- How did you learn you had MS?
- What were my initial symptoms?
- What was my initial reaction to learning I had MS? (principally relief)
- How did MS change my life?
- How do I “cope” with MS? (I’m not sure I do)
- How do people treat you? (usually with kindness mixed with a good dose of ignorance but unfortunately some people are just plain obnoxious, thoughtless, selfish, or even cruel)
plus many more. Sometimes the most interesting questions come from children who see me struggling in a wheelchair (parents reactions range from the comical to abhorrence). Sometimes parents think that a child’s question will offend me and try to shush them but I don’t mind satisfying their curiosity. I like to be around children.
OUR MS WALK LOGO
As I have time I’ll attempt to answer these and other questions about my MS experiences. In fact if you have any question related to my MS leave a comment or click on the suggest link and I’ll put it on my list to answer. I’m not offended nor do I mind answering your questions. It’s just that for the reasons I listed earlier I’m unsure if my experience will help.
In this post I’ll briefly answer the question, “How did you learn you had MS?” and answer other questions in future posts. I learned I had MS after a rather severe MS attack which struck rather quickly. I was driving home in my pickup when my knees started feeling weak and sore to the point that I worried if I could work the clutch in order to shift gears or even just to get going from a stop light. Fortunately I was only a few miles from home when the attack hit me so was able to make it home okay.
At home my condition rapidly deteriorated after just a couple of hours to the point where I was paralyzed from the neck down being unable to move my arms and legs. My face was very numb (especially my left side) and my vision fuzzy. This first attack was probably the most severe attack I’ve had and I was more than a little concerned (scared may be a better description). Our son was in high school at the time. He and my wife had to virtually carry me everywhere (e.g., to the bathroom).
We immediately made a doctors appointment to find out what was wrong. I didn’t know at the time that I had MS and was concerned that I’d had a stroke or a heart attack. We have a history in my family of heart problems (my father died of a heart attack and his mother also had heart problems) so that was my first thought.
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Tags: Multiple Sclerosis
this article with others.
I like the medical posts here. Even though I see you pretty much daily, I still learn about things I wasn’t aware of, or learn more about them. I like how this expands my understanding of everythting you’re dealing with – and sometimes it helps me realize a new/different way to support you. I still think you’re amazing – and endearing!