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KUNATI BOOK PUBLISHERS
Infinity Publishing
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Multiple Sclerosis is Not the End of the World (Excerpt) |
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The idea of writing this
book came to me when I heard, for the umpteenth time, an ad on television featuring a
whiny, “I feel sorry for myself,” voice. “One morning I woke up and couldn’t
walk,” it said, and a message followed, telling listeners they could get help from a
group providing support to those who have MS. My instant response was extreme
annoyance and then I was insulted. The implication was that MS always leaves the
person with the condition in this whiney, helpless state, which it doesn’t. I have
MS and know it is a lot easier to live with than many chronic conditions with which
many people are afflicted. I don’t wish, by having MS, to be identified as being
like that whiney TV voice. Furthermore, I felt it misleading for people to be given
the impression that having MS must be the end of the world, as the ad implied. There
are many people in the world living happy and productive lives though they happen to
have MS.
So I decided to introduce the reader to people who have
MS but are not “down and out.” There are many who, though perhaps not living as
productive a life as they would like or previously did, have learned to live it
differently—positively and cheerfully, and even to count their blessings.
MS is not the end of the world! In fact, it can be made
into a positive influence for personal growth and development. What you can’t change
can be used to advantage.
All right, I admit it, I was forty years old when I was
diagnosed, so I’d had several years of a career and motherhood. I’d been a
professional musician for a number of years and enjoyed nearly twenty years of being a
vigorous and energetic teacher. Still, I could have been upset and resentful, I
suppose, if I’d taken the time to think about it. Many books I have read recently
tell me people go through anxiety and depression after diagnosis. I didn’t. And
I’m not the only person who didn’t.
We are likely
all acquainted with several people who have MS, and whose condition is not readily
apparent. They don’t whine about it, and most of us don’t talk about MS when
we’re together, there being other many more interesting and important subjects to
discuss. I began to interview MS “victims” who refused to be “victims.” My only requirements for those I chose to include in this book were that they be diagnosed as having MS (I know, that’s a given, but there it is) and for them to be dealing with it in a positive way. At first I was going to call the book, “MS—No Whining Allowed.” Then I decided that wasn’t being very positive, so I took my own advice, and made the title more upbeat.
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