And now for a word from Simply C...
My modus operandi recently has been, quite frankly, a bit “a day late and a dollar short". My post today is no exception. In addition to being Towel Day, Geek Pride Day, National Tap Dance Day, and National Missing Children’s Day, Wednesday, May 25th was also the 2nd Annual World MS Day.
This year’s worldwide, Multiple Sclerosis (“MS”) awareness-raising event highlighted the issue of MS and Employment. As a full-time employed SWF in her early 40’s and living with MS, this topic is of significant interest and concern to me, as it is to nearly every person with MS and a member of the work force. At the World MS Day website, you can provide support by signing the petition and adding your voice to the many who want to bring awareness to employers and policy makers and help to keep those with MS working for as long as possible.
For my awareness-raising effort, I’ll share my introduction to MS.
After abruptly losing vision in my left eye, I was diagnosed with MS three months after my 40th birthday. Hardly a warm welcome into the wonderful world of Forty-Something that I’d heard and read so much about. My diagnosis was a shock. At the time, I had not the slightest clue what MS was and I didn’t know anyone with the disease. That all changed in the Fall of my 40th year. I quickly learned that MS is an auto-immune disease that affects the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord), particularly the myelin sheath that protects the nerve fibers. MS affects at least twice as many women than men. Generally, people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, but sometimes diagnoses are made in individuals much younger than 20 and even in some who are much older than 50. Worldwide, it is believed that over two million people are affected by MS. Symptoms range from numbness to vision loss. Extreme fatigue to walking difficulties. Depression to bladder dysfunction. MS symptoms, their severity, and their effects vary greatly from person to person. Currently, there is no cure for MS. MS is every day and you don't always know what it might bring each day. One certainty of MS exists: uncertainty.
By no means is it lost on me that in the vast catalog of human diseases, deadly and debilitating, MS is far from the worst. But, to remain frank, MS has been frustrating, annoying, exhausting, expensive, sometimes depressing, and, well, truly a pain in the… well, right now, my right forearm. MS has been an eye-opener. Every now and then, it's a plan wrecker. My biggest complaint is that it's an energy robber. In some respects, it's a game changer. It's absolutely a tolerance tester! On a positive note, MS has also been an opportunity maker. I bet every person with MS would tell you it's a will challenger. (That’s a good thing!) I continue to be deeply moved each time MS reveals my support ralliers. Indeed, MS has been a love and friendship reminder.
The National MS Society uploaded this video to You Tube. Although it is over four years old, I think it educates and delivers a message that’s right on point: despite the challenges, we must keep moving forward. Join the Movement.
Additional information about MS and World MS Day is available at the National MS Society's website. (www.nationalmssociety.org)
I can't remedy being a few days late, but we all can help with the many research dollars short. If interested in providing financial support, the National MS Society encourages you to "Think globally and act locally" by texting MSAWARE to 20222 to donate $5 to the National MS Society. For the Facebook savvy, if you go to Pure Protein's Facebook page and "Like" them, they will donate $1 to the National MS Society. The goal is to raise $200,000.
Until May 2012, we’ll keep on keeping on and, with each World MS Day and awareness rising, who knows... Along this journey that I hope to freely move for many, many years, one day soon I may become a cured MS sufferer. Together, we continue moving forward and remaining grateful. I thank you for your willingness to become aware.
Simply... C
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