Lets Have Another Walk!

On April 12th We'll Walk again!

It has been another year. One more year has passed. Some would say we have made progress in our journey to cure our disease for curing this terrible crisis - yes, crisis of Multiple Sclerosis, for which there still is no cure, but six authorized or approved drugs to manage the disease for SOME with the disease.

That is progress I guess. For years ago there were neither approved drugs nor even a diagnosis. People with MS were thought to be "crazy", have dementia, suffer from other forms of mental illnesses or have just fatigue. Even today, the average diagnosis still takes between 2-5 years to be properly diagnosed. Sometimes this is due to the person ignoring the symptoms and often this is due to the lack of medical training. Whichever the case, it leads to years of damage of the brain that some say can never be repaired. Today however, some in the medical field say that damage may be repaired over time. Help MAY be on the way.

In the meantime, those of us dealing with the disease every minute of every day, by ourselves, some fortunate to have families, some not, suffer constantly with and without approved drugs. Our bodies can only tolerate so much of certain invasions for so long before it begins to build up an immunity to even the things considered "good" for it; then those things are no longer so good for it or the side effects out-way the good. Every person is different, no two the same. You hear this all the time. Just like two children being raised in the same house by the same parents; totally different. Both good, but totally different.

Getting through each day is great, but it should not be such a big deal. Sometimes I would like to just be so normal, so just like everyone else. But it just is not going to be like that for me. I have to have my sticks with me wherever I am. Sometimes I don't go to certain places or do certain things, go around certain people because of who I am, what I am. It is just easier. I don't feel sorry for myself. I just don't care to explain myself anymore. I just don't care to be looked at anymore. I just don't won't anyone else stepping on or over me any more either. It shouldn’t be a fight, but it is. I used to fight the fight but now I know the fight is coming and I avoid the fight. It just is not worth it anymore.

Today all I want is to walk peacefully along with people who want to walk along with me - who don't care about the sticks, know about the sticks, and don't mind the sticks and everything else that come along with the sticks. MS is a disease that is life long, hurts, frustrates, drags you down and makes you tired. And it has no cure yet. So every day those of us who have this disease try very hard to live; mostly we do very well at that but sometimes we don't and we should not have to apologize for that.

But I will. For all of us who sometimes seem grumpy, tired or dumped on; we're sorry.

If you could just imagine a little bit how we struggle sometimes, every minute of every day, even when it looks like we are holding it together, you might begin to understand. Our bodies are numb, our limbs tingle, we have a lot of pain, we experience temporary memory loss, bladder problems, we have speech problems, walking problems - just to name a few of our symptoms.

Now, each person is different and there are many various levels and different types of MS. From severe to very mild. But the average person experiences the systems above, at least during a "flare-up".

Join Us and Help Us this April 12th in Waldorf, Maryland at the William B. Wade Elementary School and Let’s Have Another Walk Together. Registration begins @ 9 a.m. is FREE with the WALK starting @ 10 a.m. Of course you may always make donations if you like!

If you need any information, write me @ rick@im1ru2.com or go directly to my website @ http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/im1rickru2. If you can not attend the WALK and would like to make a donation, pleae visit my website, again, http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/im1rickru2 to make your tax free donation and to learn more about helping those of us with MS!

Thank You all for you support, love and patience. God Bless You.