Fighting MS: Strength in Numbers

In the spring 1999, at eighteen years old, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The idea of a newly diagnosed book that focused on wellness began once I finally got my MS under control. It took four long years of understanding what my body needed to be healthy, while experiencing life as a college student at Appalachian State University. I found myself searching for a wellness summary of multiple sclerosis. Why couldn't I find everything I needed in one place? This idea seemed like something most newly diagnosed individuals would have already asked for, but it was nowhere to be found. I didn't want too much information at once, only what I needed to start out healthy and stay positive. In addition to needing a wellness summary, I sought to find other young people who were just beginning life with multiple sclerosis. I needed to know people who were positive and could laugh this off with me. In 2003, I established my role as an MS patients' advocate by founding-with the help of the MS Society-a young men's and women's group in middle Tennessee. Then in 2005, I was awarded the Betaseron Champion of Courage grant to write the book we have all been waiting for--a wellness guide to MS for the newly diagnosed. Lance Armstrong says it best when he explains why children cope with cancer so much better than adults. He says, It's a fact that children with cancer have higher cure rates than adults with cancer, and I wonder if the reason is their natural, unthinking bravery. Sometimes little kids seem better equipped to deal with cancer than adults. They're very determined little characters, and you don't have to give them big pep talks. Adults know too much about failure; they're more cynical and resigned and fearful. Kids say, 'I want to play. Hurry up and make me better.' That's all they want. This quote helps me each day and will continue to be my approach to life. I will never forget the news of my diagnosis and thinking about how I couldn't wait to get back to school to feel normal again. The MS could come along if it wanted to, but I was going to get back to life no matter what it took. When I was younger, I used to love reading Young and Modern, or YM to most teenagers. There are stories in this magazine under a section called Say Anything, and they always made me laugh out loud. Of course these were juvenile stories of walking out of the bathroom with your skirt tucked in your tights or something of that nature. I realized that there where others out there who had it worse than I did, and sadly, that always seemed to make me feel better. This is why telling our MS stories will help to enable other newly diagnosed individuals not only to begin this journey in a positive state, but also to find the strength they need from someone who might have it worse. I love my health-conscious lifestyle and feeling good about my body, so I needed health tips and recipes, too. Plus, I found friends and resources along the way that helped to make this book complete. This book is designed to help us join together and find the positive in all we have to face. I would like each individual who has been diagnosed with MS to be able to relate to some of the experiences he or she reads in this book and know that we still enjoy wonderful lives, even with this heinous disease. Reaching out to others and finding a positive network will help make us all stronger. My dream for this manuscript is to be passed along to someone newly diagnosed, and let them know that we can beat this disease together! I will leave you with a final quote by Lance Armstrong. If children have the ability to ignore odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell.

About Erin Morrow Still