Having a mother with MS was one of the hardest and most hurtful things I have ever experienced in my life. It was a life changer. MS, also known as Multiple Sclerosis, is one of the most unforgiving diseases out there. In the case of my mother, MS seemed to change her whole life in the matter of a couple of months. I was very young when my mother first got diagnosed with MS, so my memory may not be the best, however, I remember a quick and hurtful transition of my mother walking on her own, to walking with a cane, to using a wheel chair, to finally utilizing an electronic wheelchair. Apart from that transition, even worse than seeing that, was seeing her be able to move her body less and less over the years. A woman who was once always on the move from place to place, is now kept in a building waiting for assistance to be taken from a bed, to a cafeteria, back to a bed.
My mother first got diagnosed with MS about 16 years ago and has bounced around from nursing home to nursing home for the past nine years. Besides living the life style of the lack of a mother figure in most of my life, I will share with you some big areas of what is has been like having a mother with MS over the years. From about the age of nine, my brothers and I were CNA's (Certified Nurse Assistants) in the making. We helped get her out of bed into her wheel chair every morning. We cooked her food as frequently as needed or at least brought her meal to her every day. We helped get her from point A to point B which entailed every area of the house. We were constantly a yell or call away for various tasks that a mother with MS could not do her on her own. Turn the TV on. Switch the channel. Turn the light off. Grab something to drink. Hopefully you get the point.
The worst part of having a mother with MS, especially the type of MS my mother has, was knowing that things would only go down hill; things would never be better and she would always get worse. That logic has never been more true seeing how she is now and remembering how much better she was when I took care of her eleven years ago. Its funny how things turn out. I thought she was bad ten years ago, but compared to today, I would do anything to have her back "bad" again. Having a mother with MS wasn't only bad though. There were great life lessons I learned and one of the best things I have learned is to never give up. To this day, my mother has faith that she will get better and maybe in that faith she already is better. She has everything she could ever ask for in four, healthy, smart and loving kids. In that is a reason to smile and a reason to keep fighting. Maybe it is just the little things that actually matter.
