No I'm not chicken!

So I've been challenged, with a big "I Dare You" to contribute. Who could say "no!"? Pretty soon she'd pull out the triple dog dare and I'd be here anyway. I thought I'd just cut to the chase.

So here I am...but what to say.

A bit about me. I'm the one with the multiple sclerosis. I'll leave the "what is that?" to the medical community that knows it best. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/index.aspx

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November 2004. At the ripe age of 29 I got my handicapped parking tag/plate and a cane. I deal with daily fatigue, take a lot of naps, have balance problems, optic nerve damage that includes sensitivity to light (especially fluorescent lighting and any bright light) and occasional pain, heat sensitivity, lack of sensation in my right leg and varying sensation changes on the right side as well, cognitive problems, fragrance and sound sensitivities and so many other things that are a bit too embarrassing to discuss in a forum of this nature.

I'm currently on Novantrone (chemotherapy) after being given the diagnosis of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis rather than the original diagnosis of relapsing remitting MS. I get the privilege (rolls eyes) of living with a "chronic, debilitating, incurable disease."

It's part of everything I do every day. It's so often a feeling of being owned by MS and it's not a MonSter that people want to be leashed to.

For me, it also means owning more assistive devices than my own grandmother. It means missing things that I want to be a part of. It means going to bed every night not knowing what the next day will bring, not being able to plan, not even knowing from one minute to the next what is going to happen.

Initially it brought a lot of anxiety. It's scary going to bed at night not knowing if you will be able to walk the next day, be numb in parts of your body, have all your vision, etc.

I had to conquer my fear of needles because I had to give myself injections (insert "there's no way I can do this!" emoticon here).

Fact is, I was able to get through it and am able to get through it each day by giving myself over completely to the knowledge that all things happen for a reason. My own mantra that runs through my head when things are really tough is "There's a purpose for this; there's a purpose for this".

There's no heroism here. It's not always pretty (especially those days I don't get dressed), but it's the only life I've got. I can choose to be miserable and suffer through the same things or laugh about it and just deal, ya know?

There is a rest of me that hasn't been overrun by daily hassles of the MS.

I have been married 12 years.

I have a 7 (almost 8!) year old daughter.

I was a bowler and Young American Bowling Alliance certified bowling coach in a previous life.

I have a BA in English Language and Literature with an emphasis in creative writing and minors in Advertising/Public Relations and philosophy

I help moderate a forum for people with MS.

I have been selling on eBay since December 2000, both for myself and Searchlight (always looking for donations to help pay down our building fund debt).

I appreciate music with deep and moving lyrics.

I am grossly addicted to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plumb books right now.

I created and update the Searchlight Ministries website.


See what you started, Noreen?!

Tricia Pell