Chocolate Eskimo Noodles

Though I usually try talking about my personal life in my blogs, something has really been on my mind lately and I feel that maybe, by me letting my walls down for a little while, I can help someone else. In July of 2007, my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This is an autoimmune caused disease in which the body's immune response attacks the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). MS affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. This can cause those with the disease to lose effectiveness of their cognitive thinking. My mother, is a brilliant woman and I've never realized how important she is to me until I've seen her in pain. My mother is in pain every day, suffers from memory loss, and has a hard time working out logical problems. She brings a smile to the face of anyone she meets and she would do anything to make someone feel welcome. There is no known cure for Multiple Sclerosis, however there are treatments ment to lessen the effects. Unfortunately, each patient is different and the process could take a rapid or slow pace based on simple genetics. A person with MS generally finds it difficult to speak the words they are thinking, have difficulty standing for long periods of time, and experience spasms on a frequent basis. Problems visually are likely to occur along with involuntary eye movements.

Not meaning to give you a medical lesson, I just would like people to know what my mother has been going through. I've realized through this experience, that life truly is more fragile that we would like to think. My mother was a state champ catcher for schoolcraft college, she was one of the most athletic people I could ever dream to know, and since her diagnosis with this disease, she has not been able to do as much as she would have been able to do. More than half of those with MS will end up in a wheelchair by the age of 40.

I'm telling you this simply because I have taken advantage of the gift of life. I have not only ignored my own desires but I regret not bonding with my parents sooner. Life throws curves our way, and it should be our job to retaliate in whatever way we can. Live life to it's fullest. I only wish that no one else could go through the difficulties that my mother has to go through. It's especially hard on her because she was one of the most brilliant minds I have ever come to meet and now she has difficulty remembering how to work the remote. She's an amazing person and a role model of mine.

I strongly encourage you to touch the hearts of as many people as you can. Go out and make someone smile at least three times a day and live like you were dying. Appreciate your parents, and appreciate the people who you might fight with, they're not as aweful as you would like to think.








"Those who brings sunshine to the lives of others can not keep it from themselves."
-James Barrie