{"id":1480,"date":"2026-02-28T18:54:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/02\/28\/multiple-sclerosis-is-a-fing-thief\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T18:54:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:54:39","slug":"multiple-sclerosis-is-a-fing-thief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/02\/28\/multiple-sclerosis-is-a-fing-thief\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple Sclerosis is a F\u2026ing Thief"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you know?<\/h3>\n
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The Northeast Blizzard of 2026 brought blankets, hunkering down, power outtages and spotty internet. What it didn’t bring was new, creative ideas for an MS<\/strong> humor blog.<\/p>\n

To be fair, I wasn’t really having a ton of ideas before the blizzard hit but that remains irrelevant.<\/p>\n

So, on the last day of the month, as we are doing storm clean up and the Wifi signal goes in and out, please allow me to offer a blog from eight years ago for this month.<\/p>\n

I hope it bring you giggles anew and a little reality too. Read on for an announcement for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness<\/strong> month starting on Sunday!<\/p>\n

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I bet you didn\u2019t count the dots above and assume I mean that other word, F..king. But I\u2019m talking about F\u2026king as in freaking as in being freaky weird. <\/p>\n

But multiple sclerosis<\/strong> is very sucky too so F..king does apply as well.<\/p>\n

Those with chronic illness regularly talk about the things that said illness steals from them. With MS<\/strong>, those thefts vary greatly from patient to patient. <\/p>\n

The ability to walk without assistive devices. <\/p>\n

The ability to see clearly or speak easily. <\/p>\n

The ability to live more than a few minutes without the utmost level of pain. <\/p>\n

The ability to control your body as you should be able to control your body. <\/p>\n

There are, of course, many, many more ways as well.<\/p>\n

In this blog I would like to focus on a few less obvious examples. <\/p>\n

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The ability to do simple math is one. <\/p>\n

Since math was never my strong suit the few math skills I have, I need. So when people don\u2019t understand what I mean by cognitive difficulties and at the same time don\u2019t understand why I may just as easily leave a 6% tip or a 60% tip on a lunch tab, it\u2019s because of the theft of my math skills. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m neither cheap nor generous- I\u2019m just completely confused.<\/p>\n

Recently MS<\/strong> has robbed me of my ability to spend quality time with children. <\/p>\n

For a long time I had the pleasure of hanging out with the absolutely cutest neighbor ever! This adorable 9-month-old would spend every Monday morning with me and I looked forward to his visits. But about only a year later he was almost 2. <\/p>\n

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Who could have predicted that? <\/p>\n

21 months old (and yes, I just used a calculator to look that up,) meant he was now a bundle of energy I couldn\u2019t keep up with. Never mind the quickly getting up off the floor thing when he was headed towards something he shouldn\u2019t be headed too.<\/p>\n

(Why the hell do kids insist on playing on the floor?\u00a0Why can\u2019t toddlers sit calmly at a table and quietly do word search puzzles like the many little old ladies I know, aka, me.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is f..king, f\u2026king sucky.<\/p>\n

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Never a mother but always the coolest of cool aunts, MS<\/strong> has affected that as well. On a recent visit with my 2 great nephews, fatigue had my patience at an all-time low. Always a master at diffusing child arguments I let the 2 little guys battle it out themselves over who got to carry the empty pizza box to the trash and who got to pour their cereal into their bowl first. I love, love my nephews and love, love spending time with them but when did I also start loving it when they went home? <\/p>\n

I know those who spend time with kids will say that happens to all of us, kids are tough, yada, yada. But I hit the limit 5 minutes in! That must be the fault of multiple sclerosis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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After experiencing flares and flu like symptoms that deeply hampered work trips and family vacations, MS <\/strong>has robbed me of the experience of flying stress free. It\u2019s just not worth the trip if the airport and\/or the plane make me feel miserable during and for days afterwards.<\/p>\n

Another thing I know MS<\/strong> has stolen is the ability to know. I just bought new jeans online. I bought them from the same company that sold the jeans I was currently comfortably wearing. I bought the exact same label and size. And when they arrived I tried them on and they fit perfectly. <\/p>\n

Except they didn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

I tried to know if they fit and even though I tried I didn\u2019t know that they didn\u2019t.  <\/p>\n

(If you have MS<\/strong> then you may understand what I mean.)<\/p>\n

Turns out I wore them the next day and they were over 3 inches too long. <\/p>\n

How does that happen? And how did I not know it when I tried them on? <\/p>\n

Which leads to another chronic illness robbery, money. <\/p>\n

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Illness is f\u2026king expensive.<\/p>\n

And not just with expensive copays, expensive meds, expensive health products, and expensive adaptations. It becomes expensive when you have to correct your mistakes. Because I knew that the jeans were fine when they weren\u2019t fine, and I threw the paper work away, I had to shell out $30 to get the sob\u2019s hemmed or I wasted the $60 I spent on them in the first place. And money mistakes like that are not an isolated incident.<\/p>\n

The missing ability to know is what so often frustrates and scares me. You may not be aware of this but here in Massachusetts there is a man with multiple sclerosis<\/strong> on trial for two counts of motor vehicle homicide. His defense is that while driving he had an MS<\/strong> flare that caused the crash that lead to these two deaths and to injuries to seven other people. <\/p>\n

First and foremost, allow me to offer my deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and to those who were injured. These folks were simply having lunch one day when a car came slamming into a restaurant and their lives and the lives of their families and friends were horribly changed forever. It\u2019s unfathomable, and I hope they get the appropriate solace and justice they deserve.<\/p>\n

But what makes me ponder is what is that justice? Did the defendant know that MS<\/strong> has affected his driving? <\/p>\n

I still drive but have trouble driving in traffic congested areas, specifically cities. I refuse to drive there as my brain can get overwhelmed processing all that is coming at me at high speeds and, if I\u2019m not familiar with the area, the last minute decision of when to turn where and what lane to be in at the time, all while cars behind me are honking as they have lost patience with me, causes me to lose confidence behind the wheel. <\/p>\n

I know this and so don\u2019t drive there.  <\/p>\n

But are there other driving issues that I have that I\u2019m not aware of?\u00a0If I\u2019m driving and I have a flare, will I know it\u2019s coming? Will it impact my driving?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I do make allowances to drive safely but to give up driving completely will so alter my life that basic necessities will be stolen as well. No longer will I be able to independently care for myself in the rural area in which I live.  <\/p>\n

If I felt it was no longer safe for people on the road with me, I would stop driving. Should I make such a drastic decision without knowing if I need to?<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m not saying this is the situation with this particular defendant; I don\u2019t know the complexities of the criminal case. Nor do I know him or how his MS<\/strong> affects him. It\u2019s just that this trial has made me think.\u00a0 I can only hope that the judge and jury know what justice should look like here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Basically, I\u2019m hoping that they haven\u2019t been robbed of their ability to know.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong>  The defendant in the case was found guilty of negligence. Not knowing the specifics, I can\u2019t tell you what the exact negligence is. I worry this is a bigger issue than my MS<\/strong> brain can sort out. People without chronic illness say we shouldn\u2019t just give in to our illness. Yet, does this verdict mean we should further restrict our daily life in case MS<\/strong> does something we can\u2019t really know it will do ahead of time? <\/p>\n

I just don\u2019t know\u2026..<\/p>\n

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A sobering end to this post I realize but as we begin MS Awareness Month<\/strong>, I felt it was fitting to bring some awareness of the severity of MS<\/strong>, alongside the giggles to help deal. It’s how I roll. <\/p>\n

Happy MS Awareness Month<\/strong> my friends! So a lovely lady I recently met, who also happens to be living with this sucky, f..king, f…king illness, has just started a new MS <\/strong>support group for Cape Codders, the first Wednesday of the month at 6PM at the Helping Our Women Office in Eastham, 3 Main Street, Unit 7. You do not have to be a HOW client to attend. If your MS<\/strong> is making thinking too hard right now, that is 3\/4\/26- just a few days away!! <\/p>\n

Due to the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2026, it might not be a bad idea to confirm all is set for 3\/4 before you head to the group. <\/p>\n

For more information and confirmation, email Katherine at outercapemsgroup@gmail.com<\/p>\n

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Source: yvonnedesousa.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you know? The Northeast Blizzard of 2026 brought blankets, hunkering down, power outtages and spotty internet. What it didn’t bring was new, creative ideas for an MS humor blog. To be fair, I wasn’t really having a ton of ideas before the blizzard hit but that remains irrelevant. So, on the last day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,15,9,8,13,14,12,10],"class_list":["post-1480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multiple-sclerosis-research","tag-brain-repair","tag-marburg-type-ms","tag-ms","tag-multiple-sclerosis","tag-myelin","tag-neuroregeneration","tag-oligodendrocyte","tag-remyelination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}