Your Greatest Strength

Last Updated on January 9, 2024 by Cathy

Your greatest strength isn’t measured by the miles but by the mindful moments and choices you make. Whether it’s a short walk, a nourishing snack, or staying positive – each choice you make is a testament to the incredible strength within you.

I just finished wrapping all the Christmas gifts and feel good that it’s done. As I’m sitting here in the silence and darkness of my home except for the twinkling lights on my tree. I started thinking back to when our two sons were little and how they loved Christmas (they’re in their twenties now). I started missing the noise and chaos from our young kids.

My husband and I worked hard to make Christmas magical for them. We would fill our home with many decorations and lights inside and outside of our house. The smell of cookies baking in our oven often filled the air.

Reminiscing

I remember the night light parade float that my husband and boys worked so hard on with the Cub Scouts. Their float was a train all lit up with the scouts riding in the back. It was below freezing that night but it didn’t matter, it was fun watching the little children in awe of the sight. Everyone was so excited when they won first place in the kids’ category.

I also loved visiting the botanical garden night light display. As we stood at the top of the hill it was spectacular looking over the thousands of colorful lights. The whole area was lit up, it was breathtaking. As we headed back down we would stop to warm ourselves near the fire barrel. A vendor with some hot chocolate or hot apple cider would be waiting for us.

Christmas has always been special for me. Even when I was young, my mother, who raised four children by herself, always found a way to get us presents from Santa. We didn’t have a lot of money, I’m not even sure how my mother pulled it off.

Christmas morning I would wake up, running upstairs from my bedroom in the basement. Finding our “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree with presents for me and my siblings. And our stockings, which were actual socks pinned to a hanger from the staircase handrail. Every year it would be filled with a baggie of hard candies with chewy centers and a tangerine at the bottom.

Life is Tough

It’s fun thinking back and reminiscing. Although life hasn’t always been magical for me, it’s been downright hard at times. Our youngest son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on December 5th, 2012. We spent three days in the hospital listening to the nurse telling us what to expect and needed to do. It turned his and our world upside down.

Here it was Christmas and now we had to count every carb from every meal so he would know how much insulin to take. He was in high school and wanted to be like all his friends. Not pricking his finger to test his blood sugar multiple times a day.

Having him diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at 16 brought back memories when I was 15 years old. I went blind in my left eye which turned out to be optic neuritis. My ophthalmologist told me I may have multiple sclerosis (MS) someday. Unfortunately, he was right.

It’s hard living with an autoimmune disease and it’s not fair. I can’t tell you how many times I wondered why me and why my son. Especially when he was lying in a hospital bed in the ICU struggling with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Shh.. don’t tell anyone

I kept my MS a secret from most people for many years, only my family and close friends knew. I didn’t want people to treat me differently or get laid off from my work. Whenever I had a flare I would come up with an excuse, it was the flu, a backache, or my leg hurt.

At times it was hard to hide my MS symptoms. One time my spine was extremely numb and tingling. Every time someone would touch my shoulder pain would go shooting down my spine into my leg. I just wanted to yell at them to stop it but I didn’t say anything.

I also hated all the MS drugs! The injections, the steroids, and even the MRIs. I hated the chemotherapy, sitting in a chair watching the blue liquid flow from the bag into my body. Wondering what the stories were of the other patients around me. Why did I have to get MS? Was I a bad person? Did I do something to deserve this? Why did my son have to get diabetes? Why?

After a horrible flare, I let my coworkers know I had MS. I looked like I had a stroke, the left side of my face was paralyzed, I had double vision, slurred my speech, and couldn’t walk. When I called my neurologist the receptionist said he would see me next week. I was devastated. Why are people with MS always put on the back burner like we don’t matter?

My sister told me I should have gone to the ER and not told them I had MS. She was right. Then medical personnel would have respected me more and attended to me immediately. But scared and beaten down, I was at my lowest point ever.

Don’t Be Intimidated

I’ve always been the type of person who looks on the bright side. I see the cup half full and not half empty. Sure, I’ve spent many moments in despair and wondered if I’d walk again or be able to see again. But having MS has made me a stronger person.

When I was younger I was extremely shy. I always tried to make myself smaller so people wouldn’t see me, to make myself invisible. I felt terrified that I had to speak up. Having MS has made me a stronger person and I learned to stand up for myself and my children.

When I told my neurologist I was going to use “food as my medicine” he started lecturing me. Normally, I would have cowered down and followed his instructions. But not this time. This time I stood up for myself. I didn’t let my neurologist belittle me into staying on this drug that was causing my MS to get worse. – This time I stayed strong and believed in myself.

We all have struggles in our lives. It’s the struggles that make you stronger as a person. I had a friend who was unfortunately diagnosed with MS after I was. However, she immediately gave up hope and pictured her health quickly going downhill.

She did everything her neurologist told her to do and was on many different medications. Yet, she kept getting worse. I tried to tell her about using food as her medicine but she didn’t want to hear it. I watched her body slowly waste away until she was a quadriplegic and unable to breathe on her own. Eventually, her life was cut short and she died in a nursing home. She gave up hope a long time ago and so did her body.

You Are Your Greatest Strength

In your journey to manage MS naturally, recognize that your greatest strength lies in the choices you make for your well-being, from embracing a nutritious diet to staying physically active. It’s important to not give up hope and rely on others to fix all your problems. It’s important to tackle your challenges and believe in yourself. Believe you CAN and WILL get better.

Staying positive is very powerful. If you continue to keep negative thoughts in your head you will begin to believe them. Holding onto negative thoughts is damaging your overall health, it’s time to change.

Changing your diet and lifestyle including your beliefs that you can heal your body is a lot of hard work. And it doesn’t happen overnight. But with your determination and dedication, you should begin to see progress, even if it’s small. Eventually, you will see your symptoms calming down and hopefully reversing.

Amidst the challenges of MS, remember that your greatest strength often emerges from the resilience fostered by adopting positive lifestyle changes and prioritizing self-care. You can do this – You Are An MS Warrior!

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Your Greatest Strength