I’ve been listening to all wrong people this past year. And it was sinking down in my soul and going against my own grain taking me down the road of severe disability.
And it was prayer from the ‘heavy weights’ that helped turn the ship around.
A few weeks after requesting them, I stumbled across a small nondescript line in an MS newsletter about an online course being offered through the University of Melbourne, Australia. They were doing research on how lifestyle impacts the quality of life for a MSer. It sang my song! Embracing a new lifestyle was the number one factor that got the ball rolling and brought me this far. Life anew with MS isn’t near as bad as I was led to believe. But after taking the course I saw missing pieces that were contributing to progression.
So re-acquainting myself with updated evidence, coupled with my rock solid faith has restored my hope and aligns perfectly with who I am and what I’m about. It has given me back a mindset of hope which is where the real battle needs to be won, regardless of the EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) number.
I’ve always been active and am dizzying to those I share the complex with but this summer I did some new things. I joined an MS Dragon boat team which has been so exciting and signed up for a fall course at UVic. I continue to do floor exercises three times a week and go to the Neuro gym twice a month (in summer, weekly in winter). I was in the lake for the first time in probably ten years this summer too and went on two mini holidays. I’m always active in my faith community and with the cooler weather I can paint again (acrylics dry too fast in the heat) and plan to get back to writing, my winter hobby. And to think I was preparing to grind to a halt!
So big kudos to the University of Melbourne for inspiring me to further refine the lifestyle choices I have already established and again aligning myself with my deepest beliefs that have already brought me so far.
So thank you, thank you first and foremost to God who gave us George Jelinek, the University of Melbourne and the many others who invested themselves to give us the tools to spark bright futures once again.
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