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Multiple sclerosis is sometimes called a “snowflake disease” because no two cases are exactly alike. But the one moment we all share is the gut punch that was delivered when our doctors confirmed that MS indeed was the cause of our previously unexplained symptoms. 

MS. A chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. 

I don't know about you, but at first I sat in silence after the formal diagnosis was delivered, staring at the books that lined the shelves across from my desk. Dumbfounded. My mind was spinning, trying to make sense of what I just heard. 

Then I sobbed, uncontrollably crying the moment I realized that MS was not just a common cold I would get over. It wasn’t a broken bone that would heal within a few weeks. I have MS, an unpredictable illness I will be living with for the rest of my life.

The sobbing eventually stopped, not because I was all cried out, but because I knew I couldn’t live the rest of my life in this saddened state. I knew I needed to keep moving forward.

Did you catch that? 

I didn’t say I needed to “get over it,” “be thankful it wasn’t anything worse,” or “stop feeling sorry for myself.”  

I realized I needed to keep moving forward — carrying everything I had learned, lived, encountered, and experienced up to that day, along with all the fear, pain, anxiety, and uncertainty that came with my MS diagnosis. Move forward with each second, each minute, and each moment in time. 

Trust me. It took some time to figure out what this would mean and how I could make it happen. Living with something such as MS was all new to me. And on some levels, now 25 years since my diagnosis, there are new MS-related challenges I'm facing that relegate me back to rookie status.

But the lessons I've learned from others and taught myself through lived experiences still hold true when dealing with, living with, and moving forward despite this disease. Here are the Top 9 that have helped me the most.

1. Time neither stands nor sits still. Neither should I, or I will truly be left behind. Make myself of tomorrow proud of what I did today.

2. I did not make it this far to give up now.

3. Remember that it’s a “snowflake disease.” Stop comparing how I’m doing with my MS to how others are doing with theirs.

4. Always strive to do my best for where I am and how I’m doing today.

5. I had no control over getting diagnosed with MS, but I owe it to myself to take control of how I manage and treat it, and how I respond to the challenges it presents.

6. It’s not all on my shoulders to manage this disease alone. Reach out and get the support I need from friends, family, and healthcare professionals.

7. Celebrate all the victories over MS, no matter how small, whether it’s buttoning all the buttons on my shirt or walking to the mailbox without stumbling.

8. Stay in the game and don’t get too discouraged when it feels like MS is winning the battle. Remember: even Michael Jordan missed 50.3 percent of the shots he took throughout his career.

9. Always be your biggest fan and know there are people who are cheering for you to succeed and others who are looking to you for inspiration.

Again, these are the Top 9, and there are so many more thoughts that motivate me every day. How about you? What tips and thoughts have worked for you that will help the rest of us living with MS continue moving forward?