Standing for what you believe in

Standing for what you believe in
Regardless of the odds against you
and the pressure that tears at your resistance
means courage

Keeping a smile on your face
When inside you feel like dying
For the sake of supporting others
means strength

Stopping at nothing
And doing what's in your heart
You know is right
means determination

Doing more than is expected,
To make another's life a little more bearable
Without uttering a single complaint
means compassion

Helping a friend in need
No matter the time or effort
To the best of your ability
means loyalty

Giving more than you have
And expecting nothing
But nothing in return
means selflessness

Holding your head high
And being the best you know you can be
When life seems to fall apart at your feet
Facing each difficulty with the confidence
That time will bring you better tomorrow's
And never giving up,  means confidence

Author: Oscar Wilde

Reason, Season or Lifetime

Who Are The People With MS
 

We are your parents, your children, your brothers and sisters; we are the person down the street; we are that lady or fellow who may walk a little 'funny' at the grocery store. We are the people that you "tsk, tsk" over because we might look "too good" to use a handicapped parking space. We are the folks who may not be able to get out to the Church or Temple every weekend; we are your peers; we are human beings.

We are the face of Multiple Sclerosis. A face that is nearly every ethnicity; that comes from nearly every country, that does not discriminate by social standing or class or financial or educational background or language or religion. We are both able to walk unassisted and use canes and walkers and wheelchair users; we jog and swim and partake in sports; we are housebound, we use scooters; we need respirators. We are everything in between. We are visually impaired and we are not. We are at every level of physical ability.

Of course, we "look so good" while we're doing it. We hear that phrase every day of our lives. Sometimes that phrase is meant as a compliment and sometimes it is meant to hurt or meant to shame us into doing something of which we may not be currently capable. We may be able to do that something tomorrow, though, or next week; Multiple Sclerosis is like that. We are like that.

Some of us are hearing impaired; yet all of us
occasionally have people talk louder to us. "HOW ARE YOU D-O-I-N-G????" they'll scream, speaking to us as though we were either hearing or intellectually impaired. "YOU LOOK SO G-O-O-D!!!!"

Of course we do. Thank you very much. We are, in fact, the very best looking people in the handicapped community. We have secret beauty pageants every year, to decide which of our number is the absolute best-looking. Billy Crystal emcees, as his character Fernando; "..and you look MAHVELOUS my dear; absolutely M-A-H-V-E-L-O-U-S..."

We are brave. We are fragile. We want to live, and we want to end it all. We look for support and we want to stand alone. We are Every person. We are the People with Multiple Sclerosis. We are People, Just Like You....