Woman meets the challenges of daily living
By DORIS WILLIAMS VARNELL Member of MS Lone Star Chapter

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease with no known cause or cure. It is now known there is a genetic link, but sometimes even when a person has the gene(s) known to be involved in MS, their gene(s) are not "turned on," and they don't develop MS.

A person is usually diagnosed with MS when they are in their 20s or 30s. However, now children as young as two years of age are being diagnosed, probably because of more diagnostic tools and awareness of symptoms. It is known MS attacks the myelin that surrounds a nerve. The body thinks that myelin is a foreign object and should be removed.

Problems result after the myelin around the nerve is partially, or totally, destroyed. The loss of myelin around nerves causes the body to function similar to a toaster that only works occasionally, because of a frayed electrical cord.

The medical researchers have not found a way to replace the myelin yet. Many people are diagnosed with MS because of damage to the optic nerves. Their vision problems can cause temporary or permanent blindness.

Treatment with steroids always helps improve function, but function never returns to 100 percent of the previous level. The steroids also have potential long-term side effects. Steroids could reduce the body's potassium and calcium levels. Loss of potassium can cause fatigue and loss of calcium can cause bone loss.

I developed my own "health prevention technique."

To help the potassium level, I take a banana and cut it lengthwise before I place it in a bowl.

To help the calcium level, I put 2-3 scoops of ice cream on top of the banana.

This "medicinal mixture" should be consumed at least once a day when on steroids. If I have difficulty swallowing the mixture, I add chocolate syrup, pineapple tidbits, and/or pecans to make it go down easier.

In the months after my diagnosis, my condition had ups and downs, and it was also affected by the stress in my personal life at that time. I developed other problems in addition to the balance and walking problems.

I had a total hearing loss in one ear that lasted a few months, occasional blurred and/ or double vision, and problems with fatigue.

Some symptoms never go away. I have constant stiffness in my legs caused by spasticity (tighter muscles); neuropathy (burning and tingling) in my feet, and numbness in my fingertips. I always have an usual amount of fatigue (without exercise), and if I get too hot, I feel exhausted.

I have used a wheelchair off and on since my diagnosis. After I came home from the hospital in 1991, one of my neighbors said it was sad I had to use a wheelchair. I told her using a wheelchair was a good thing, because without it I would be restricted to one location.

Humor, knowledge, logic, sharing information with others, volunteering with the National MS Society, and spending time with family make my life tolerable and enjoyable.

I have learned that sitting on a "pity pot" gives a person a sore behind. Friends and family may also regard the person as a "pain in the behind." I prefer to focus on things I can do, rather than the things that are difficult for me. I now share my life with a man I met at a MS support group meeting. It helps to have a friend who truly understands my problems, is encouraging rather than critical.

I am bothered by businesses with narrow aisles and/or aisles crowded with merchandise; thresholds that aren't flat; heavy doors that are difficult to open; older, small restrooms that prevent the stall door from closing when a person uses a wheelchair, inadequate curb cuts that prevent wheelchair access from street parking, inadequate handicap parking spaces for vans; and physician offices with small examining rooms and lack of accessible examination tables.

In an ideal world, all homes would have universal design so any person could comfortably function. Minimally, homes should be "visitable," without steps, with wider doorways and with accessible bathrooms.

I also question whether the temporary disability hanging parking placards are only used by the person to whom it was issued. However, I know there are many disabling conditions that aren't obvious, just as mine was when I was newly diagnosed. When I see a young person running from a vehicle because it is raining, I question their need for handicap parking, especially in crowded parking lots during the holiday season.