THE MAGAZINE / HEALTH – Life with the colors of Multiple Sclerosis

Life with the colors of Multiple Sclerosis

by Katherine Chouli

In life play with all colors 

When I was young, I remember my art teachers telling me:

1. Put all the colours on your palette before you start drawing and develop them as you wish.

2. But remember: The dark and earthy colours always to be used at the bottom. 

This applies in life too. I would advise you not to be afraid to play with all the colours. Otherwise, your life is going to be monotonous, without colour contrasts or interest. But use the earthy ones at the bottom and the bright ones high above! 

This is how the daily life of a person with MS goes: You may wake up and have a rough day. You may experience different kinds of pain, feel dizzy, or feel “inexcusably” very tired. You may also have a weak memory or have blare eyesight. As a result, you may gradually be forced to spend more and more time taking care of yourself-physically and mentally- giving up or delaying to carry out your daily tasks or the goals you had set. 

In other words, a person with MS must learn to adjust and accept the new reality. The Multiple Sclerosis takes time from your life (seeing doctors, having medical tests, physiotherapies, working out or resting) and costs money (Many times with frustration and sadness I have said “Damn, instead of spending my money on shopping therapy, going to the hairdressers’ or going on holidays with my husband and daughter, I have to spend it on doctors and treatments again”) But…MS doesn’t stop your life! There’s always something more you can do! As long as you are alive, you can feel, understand, enjoy, give and take, even if you are the one who spends his or her life being weary in a room with caretakers, your parents, or other members of your family. Obviously… you still love and you are still loved!

And remember: When you stop feeling fear…you will be calm. This will be your strongest weapon. It will define your every action and take you much further than you can imagine.

The meaning of connection

MS CONNECTIONS DAY – 30th MAY 2020-2022

March 2016, forty-nine (49) days after the birth of my precious daughter, I woke up with blurry eyesight/vision on my right eye, and two days later I was informed that I have Multiple Sclerosis. Until then, I hadn’t met anyone with the same condition. I didn’t know what was happening to me at all. After a few months, I had the chance to meet a co-patient during a trip organized by the Multiple Sclerosis Club of Chios, which is located near my house. At first, I started going there, with hesitation and reservation. I wasn’t sure if our arranged gatherings for coffee at the club or taking part in the club’s actions would do me good. It didn’t take long for me to start calling it “my second home.” As time went by, the members increased. The reason? When something really difficult happens to us, we have the need to talk to somebody who understands us and feels exactly what we are experiencing. Moreover, we go hand in hand; we support each other as much as we can. This SHARING and BEING TOGETHER gives us STRENGHT, RELIEF, and CONSOLATION. Many of us say to each other: “My family loves me, but I can talk to you and you can understand me!”. This human approach has created a lot of new friendships with a strong foundation. All of us-more or less- need to be close to each other. Even if each one of us is different, we stand for each other. We care about our co-patients, and we give from our heart and soul what we can.

Katherine Chouli
www.facebook.com/Swmateiopollaplissklirinsisxiou

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Published: July 31st, 2020 | Last Edited: July 31st, 2020 | THE MAGAZINE | Magazine’s Archive | Category’s Archive | Network’s Archive | Ελληνικά |

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