Sponsor me in the 2005 MS Walk! Why? Read here.
Mini Chips Ahoy cookies with pecans are my new friends. At least, that�s one way to look at it.
I spent part of the morning on the National MS Society website, registering for the April 7 MS Walk. I�m not a huge fan of walkathons, but this one is for a cause I have a personal stake in, so I make an exception.
In the summer of 1996, somewhere between the day I found out I was pregnant and the day I stopped being pregnant, my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The website says that MS is a �chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild such as numbness in the limbs or severe -- paralysis or loss of vision.� She went through a battery of tests that led to her diagnosis because she was experiencing numbness in her arms and legs. Her doctor originally thought she had a brain tumor. I guess it could have been much worse.
She told me only because David made her. She also told Kristy, my stepsister, and Jay, my stepbrother. No one else in my family knows. She didn�t want to worry my grandparents. I�ve spent the past five years editing everything I say at family functions. It�s amazing how often something like that can *almost* come up.
Truthfully, we�ve been very lucky so far. Her symptoms have stayed very mild, and the attacks have been far apart.
This will be the fifth year we�ve done the walk as a team, with Mom as our captain. Even post-surgery, she doesn�t want to miss the chance. It will be a slow walk this year, though. But I feel honored to be able to do it by her side. She�s an awfully courageous woman, my mom.
Walking is hard�we look around at all the people mixed in who are so much worse off than she is, the people on crutches, the people in wheelchairs, the people too sick to walk who come to cheer on their teams, and we wonder�will that be her someday? Will our luck run out before they find a cure? I choose to believe the answer to that question is no. It�s the only way to go on.
I sent out my annual �please pledge me� email this morning to my non-work pledges. I hate doing that. But I hate her disease more, and this gives me the feeling that I�m doing something. So consequently, I ask my friends (but not my family) to part with their hard-earned cash to help the research funds.
(Incidentally, if anyone out there in Diaryland wants to make a pledge for me, you can do that by clicking here. No pressure or anything, but should you have some extra cash you�re trying to find a place to spend, I happily accept any and all donations to the cause.)
In other news, I�m going to the Hasty Pudding Theater with the Boyfriend, his friend Joe, Joe�s �girlfriend� (translation: girl he�s sleeping with this week), the Boyfriend�s mom and some of her real estate buddies. The Boyfriend and I are meeting Joe & co. at Fire + Ice for dinner beforehand. I love Fire + Ice�it�s a fun restaurant, and they have the yummiest bread! I�ve only seen one other Hasty Pudding production, but what could be wrong with college boys in drag? This year�s play is called �Fangs for the Memories.� Ooh--vampire college boys in drag. I�ll share the details tomorrow!
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