What does MS look like?
For some, MS can be extremely debilitating. Symptoms or disease progression, can affected mobility and for some people, they may require the assistance of a mobility aid such as a walking stick, crutch, walking frame, scooter or wheelchair. Drop foot is another symptom due to weakness where an AFO or leg/foot brace may be recommended.
For some, MS can be very invisible to the point you wouldn’t even know unless the person disclosed their diagnosis to you. Just because you can’t see it, does not mean the person isn’t struggling or dealing with multiple symptoms. You cannot see nerve damage but boy oh boy can the body feel it. Spasms, tremors, electric shocks, feeling of bugs crawling on your skin, incontinence…. the list can go on.
MS is a very intrusive disease, and it is said that no two people have it exactly the same. It can be very stressful and planning can sometimes be daunting for people living with MS. Things like hot weather, or stressful events can sometimes trigger symptoms to be worse.
So if one day you see that person using a mobility aid, and the next day they are walking unassisted, don’t assume they are better, they may just be having a better day than usual.
Remember, there is no cure, but we live in hope that one day there will be.
Cover photo by Andrea Piacquadio:
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