Since April 2019, I have been learning how to adapt to my new world and way of life. This is the month and year that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This is the month and year when many things changed and I left my neurologist office with numerous questions going through my head.  Questions like, What in the world is multiple sclerosis? What will my everyday life look like now?! How do I explain this to my children?! I had so many questions and uncertainties.  Fast forward to now, four years later, and some of these questions have been answered, and some are still somewhat unknown. 

Of course, four years later I have somewhat of a grasp on what MS is. After I was diagnosed, the neurologist provided lots of information but I knew I would also need to take the time to try to do plenty of research — on multiple sclerosis in general, as well multiple sclerosis in the Black community. I found awesome information online and offline.

Explaining my diagnosis to my children was tough. At the time, my daughter was 7 years old, and my son was 16 years old. It was hard to really explain to them what was going on. They saw Mommy looked fine and couldn’t really comprehend. But providing the basics and keeping things simple helped to explain things. As they have gotten older it has become somewhat easier, and they are awesome helpers when I’m having those more challenging days. 

My typical day consists of waking up around 5 a.m. (hoping I got some rest the night before since insomnia kicks my butt most nights), and going to the gym for about an hour to an hour and a half. I head back home and get my daughter ready for school and let the dog out. Once she is gone, I make my smoothie and sign in to work. During the day, I also do laundry, clean, and make dinner. I’m off work at 5 p.m. and then depending on what day of the week it is, we may have cheerleading, or soccer. 

What I have learned about tackling MS and my everyday life is to take it day by day. This mindset helps me get through. Some days it is too difficult to complete all these tasks. Some days I wake up and I cannot make it to the gym, and some days I cannot make it to my desk to sign in to work. I am fortunate to work from home and have an amazing family I can lean on when I’m not feeling the best. 

These four years have taught me to listen to my body and be honest. I can only do what I can do, ya know? If I don’t take care of myself, I won’t be able to take care of my children. Delegating tasks to family members and having my kids pitch in also helps me tackle the days when I’m struggling. I had to realize having to lean on family or not being able to complete everything on my to do list doesn’t make me a bad person or mom. I shouldn’t feel guilty for this.

Overall, dealing with MS on a day-to-day basis will look different. I take it one day at a time, listen to my body and lean on family when needed. We are still amazing and worthy even on those challenging days when we need to stay in bed or can only make it through half the day.