You have MS!? I have MS!

[Ojibajo]

I just posted a nice long update and it disappeared. Crazy internet gremlins!

So I'll share something from my day at work instead.

I work for a federally funded college-prep program at a university. We go into high school and middle schools and provide pre-college advising activities and resources to students in grades 6-12.

This summer (I'm laid off in the summers.) My boss is having a two week summer day camp. A parent stopped into the office to drop her daughters registration packet and I noticed that she had a cane, but didn't think anything of it. So she and I and our receptionist/secretary start talking about the weather. I asked her how it was outside and she said, "Very Nice".  We started discussing how miserable hot it was outside on Sunday and Monday (In the 90s) and just as I was going to say how hard the heat is for me due to MS she said, "Well I have MS so the hear really effects me."

I literally about bounced out of the seat I was sitting in and excitedly said, "You have MS?! I have MS!"  You would have thought that we were talking about dessert. "You love chocolate cake?! I love chocolate cake!" It was one of my biggest dork moments. We joked about how excited that I was and started chatting about MS related stuff. It was so weird, yet refreshing to talk to another person outside of the computer who also has MS and actually understands.

[ccorina]

i wish I knew people in person too.  I live in Saskatchewan which has one of the highest rates of Ms in the world - about 340 persons per 100,000.  that means there are about 1,000 in my little city alone!  and yet when i spoke to the Ms society she said they stopped support groups because there was no interest.  I haven't meet another m s er yet just "oh my (insert relative here) has Ms" which I get all the time!

Corina

[sandythegeek2]

Sounds like there is a real need for MS support groups with open format gatherings during evenings and weekends in our local communities.

I used to work for united cerebral palsy and they had parent meetings once a month to help the parents of disabled children get together to help each other. It was great. There was usually some form of an agenda to bring in a speaker or just have food and fun. There was always plenty of time to chat and enjoy.

My youngest daughter was diagnosed with mild CP when she was a baby and I found it really helpful.

Maybe some of you that have been diagnosed with MS can work with a local church and organize meetings like this. We had ours at local churches that some of the parents went to. You could put an ad in the paper.

If any of you decide to try this, you need to give it time to grow. People are known to be apprehensive at first.

[Jacksmom516]

That is so funny -  I was in Walmart of all places this past weekend and a random stranger walked up to me because I use a Bioness system and with the heat at 90+  I had on shorts.  She wanted to chat about it - how did I like it, did it work, etc..... She asked why I use it and I told her well I have MS - she had the same reaction as you did!  She has MS and had been dx'd for 5 years.  Strange how people just pop up that are in the same boat as you are!

There are support groups where I live but they tend to meet at 11:00 AM and I work so they are not much help -  

[Ojibajo]

Oh FYI in my original post the word "hear" should be "heat" but I guess you all figured that out by now. :)

[Guitar_grrrl]

Hahaha!  I love these encounters!  My own live support group has some fun members, but the "serendipity factor" just adds more fun to it!

[Ojibajo]

I did check out an MS support group that they started here that meets once a month, but it is really more like a class. The people don't really interact. They bring in guest speakers and talk about meds and studies. It's interesting but I would rather have some sort of camaraderie and meet others who I can relate to regarding this. It's been a pretty lonely ride.

[sandythegeek2]

That is really nice you found an MS friend to have in person!  

I wonder if there are MS support groups all around.

[SarahL2491]

perhaps you made her day also!

[Dagun]

LOL that is so cute :), ofcourse it is always nice meeting peoble that understand.

My best,
Dagun