January 16 - Human Connection

Medic by Lynne-Marie

Journaling:
I wish that I had this kind of connection when I was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Social Media; what a game changer. While there are some bot accounts and some shady things out there, finding a community of other people with MS has really helped me in the past few years. Honestly I never thought about finding this “community” until 2021 when I seemed to start going downhill. The very first account I found was Ardra Shephard’s, “Tripping on Air; My Trip Through Life With MS”. She takes an honest (and often humorous) look at MS and the struggles that go along with it. One of the very first things I read from her was a series of photos “I see you looking” where she posts photos of herself using her walking aids and the people passing by who are staring. That’s exactly why I resonated with her at the time. I had just started using a walking aid and I felt like everyone was looking. But I saw her joke about it and be so upfront that it helped me. From there I found a lot more accounts where others talk candidly about their experiences with MS. It helps me laugh, find comfort, and know that I’m not alone. While I don’t post often, I do post occasionally about my own experiences, hoping that in some way I can repay this feeling back to someone else who may find my post and say “hey, thanks” as I did with Ardra’s posts.