Knowledge is power. Nowhere is that more true than in trying to live with MS. Our daughter recently received a 100% on her presentation on Multiple Sclerosis for her Honors Biology class at high school. The year before her cousin also received an A for a similar project on MS.
Hey, it’s not Harvard School of Medicine, but it is two kids speaking with knowledge and personal experience to a class of schoolmates and friends. That yields 40+ teenagers who in turn have the potential to share a ripple effect.
People with MS (and their families) have to endure such a range of ignorance it is maddening at times. On one extreme is the proverbial, “… but you look so good…” to the other end of the spectrum, (asked of the caregiver, of course) “… are you sure ALL she has is MS, she seems so bad off…”. If the MS doesn’t kill you the misinformation will.
Lacking a media ‘poster child’ and infinitely unpredictable, MS may as well be an urban legend to most people.
Little steps to educate the immediate world around your family become so critical. Mass media presentations and programs like MS Walk and such may hit the mark for some. Too often though people in their busy lives hear only what they want to hear.
To be effective at the level you need as a family trying to live with MS, education requires communication with passion.
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