Newbies new diagnosed. An obvious position to be in and rather self-explanatory, but the big question is when does it end? Is there a time when I am not a newbie, when am I something else, when do I start to just live with Relapsing-Remitting ms (RRms)?
There is no timeline, and there is no set date. A newbie can be a person with a new diagnosis, or it can be "YOU". Diagnosed for a time, but still in denial and not coping with your condition, not moving forward with starting Disease-Modifying Therapy (DMT), not adapting to your new normal. I have a friend who would not let go of her pre-Diagnosis(dx(dx) lifestyle, kept partying hard, drinking the usual amounts. She is Australian,so it was a lot. Today she is permanently using a mobility aid and her once very nice legs are no more. She did start her DMT early, but it only does so much. I have another friend who when I first met her took Interferon Beta. She did not like the needles, did not think she was getting cured and stopped taking any form of DMT. I tried and tried to explain to her that it was not a cure, it slowed things down, she would not listen, she stopped her DMT. Again, today, she is permanently a wheelchair user and hating her life.
I understand that there may be some fear of going on a DMT, side-effects and the like, but they are the best option that we have right now. Over the many years of ms being medically defined, nobody has been cured. Disease modified and slowed down, but not cured. It does take a little time, it is slightly confronting to realize this. "YOU" like me have this condition and will have it until the day that we pass. I am sorry, that is our reality, and nobody, as yet can change this.
Take a deep breath, shed a tear, be a little sad, I still do after twenty plus years. Stand up straight, pull your shoulders back and accept this. Look for and keep looking for ways that "YOU" can make your life better, more fulfilling. Remember, as a mother, somebody is watching "YOU", go out of your way to give them a great example as to how somebody with RRms can live and thrive. RRms may not directly affect them, but perhaps there children or grandchildren. Would "YOU" rather have your family remember "YOU" as a determined, smart, resilient person rather than a memory to be pitied? Our RRms affects much more than merely us. It is up to "YOU" to pull yourself together. Accept the reality of what has happened to us and stride forward onto our ms life path.
RRms is in our lives now, and will be forevermore. We have to come to terms with that it will not go away no matter how much we wish. Give yourself a great life, despite it, and it does not have to be all bad.
Royce (the ms writer)
have a really really good day
