"My MS is worse then yours"

Hey all!

This post is going to be a little bit of a vent about my husbands MS.

But first a little brag -- I GOT MY FIRST ETSY ORDER LAST NIGHT!!! WOO HOO!!

OK back to the vent.

At this point in my life, I know a lot of people who have ailments or health issues. Heck, I have them.  However, the amount of time people take to complain about it, I find to be like they are grasping for sympathy votes.

I feel like my husband is in the middle of the spectrum of people around me who complain, so I kinda feel like we are not allowed to complain. (I think I've touched on this before in a past blog too).

It's hard for me to explain how I feel about this. I am by no means belittling others health issues, but i do feel that others sometimes take the begging for sympathy a little too far.

When I feel like others don't get what my husband goes through, I hear the voice of a friend who laughed one time  & made the joke that I sounded like a little kids saying "My MS is worse then yours is."  It was funny, but it is true and that's how I feel sometimes. Which is another reason why I try to not complain for my husband so much.

People often tell him to talk to others he knows who have MS....but his IS worse, I feel. I hate to say it. The other people he knows who have MS work 2 full time jobs, or don't work  but can take vacations across the country. He can't do any of that.

My husband can't take a day to the beach, then rest up for the next day or 2 just to continue on with his life. He can't walk from the car to the beach and sit in the sun for more then 5 minutes without being put in a paralyzed state and can't walk.  He would kill to be able to spend ONE day at the beach with his kids.  (I recently took the girls to the lake. I asked if he felt he could do it for an hour, as long as he was in the water, and he sadly shook his head 'No')

My husband can't work a full time job anymore. His body just won't allow it. But he still struggles every day he does work, to make it through that 3-5 hrs, just to help bring in a little money to the table... And typically he collapses as soon as he walks through the door. But then  an hour later, he is pushing himself to TRY to take his kids to the park even if only for 15 minutes... And typically he collapses as soon as he walks through the door.

My husband had off work today. He was home all day, and helped me clean up the house, because we were expecting guests.  We needed to make a few trips to the store - I went each time, as he was not feeling up to it. He went to run an errand, to a friends house, and had to rest when he got home because it was too hot out today.  He really wanted to do something with his kids today, so after dinner, we went to get water ice. Then we headed to the pier for a bit to watch the sunset. (all in our same little 2 mile x 2mile town). He proceeded to sit in the car alone, eating his water ice,  while I walked along the river with the girls....because he did too much today. He did a little cleaning, cooked some french fries, and went to a friends house for 30 mins......and that wore him out so much, he couldn't walk 1 block from the car to the river, for a night cap with his family.

So to see people complain about how their day out yesterday, ruined today for them.....kind of upsets me. My husband can't have a DAY out.

Now to move to the other side of the 'who has it worse" spectrum. My mother....permanently disabled and only leaves her home once a week to get her blood taken.  A day where she feels good enough to go grocery shopping, is like a vacation for her.  She can't simply go to a friends house for a little bit or run out for water ice, like my husband can.

My point is.....we all have ailments. A lot of us have diseases that have ruined most of our lives. I just feel that constantly complaining about it,  does not help.  No matter what your situation is, be grateful for the good times and the good days, and keep in mind.........it could ALWAYS be worse. There are people out there WORSE off  then you.