Friends of MS - Multiple Sclerosis Blog

?A friend will help you move,? goes the saying, ?A true friend will help you move? a body?. When it comes to needing help moving something, multiple sclerosis can be ?a body?.

Friends come and friends go in this world of ours. With the advent of social media it?s easier to keep in touch or to reconnect with friends who are no longer in our vicinity or when things just keep us from getting out much anymore. Our blog community has offered virtual friendships that, in some cases, developed into true camaraderie.

For too many of us we have seen friends fade (or dash) away with the onset or the progression of our MS. I feel fortunate to count many, many new friends whom I would not have met but for the commune of our condition.

Last year, when I was speaking at a large event in Seattle, it came to me while on stage and mid-speech that all but two of the thousand-odd gathered in the convention center ballroom hadn?t known me before my diagnosis. That is not to say that I lost all but two compatriots. Many friends have stuck by me ? even in the difficult times when I felt it best to pull away from some of those closest to me ? through the toughest of times.

True friends, both new and old, can offer so much to a person?s life ? especially a person living with a chronic illness that can make us feel isolated at various and inconvenient times. Deadwood friends (as a dear one calls them) simply suck life from the healthy parts of us and weigh us down in the midst of a storm.

These ?friends?, like the arboreal waste for which they are named, must be trimmed away from the healthy tree so we may grow and live fully.

Since the end of September, Caryn and I have been living in the guest room of some very dear friends (?The Special Neighbors? we?ve come to call them) in advance of our sift to new digs. From a three bedroom/2 bath we downsized into our mother-in-law apartment with a garage full of boxes and from there into a guestroom and a crammed storage locker and now we are down to four suitcases, two carry-ons and a dog crate just a week before our flight.

We have experienced nearly three months of going away gatherings which have left us feeling ever grateful. It?s been like ninety days of Christmas to be honest (and my body is beginning to feel and show the effects!).

Friendships ? real friendships ? are hard to come by in the best of times. Making new friends and holding on to old relationships is more difficult since MS. I?ve learned to cherish those who cherish me, to love those who return the love and to sever ?road sign? friends (?One-Way? & ?Dead End?).

As we head into the holiday season with its gatherings and expressions, I thought I?d offer a platform for all of us to discuss how MS has changed our friends, how we look at friendship and learn best practices from one another. That?s something else good friends do; teach without preaching.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers

Trevis

You can also follow me via our Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter, and in our group on MS Connection.org. Also, check out our bi-monthly MS blog for the United Kingdom, look for our very special new monthly blog for the National MS Society, and don?t forget to check out TrevisLGleason.com.

Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/trevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms/friends-of-ms/

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