Multiple Scare-osis

A friend revealed to us not too long ago that she has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Even if I hardly knew anything about the disease, it sounded serious and debilitating. The fact that the medical condition began with the word "multiple" made it sound worse. She had just lost her mother to cancer and is trying to live through her grief while raising her two daughters.

She explained to us that MS attacked the central nervous system, and that when she had these attacks, her whole body ached in almost every fiber. She would sometimes miss work because of that. She said there's no cure yet for MS, but that she does undergo an MS treatment that helps lessen the intensity of the attacks.

Her greatest fear was that her MS would progress into a severe stage that it would make her blind. Blind to the world around her, blind to the beauty of her growing daughters.

We asked her if she followed a special MS diet. Knowing how careless she can be with what she eats, we already knew she would say no. She ate whatever there was in the fridge. She hardly cooked. She's a big fan of our dinuguan, though.

We admired her for her positive attitude. She went about her work like any normal person would. She wasn't one who wailed and complained about her illness. I felt guilty about my hypochondriac tendencies. I should count my blessings as well as my calories.

(Photos shot in Boonton, New Jersey)