MS is a chronic medical condition, but the symptoms can ebb and
flow. Usually, this lack of a traceable pattern or predictability makes no
sense to anyone – even the MSer.
One day, we may look hearty and healthy. We may tackle huge
projects without suffering any immediate ill effects. Another day, merely
rising and walking and dressing for the day seems like tall orders.
Most of us slug it out the best we can, every moment of
every day. But once in a while, it’s OK to take a down day. Everyone has to phone in sick, every now and then. MSers know this all too well.
Sometimes you just hit the wall, proverbially or otherwise.
For those of us living with multiple sclerosis (or nearly
any long-time chronic health condition), even an extended period of positive
and entertaining activities can fairly do us in. Fatigue can arise after good
times or stressful stretches.
American philosopher
and author Henry David Thoreau put it this way:
“’Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.”
Hey, even warriors need their rest. And grabbing some
much-needed downtime can be an investment in the future.
I’m not a napper. Even the shortest catnap can trash me for
the day. But a few moments of peace and quiet can recharge my system
remarkably. Of course, sometimes it takes more than a few moments …
Frequently, I can
tell when I’m overdue and overspent.
I start stumbling, dropping items, and forgetting details.
Eventually, the daily vertigo grows worse, and the full-body fatigue shuts me
down. In the worst cases, long-time nagging MS symptoms (such as optic neuritis
and tingling) creep back to the fore.
It’s time to take a
sick day – or at least, a few hours.
If we don’t bother, or if we forget, we just might get sick.
Maybe that’s nature’s way of making us stop and rest – before things grow a
whole lot worse.
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