Out & About with MS

When I was diagnosed with MS a few weeks ago it was not my first brush with the disease. I happen to be in a line of work where I have customers who have MS and disclose it me as I help them shop for healthy foods and supplements.

Over the years, people have disclosed it to me and I would've never otherwise known they had any disease. Other times, it was painfully clear the customer was suffering from some type of difficulty. In order to better serve my customers, I have researched bits and pieces about MS so I would know what types of products would be in line with their needs and which ones would be detrimental. Since the attacks can affect any part of the brain, eyes, or spine, the symptoms are extremely varied and hard to imagine.

Only now, since my diagnosis, can I really understand the sometimes odd-looking expressions and body language of my MS customers, like spasticity in the limbs. During an attack, or after a severe episode, many of them would exhibit less eye contact, focus, and motor coordination. It was hard to understand the changes they would go through. I especially never knew exactly how to interact with them since just last week they were walking and talking pretty normally. I didn't want to overreact or condescend, but it was clear that sometimes they needed help with simple things, like putting a vitamin bottle back on the shelf.

I try to imagine now if I were going through an episode. Immediately, I feel great admiration for them for going out and shopping. I think of how nice it must have been for them to come back and see the same friendly person that helped them many times before, which makes me want to try harder to be patient and spend time with them even though I'm usually super-busy at work.

One day I will most likely find myself in the same state and I think of how much I will depend on someone else to help me shop, read labels, compare prices, and pay for my loot. I will need to extend great trust in a very vulnerable state, to complete strangers.

If you run into a disabled person in public who seems to be struggling with something, even if that person cannot make eye contact or does not directly respond to your offer, I think it is a good idea to help them out. Even the most independent and capable of able-bodied people need help sometimes and do not know how to ask for it, or do not know exactly how to accept it, but appreciate it nonetheless. It could make their day.