Short Arm Sean

This is Wednesday.....Shot Day. What I mean is this is the day that I give my wife her weekly injection. A 3 inch needle that has to go all the way into her leg muscle.

It was 4 years ago that Jennifer started feeling like something was not quite right. Problems with her eyes were followed by numbness in her face. After many tests the diagnoses was in. Multiple Sclerosis. I remember thinking what the heck is Multiple Sclerosis and how long does my wife have to live? The good news - this disease is not terminal. The bad news - this disease is progressively debilitating and has no cure.

The last 4 years have been filled with ups and downs as we journey with this disease. The amazing thing to me is that the way Jen conducts herself. To watch her, you would never know anything is wrong. She still struggles with the periodic attacks of MS - the numbness in arms and legs, weakness and fatigue and the definite need to identify the location of nearby bathrooms. With all of this going on, my amazing wife lives her life as though nothing is wrong.

Early on, Jennifer made the determination that she wasn't going to let this thing get the best of her. After all, she was the mom of 3 young kids who need her to be there and wife to a husband who can't even find his shoes without her. After the initial diagnoses, came the offer of support groups for dealing with the depressing emotional side of this. Jennifer laughed at the idea of sitting around with a bunch of people and wallowing in sorrow over how unfortunate she was to be stricken with this thing. My wife quickly built a bridge and got over it! Her attitude was "Why should I feel sorry for myself? At least I don't have a brain tumor!" (Which was what the doctors initially feared.)

So tonight I will stick a needle in my wife's leg and tomorrow she will feel like she has the flu. Also tonight my wife will tuck her kids in bed, kiss her husband goodnight and tomorrow she will get the family off to school and work. Yeah, I'd say we have a great life!