Happy Father's Day

It's Father's Day.

I lost my dad in 1996. He had a host of medical problems, but one thing he wasn't diagnosed with was MS. When I was diagnosed, and did all kinds of reading about it, I became pretty well convinced that my father had it, though. He had so many symptoms that are consistent with MS.

He fell, quite a bit. He had the corset pain. He couldn't walk very well. He slept a lot. He had balance issues. He got headaches. One thing that's puzzling, I don't recall him having heat intolerance. That's not to say it wasn't there, it may have been because he was one tough guy.

Of course, there's no way of knowing whether he had it, it's just my gut feeling. They say MS isn't hereditary, but that it can run in families. If you can explain that to me, I'm willing to try to understand. I had a cousin on my dad's side who passed away from MS complications in 2001. Is there a connection? Maybe. Or, it may be that my dad had a big family, and it's normal in that sample size.

Having MS is one thing. Knowing that someone who loves you desperately wants you to feel better, to actually be better is really hard some days. You want to be better for you, for them. You want it to be easier for them, for you. You don't want to disappoint them. Or yourself. Yet, somehow, you persevere, for yourself, for them, because really, is there an alternative?

So, here's to the dads who tough it out, either having MS or having someone they love have MS. Neither road is a smooth one, and we appreciate you all.

Happy Father's Day