Everything is just fine

So I was thinking and that usually gets me into trouble... but this time its meant to be helpful... I read this last year.. it popped into my email and I found it interesting only because I thinks its so true when you see someone with an illness that is on the inside and not visible... It really fits Mike to a tee... as he would rather die than let anyone know how he feels... he pushes himself through the day and acts like everything is fine... damn anyone who want to make his day one tiny bit easier... so anyway after a little internet searching I found it again.... Thought it would be some interesting reading for those of you who wonder "How's Mike doing?"

In dealing with MS, it seemed sometimes that it was the people closest to me who knew least about my daily struggles. I needed a way to help them understand that even though I may look physically "normal" that there was often physical pain that went unmentioned and emotional needs that went unmet.
With a close group of friends I had a small get-together. Everyone had to bind their feet with rope, so that they could move, but they had a hard time balancing, much like people with MS. Then we put five to ten pound weights on each arm, because with the fatigue that's how heavy your arms can feel with MS. Then we took rubber bands and wrapped them around fingers and hands, because that is how it feels for a person with MS that deals with spasticity. Then the group attempted small everyday tasks-- like button a shirt, tie their shoes, write a note, etc. "Now," I said, "try to think of the physical pain that accompanies all of this. You may look at me everyday and not see rope around my feet, or rubber bands on my fingers, but that is often how I feel." By the end of the session my friends were in tears-- they finally understood what it's like to live with MS.
I shared this idea with an instructor of mine at the local university a few years back who taught a class called 'The psychology of disability'. After hearing the idea, he shared it with a few students that were presenting on the topic of MS. The students did a very similar experiment that allows the other students the experience to know, if only for a moment, what it is like to live with MS. And now, even when I'm at work and hear "Wow, but you look so normal! I would've never guessed you had MS!", I calmly reply, "Comeere, and let me put this rubber band around your fingers!"
Jennifer Leon
.

.

Here is the link where I finally retrieved this from-- It was a winner in a MS leaders of Hope contest....and a winner in my book too because a year later I still remembered it.... Jennifer wherever you are thank you for sharing~

.
http://www.msleadersofhope.com/mslohProject/msloh.portal