It’s Only a Matter of Time – Multiple Sclerosis News Today

There was a time when I didnt have deadlines. Id finally finished academia. No more essays ever!

In theory, I still had seven essays to write. Luckily, those essays could only improve my grade, so I got away with it. But only to a degree. I just scraped by with honors, but hey, now I could legitimately put a BA after my name. Of course, no one does that unless you work in legal, finance, or dentistry!

I knew Id never use it. My degree was in economics, and there was no chance of me employing (finally a Keynesian pun!) a subject I discovered I hated too late. I didnt know where I was headed, but it certainly wasnt the world of economics.

What a breeze with nothing hanging over me! No constant gray cloud of intermittent drizzle.

It was fun for a while, but weirdly, I began to miss the deadlines. I solved that by becoming a journalist. Ive also worked as a TV casting director and a comedy producer. Now MS has brought me full circle by writing for this very prestigious organization. (Im also a forums moderator at Multiple Sclerosis News Today Forums.)

I have deadlines aplenty. But MS saps time like nothing Ive confronted before.

Refill the stapler? That will take one hour, sir. I could ask someone to do it for me, sure, but that feels like giving in. I only relent if I cant find a way around it.

Some things are just ridiculous, though. For example, an eight-hour bathroom break! (OK, once it was 12 hours, but that is another story.) Its in no way exciting, so Ill endeavor to be brief.

MS causes so many problems, and dealing with one leads to another. At some point, these problems coalesce. In my case, they coalesce when I shower.

Its not as bad as it was a few years ago when my shower ate me. Now I have a perfectly adapted bathroom, but combating aspects of MS still consume my time.

To deal with lymphedema, I wear constricting stockings overlaid by constricting bandages. Putting on the stockings is like wrestling angry pythons while the bandages mock my weak and restricted right arm. My able-bodied wife also finds them nearly impossible!

Putting them on and taking them off is hours of work!

Therapists blithely say things like, Take them off at night! Well, that would mean getting out of bed and putting them on, grabbing some breakfast or brunch, and taking them off again before going to bed.

That was a fun day!

A Peristeen anal irrigation system adds at least two hours to my bathroom routine. With a few months of practice, I can now manage it in a tad over an hour. Throw in shaving, actually having a shower, and the time necessary to recover from fatigue, and there you go eight hours.

I said Id be brief! But thats MS for you.

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Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Multiple Sclerosis News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis.

In 1982 John Connor was a stand up, sketch writer & journalist crap at all three he decided whilst watching a man performing with a paper bag on his head that as nobody else was going to write about stand up he would. Comics Papermac 1990. In 2009 John Connor was diagnosed with MS. In 2017 John Connor still produces/directs his own live 27 year old resident topical comedy show at Londons Comedy Store The Cutting Edge. He was also a leading UK Casting Director specialising in comedy including one of the hippest shows Black Books [double BAFTA winning Situation Comedy Award] & for at least a decade the biggest sitcom on British TV My Family. TV & MS was a step too far and we know how hard any step can be. Luckily his satirical show was a built in part time job & with the election of Trump is now in the zeitgeist. John now writes Fall Down Get Up Again an irreverent journey with MS.

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It's Only a Matter of Time - Multiple Sclerosis News Today