Should they ask?
Over the holidays, I see family and friends I haven't seen for a year and there's always the inevitable awkwardness where they are trying to ask me how I feel. Some of the phrasing includes:
"So, how are you feeling?"
"Is everything going OK?"
"You look great - are you doing all right?"
"What happened to all your hair?"
OK, I don't think the last one has to do with multiple sclerosis, but I do tend to blame my male pattern baldness on MS. As I've said before, what good is MS if I can't blame things on it?
I personally like getting these questions. It shows other people are thinking about me and that they care. I want to tell people how I'm doing, and to educate them about this disease. Every additional person that knows a personal MS story is one more person who might raise awareness for the cause.
I guess a lot of it depends on whether the person is close to me or not. If it were my boss, I would not be as thrilled.
I'm curious how other people feel when asked about MS.
Comments
I enjoy it as well ... I like to respond with nuggets like: 'Well, I just got my second stripe in my green belt in Karate' and 'This year I lost 30 pounds chopping wood with a splitting maul'.
Gives me a chance to brag and break the MS stigma.
Posted by: mdmhvonpa | January 3, 2008 05:51 PM
It really perplexes me is when people insist on saying: "You look well", which is meant to be a compliment but actually precludes me from saying: "I've been having a bad time lately". So I usually respond with, "Yes, I've done my hair and put make up on to come out...it's the other days you should see how I really am" but it has little effect on someone determined to ignore MS.
The treasures are those who hug me on sight and simply say, "It's great to see you, Shirl - how's it going then?"
Posted by: Shirl the Girl | January 17, 2008 09:39 PM