Thanks, Steph. I met another "real person" with MS today (real meaning like you and me, not a megastar or celebrity). If she didn't share with me that she had MS, I would never have known. She only told me b/c she knew about my situation b/c of the media coverage surrounding my public announcement. She told me that when she has bad days, she lets people see her that way. And, most of her days are half-way decent so they see her in that light as well. We talked about this at length today and she said that we (MS patients) all need to be real. And, that real face will help define a very hard to define disease. We shouldn't play up our Moonlight days and we shouldn't pretend that things are always full of Sunshine (if they aren't).

I saw Anne Romney on an interview briefly this morning. I also saw a news anchor who is recovering from cancer. Both looked great due to the power of makeup artists and television images. I left the house this morning thinking of their private pain -- the part we don't see. I keep trying to remind myself of that when I see any public figure with a chronic illness or debilitating disease.

I'm not a Romney fan, but I am a fan of his wife. Imagine the crazy schedules she is "forced" to keep, imagine the stress she is trying to manage, on top of having this disease. Imagine the critics she faces whether she hides or shows her symptoms. Just trying to walk five minutes in her shoes before I judge her for looking beautiful, wearing fancy heels and looking as if she has all the energy in the world. When the cameras are off and the flashbulbs go dark, only Anne Romney knows her real pain.

I'm not in the least political, for one thing I'm Canadian...doesn't effect me..just want to say we are all different...two years ago I could run like the wind, today I can barely walk. I used to dance up a storm, today I can't stand up without falling on my ass. Maybe next year I'll be able to do those things again. Who knows, It's the nature of this beast, if someone can run bloody good for them, Maybe I'll be able to do that again soon.

Yes we are all different and have known many others that have MS and it can be noticible or not. The things I have seen about Anne Romney she has had her share of bad days and hospital stays, so she has not always been in heels or jogging. I know her husband asked her if she could handle the campaign she agreed but told him she may have to take days off from time to time. They also have numerous children that she has raised. All she said about her MS treatment is it is alot of natural things that is working for her and that she is morally opposed to stem cell research and that is a personal choice of hers. Considering the way her husband flip-flops on issues?...I will be quiet on that one now. It is a good thing to have MS brought to light by all the celebrities that have MS who appears to be appearing like nothing is stopping them, but they can often make it seem like everyone could/should be that way. Oh wait that is another post issue!

i told two people this and we all started this big discussion. Thanks for telling me, real good to know