Life's a Dance...

As I was driving to work the other day a song came on that I hadn't heard in forever. A song that put everything into perspective, a friendly reminder of how life should be treated. As we continue on our path in life it is important to be reminded of what this journey is all about. The song is called ‘Life’s a Dance’, an older country song that I’m sure has fallen through the cracks.

As we go through life and continue to grow older we may think that we have all the answers. At times we have the notion that we know how situations are supposed to play out, the way that we want them too. And in our mind the ending that we have planned out always benefits us. But what happens when that ending is changed, what do we do then? Where does that leave us? We have usually have two options, sink or swim.

Now more than ever that scenario plays out in our head. In our generation, we are trying to find our place in the world, but we usually only have one ending in our head. We usually go into any situation expecting the best outcome possible. Think about it for a second, in what situation have you gone into thinking of another possible path to take. Do you learn as you go or do you allow yourself to sink unable to stand again?

For me, these past couple of months, or even years, have been a prime example. I won’t lie, I have gone into situations thinking that I deserve the best ending possible and I’m sure there a lot of people who have done the exact same thing. It has been built into us to "hope for the best but expect the worst.” But lets be serious for a quick second, how many people are expecting the worst??? Not many of us, which is why we get so lost and confused when the ending turns out the exact opposite of what we thought. These are the times when we feel as if have to learn how to walk again after being knocked down.

But these are the times when our true colors shine the most. The cliché will always follow you, tough times build character, no matter how many times people hate hearing it. Being told you are not the right fit for a position or being turned down from a specific situation just means that you are meant for something better. The only thing that is stopping you is if you want to learn from it or not.  You can put this towards any aspect of your life, work, personal or your health.

In the previous couple of months I have been reminded of the same struggle. Starting new medication has taken a little bit of a toll on me. I forgot what it was like for your body to adapt a change so drastic. That doesn’t take into account the random symptoms of my MS that will randomly appear. But I still think to myself, ‘life’s a dance you learn as you go.’ I wake up each day with positive thoughts and feeling blessed but when something changes your day so intensely,  such as spotting in your vision in the middle of the day its hard to think clearly. It is ok to freak for a second, and I mean only a second. The same thing goes with any other symptom of MS that decides to pop up because is hasn’t paid a visit in a while. These are just the examples that I have to deal with on a daily basis, of how to make the most of my situation. Everyone else has their own demons lurking around the corners. We all handle our issues differently, but there is one thing that we all have in common, are we going to continue to crawl or are we going to get back up and learn to walk again. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFQCtUM2ZYg

What Does Ohana Mean to You?

The simple word "Ohana" has been proven to be a foundation for my life. That five-letter word has transformed the way that I look at life. I had never heard it before the movie ‘Lilo Stitch’ in 2002. It has a powerful but simple meeting, “Ohana means family, nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”

This quote has transformed my outlook of life. Not only in the aspect of Multiple Sclerosis but how I live my life day to day. This little word has made me a better person. It sounds crazy to say but it has put things into perspective for me; a perspective that I think is perfect for the holiday season. Whoever your ‘Ohana’ is be grateful for not everyone is as fortunate as you. Find your ‘Ohana’ and let those people know how much they play apart in your life.  I don’t think that I would be able to get through my constant struggles if I didn’t have the people who I call my support system. It’s amazing how when times get tough your friends and family make you feel that you can do anything.

My perspective on life isn’t extreme, it goes like this; do not judge people for you are not walking in their shoes. Although someone may appear to seem together on the outside, everyone is fighting their own battle inside. Be kind, be grateful and always smile because you never know how infectious your smile can be. And there is no better time to be reminded of that than when you’re making your New Year’s Resolution.

With this in mind I challenge everyone to find their own ‘Ohana’ and hold it close. Mine has well over 500 people that I have met throughout the years of having Multiple Sclerosis. They are the people who have made a difference in not only my life, but all the other soldiers who are fighting this disease along side me, no matter how big nor small, they are not forgotten and will never be. My ‘Ohana’ has helped their life get a little better each day. I couldn’t be more thankful for the large loving family that I have come to know over the last 10 years. To each of you thank you for everything you do. And for those of you who read this for the first time are now a part of our ‘Ohana’ who take up a large part of the Northwest Suburbs MS Walk every May.

Hope is Greater than Fear

I never thought that I would have the courage to start a blog. I have never thought of myself as a great writer, and I feel that this is something totally outside my comfort zone. But what I do know is that I have the ability to make a difference and do whatever I can to be an inspiration to people on all sorts of levels. If I am able to touch one person a day with my story I have given myself a new hope. The idea to start a blog came to me after I spend a weekend in Denver at the National MS Society Leadership Conference. The people that I met are true heroes in making a difference in the world of MS and I want to do my part and join them in this fight.

My name is Meghan Melone and I am a patient of Multiple Sclerosis. I was diagnosed with this life changing disease at the young age of 14. I vividly remember the number events that led to my diagnosis like they all happened yesterday. My first symptom I had experienced was optic neuritis, which caused me to lose vision in my right eye for almost five months. At the time I was in 8^th grade and just trying to figure out how to be a pre-teen. The doctors that I had visited where stunned and confused and didn’t make a diagnosis due to my age and rarity of it actually being MS. As time went on my vision came back and I was back to a normal kid. My days carried on playing the sports that I loved so much and my dreams grew of playing a sport one day in college. I was making all the right moves to become a strong athlete in my high school days and hopefully past then. I went on the graduate junior high and thought nothing could stop me now. That summer was filled with sports camps and getting ready to be a tiny freshman in a big world of high school. Everything seemed to be going according to my plan until October 31^st. That Sunday started off as any old Sunday, until both of my feet went numb while I was trick or treating with my best friends. As the week grew on I tried to fight the numbness off and put it on the back burner, I was too busy at varsity basketball tryouts to think of the reality that was going on in my body. By the end of the week the numbness had crept its way up to my hips, just like rising water it was impossible to ignore. It felt like in the blink of an eye I was struggling to even move around let alone be running up and down a basketball court at full speed. I had seemed to stump doctors at the possibility that at 14 I was battling MS. It felt like years just trying to get answers. Ten years ago I posed as more of a liability for doctors than as a patient they could see in their office. I wasn't really old enough to see an adult doctor but at the time pediatric neurology didn’t really exist. All of my questions were answered a week before Christmas when my spinal tap results came back stating the Multiple Sclerosis was the monster that was lurking around every corner. I am not going to lie, I was scared and spent several weeks in a dark place. In the beginning denial was my best friend; it didn’t seem fair, I had just started my teenage life but I didn’t have time to act like a kid. Growing up and facing my fears head on was my only option. 

I was standing at the crossroads of two different paths; be in denial and hide this from the world or share my story with pride and make a difference. I chose the second option. Throughout the ten years that I have been battling this disease I have had some extremely amazing moments but at the same time I have had some horribly dark ones as well. This is my journey that has shaped me into the person that I am today. The experiences that I have been able to have because of MS are ones that people may never have. Each morning I remind myself that today is a day where I can make each connection count. Somehow people are connected through MS, it is a lot more common that people may think. My dream is to make people educated of this disease; education is the foundation to making a difference. 

As I sit here approaching the ten year anniversary of my diagnosis I decided that I needed to do something more. I started small with a team for Walk MS called ‘Ohana’ 9 years ago, which has more than 200 members today. But my strength system of family and friends has shown me that I can accomplish so much more then I ever could have imagined. As I reflect on my years with MS I feel that I have experienced a lot, from a wheel chair to running miles, they all make up little pieces of my story. I want to inspire others to share their story and to connect with others who are part of the MS family. The future is unknown with this disease but if you’re afraid to face it you will miss out on the little moments that make you strong. The choice is yours how you want your story to go, I just started writing mine.