Empowering MS Warriors: Essential Hacks for Enhancing Daily Living
Part 1: Over 300 tips for making life easier with MS.
Multiple Sclerosis likes to rear its ugly head when those with it least expect it. Life as I knew it changed with my diagnosis. Since 2013, I have had many ups and downs, as life with MS pushed my journey however it felt it wanted for me to go. I am writing this, not just for me, but for those who are now starting their journey as you become an MS Warrior.
As I write this someone is being diagnosed with an incurable disease. For me, it was MS. I had to learn how to hack my life. That probably won’t make sense to someone who is perfectly healthy, but when you encounter a disease like MS, you’ll learn quite quickly that you will need to find hacks to make it through your day.
I was given a book at one of my neurology appointments. To be honest, I tossed the book on a shelf and then forgot about it while I did everything the wrong way to deal with my MS. The book is called Multiple Sclerosis 300 Tips for Making Life Easier by Shelley Peterman Schwarz.
Recently, I pulled the book off the shelf, since I was ready to make some changes to make my life with MS easier. Some of the examples she gave to hack my life was to alternate between periods of activities with periods of rest. Planning ahead of time. You don’t have to be ashamed if you have to use labor-saving devices.
More importantly, don’t be pigheaded to think that you can do everything all by yourself. That was from me not her. I had to learn this one the hard way!
I am speaking from experience; you have to plan your day ahead of time. Yes, this will make life as unspontaneous as it can get, but that is how things need to be sometimes. Not to say that you won’t be able to get back some of the lifestyle you had before MS, but you have to be patient with yourself.
The form of MS that I have is called relapse remitted. That is a short way of saying “Haha. Today will be a symptom-free day but tomorrow you’ll be stuck in bed.” Okay, that may be a little exaggeration to some extent, but it can be very true as well.
I want everyone to listen to this next part, and listen to it very well, take care of yourself and give yourself permission to rest and put your feet up!
Be sensitive about how you spend your time. Do things that matter most to you and your family. It is perfectly acceptable for you to ask for help. No one is saying that this will be how the rest of your life might be. As long as you are taking care of yourself, then you are doing exactly what you need to be doing at that time.
You are probably wondering what labor-saving devices are being referred to. One such device is called a Reacher.
These have multiple uses from grabbing cans off a shelf to picking up a dropped remote. (I am consistently dropping things) More examples are an automatic jar and can opener, toothpaste twister, and hairdryer holder are just a few items for you to work smarter, not harder.
These are just 3 hacks that Shelley suggests using. Come back next time for more. She gives 300 suggestions in her book. I picked the ones that were more important to me as I should have used them at the beginning of my journey. It is never too late to start to work smarter, not harder by hacking your life. I would love to hear about your journey and what hacks you use to make your life yours again.
