Faces of Multiple Sclerosis

Just a few of the beautiful faces living with MS

In honor of MS Awareness week, I thought I would put together this collage of a few of the wonderful people I have met who are living with MS. A few facts about Multiple Sclerosis...

1. There is NO cure. That's why we must raise awareness to find the cure and save future men, woman, and children from hearing the devastating words, "You have MS".

2. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord). It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder. This means the immune system incorrectly attacks the person's healthy tissue.

3. More than twice as many women as men have MS.

4. Approximately 400,000 Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. World-wide, MS affects about 2.5 million people.

5. In rare cases MS is so malignantly progressive it is terminal, but most people with MS have a normal or near-normal life expectancy. Severe MS can shorten life.

6. MS is not contagious and is not directly inherited. Studies do indicate that genetic factors may make certain individuals susceptible to the disease.

I decided to do the collage for two reasons. One was of course because it is MS Awareness week but the second reason is a little deeper than that. When I was first diagnosed with MS, the first thought in my mind was, "I'm too young for this shit!" And I know that many people who are diagnosed everyday feel that same way.

I wanted these photo's to show you that Multiple Sclerosis is not biased, this disease happens to everyone. Young, old, short, tall, all ethnicities, all walks of life, everyone. There are no children in this collage but believe me, there are many who are faced with an MS diagnosis at a very young age. The youngest I heard of was only 8 years old. My son is 8.

So for our sake, and the sake of others, do us a favor and make a small donation to a worthy cause. I happen to know someone who's working on raising funds (wink, wink), and you can make a donation directly to the National MS Society on her behalf right HERE.