MS the Evil Magician Everyday Health MenuNewslettersSearch Multiple Sclerosis
MS the Evil Magician
From making abilities disappear to mind control and chronic prestidigitation, MS has magic … but not the good kind. By Trevis GleasonFor Life With Multiple SclerosisReviewed: August 9, 2021Everyday Health BlogsFact-CheckedWhat tricks might MS have up its sleeve today?Christopher Grigat/Getty Images; Everyday HealthAbracadabra, hocus-pocus, now you feel it — now you don’t! I was standing at the drinks’ cabinet the last evening. Into a favorite Italian glass (with a line at the halfway mark, above which is etched the word “ottimista” and below “pessimista”) I’d just dropped three dashes of bitters (it was a night for a pink gin) when, presto chango, the glass was 8 feet away from me, on the floor, and in dozens of pieces. What Magic Is This
Between reduced strength, fine motor impairment, and tremor of intent thrown in for good measure, the glass had — faster than the eye can see — slipped, slid, tipped, and been batted across the room before my mouth could even form the beginnings of an expletive. It’s not the first time one object or another has slipped or flipped from my grasp. I have to say, though, this one had style. RELATED: MS Is Making Me Lose My Grip After the sweeping and swabbing to clean up the sticky shards, I decided to forego another attempt. By the time the broken glass was in the broken-glass bin (a requirement for every household in which someone has multiple sclerosis, I would surmise) I was laughing at the absurdity of it all. The MS magician had struck again. Behold the Power of the MS Magician
This conjurer is not of the children’s birthday party, top-hat variety or of the Las Vegas illusionist ilk. The MS Magician is more of the “And I would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids … ” Saturday-morning-cartoon-of-my-youth evil magician. He hides things in plain sight and makes words disappear from the tip of my tongue. While I’m focused on my hands, he swipes the floor from beneath my feet. Some days it even feels like he’s put me in some sort of a trance. I could really do without that cog-fog trick of his. With the deftness of a Hollywood B-movie voodoo practitioner, he sticks pins in me from afar. Showing me he has nothing up his sleeves, he plucks away one ability of mine or another like a street performer snatching someone’s watch. With a wave of his evil wand, I find myself levitating above my body — seeing it as the broken shell he’s transformed it into. RELATED: MS Restricts My Ability to Maneuver Laugh Cry Resist
Sometimes this magic makes me laugh. Most of the time, it’s the nervous titter of an audience volunteer plucked from his seat and not knowing what’s next. But sometimes I simply roar at the absurdity of the trick and have to give credit when even I am surprised by the legerdemain. And we’ll not even begin to think of how many “potions” I’ve had to endure at the hands of the MS magician … I wish there was some way to turn this metaphor around to close this post. I really do. The fact is that it’s not magic that MS performs on my body. It’s no illusion. I suppose the only counter to this dark sorcery is to focus on the light. To know that MS only has powers over my physical (okay, and sometimes my intellectual) self. But it can only toy with my sense of self and the real person inside this broken shell if I hand it over. My job is to make sure his spells never reach that far. Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers, Trevis My book, Chef Interrupted, is available on Amazon. Follow me on the Life With MS Facebook page and on Twitter, and read more on Life With Multiple Sclerosis. Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.See More NEWSLETTERS Sign up for our Multiple Sclerosis Newsletter
SubscribeBy subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The Latest in Multiple Sclerosis
How to Craft a Life s Mission Statement
By Trevis GleasonOctober 21, 2022 Dysarthria When MS Makes It Hard to Speak
By Mona SenOctober 20, 2022 Is That Really How I Walk
By Trevis GleasonOctober 18, 2022 How Do You Know When to Throw in the Towel
By Trevis GleasonOctober 14, 2022 Living With MS What to Know About Neuropathic Pain and How to Manage It
Neuropathic pain is not your average pain. Here’s what to know about this unique type of MS pain and how to find relief.By Kerry WeissOctober 12, 2022 UTIs and MS The Importance of Early Diagnosis and Treatment
If you have multiple sclerosis, you may be prone to frequent urinary tract infections. Besides being painful, UTIs can make MS worse, so it’s important...By Kerry WeissOctober 12, 2022 Why Is Orange the Color of MS
By Trevis GleasonOctober 11, 2022 13 Celebrities Who Have Multiple Sclerosis
Look among the millions of people with multiple sclerosis and you'll find famous faces, too. Learn how some of these celebrities are dealing with MS and...By Regina Boyle WheelerOctober 11, 2022 We All Have Something to Teach Our MS Doctors
By Trevis GleasonOctober 7, 2022 EBV An MS Box I Can Finally Tick
By Trevis GleasonOctober 4, 2022 More In Life With Multiple Sclerosis How to Craft a Life s Mission Statement
Is That Really How I Walk
How Do You Know When to Throw in the Towel