RELAPSE

 "Lovely day, my dear,"I gently uttered to my niece as I bid her farewell at the school entrance. She tenderly waved her little fingers as I turned to make my way back home. The leisurely stroll back home would consume around five minutes, so I embarked on the journey without haste, braving the chill of the morning air. Merely a few steps into my walk, a sudden realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. 'Oh dear! I had neglected to bring along my niece's school bag and snack pack!' How could I have overlooked such a fundamental detail? Was my memory failing me? Just recently, I had forgotten her lunchbox, and now this slip-up? Unbeknownst to me, these lapses were likely a result of the memory issues associated with multiple sclerosis. 'It cannot be!' I vehemently reassured myself. There was no way I was succumbing to illness again. I had been in perfect health for the past year, so the notion of revisiting hospital visits seemed preposterous. To cut a long story short, I found myself making two additional trips to the school that morning, all due to my forgetfulness. If I were to be candid with myself, this was not the first instance I had noticed the resurgence of MS symptoms. A few weeks earlier, I had observed a slight return of my unsteady gait and balance issues. Indeed, an MS relapse was unfolding after a year of uninterrupted tranquility. To say that coming to terms with the occurrence of a relapse is but an understatement.  It's like having to relive the MS symptoms all over again. It goes without saying this particular "chapter" for any MS warrior is hard, to say the least. This episode ranges from  misdiagnosis,long list of unnecessary tests and their cost, brief reprieve but symptoms keep coming back worse like loss of balance,muscle weakness, side effects of medication such as bloating, sweating and lack of specialists read neurologists to fully diagnose further exacerbates the issue.  So, yes, the whole relapse comes with a wave of emotions for an MS warrior. Honestly speaking,  I hate relapses. They spoil all the fun in everyday activities and are just a sob story to tell.