“Get Your Irish Up For MS”, now in its fourth year, is a night of Irish fun to raise money in the hopes of finding a cure for MS – a disease that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My mother was diagnosed with MS in the weeks after I was born. For the first ten years of my life her symptoms were minimal and transparent to me as a young child. I remember very clearly, however, the day that I realized something was wrong. I was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for my mother when she lost her balance and fell down the stairs, landing at my feet. I remember a feeling of complete helplessness as she fell. While she recovered from the physical injuries sustained that day, that fall marked the start of a slow progression downward. MS began to rob my mom of the physical abilities many of us take for granted.
For 25 years, my mother fought MS with every ounce of energy she had. She was determined to remain as independent as possible. While at times her stubbornness would drive her nurses and doctors crazy, it served her well in battling her disease. With great admiration, I watched as her spirit kept her going despite MS taking away her ability to do basic things such as see, move her arms and legs, and swallow food. She fought with all she had until November 16, 2006, when she finally lost her long battle with MS.
My mom’s death caused me great sadness, but it also made me angry. I was angry that MS took away my mom’s ability to do the things she loved – play with her children, paint, knit, and make her delicious triple chocolate cake. And I admit that I’m being selfish when I say that MS robbed not only my mom – but also my sister and me – of many things that children should be able to share with their parents. My mom never got the chance to meet my children who only know her from the picture we hang proudly in our house from her high school prom.
Slainte!
Michael O’Toole
Director, Get Your Irish Up For MS