Stumbling in Flats

No, really, it does. Not content with forcing me in to flat shoes, MS has also decided to rummage around in my make-up bag and make a mess of my face. If  it is a hot day, I carefully apply minimal make-up for work and when I check the mirror before I leave the house, I look just fine. Ok, you can see I’m wearing make-up and it’s pretty hard to get that ‘au natural’ look in your late 30’s anyhow. In the car, the air conditioning is primed to blast on cool. Park the car. Walk 30-odd metres to the door at work and blam – heat – bright red face. Really, really red, burning and hot. Heat intolerance! Not everyone with MS gets it, but I know it is one of the most annoying and inhibiting symptoms. We become vampires, staying indoors and only venturing outside after dark.

So, there I am, in work, trying to look professional, with a throbbing face, make-up sliding slowly south. I never understood what open pores were until my foundation popped out of them and mushed all over my face. As if this weren’t enough, MS has also decided to have a laugh with applying make-up. One of my last relapses involved my hands not working properly and shaking involuntarily – you can see where I’m going with this. So, rewind, it’s a cool day, I’m celebrating. I’m putting my make-up on for work, reaching for the eyeliner, start lining and I’m drawing on my eyeball. Wipe it off, try again. Beautiful line, just about done….go for the final flick…sheez. End up looking like the end of a very long night on the wine. Ok, try the lipstick. One side of lip done, and the other, yup, you’ve guessed it, all over my face. Scrub this off and repeat.

And finally, if it is a hot day and my hands don’t work – well,  Coco the Clown has nothing on me.