I’ve got a pretty special guest blogger today – my son, The Teenager, asked to get involved and this is what he wanted to write, no editing:
When I first found out my mum had MS, I didn’t know what it was so I thought it could’ve been anything so I was very worried.
It was the day that I was coming back from London after seeing my dad and instead of my mum picking me up my mums friends did and I didn’t have a clue where my mum was. I was told she was ill but I didn’t realise that she was in hospital.
I was dropped off at my Nana’s and she explained what was happening. I went home after my mum came back and because of the MS she couldn’t speak properly and we had a good laugh about it, taking the mick. It was still worrying me though because I didn’t really know what was totally going on.
But as time went on things got better I realised that there were worse things in life than MS and that my mum didn’t have as bad a MS as lots of people do. Me and my mum have met lots of lovely people through my mum having MS which is a good thing. In October 2011 when I was 12, we went to a MS march in the city centre which was a lot of fun and there were lots of nice people there.
I have learnt a lot of stuff through my mum having MS. Of course I still worry a tiny bit but nowhere near as much as I did. My mum’s best friend, the builder, has helped a lot and it is nice to have him as company. After a year of my mum having MS a lot of good things have happened. My mum has been very lucky to have Campath (Alemtuzumab) treatment in the local hospital. It did sound scary at first but it helps my mum a lot.
I am hoping that in the next few years me and my mum will meet a lot more people with MS and go to lots of different MS based things. In the town centre the shopping centre has been sponsoring the MS society and they are selling ‘MS wrist bands’. A lot of my friends are now wearing these and it is nice to see support shown for this and hopefully more people will start to wear them.
Overall even though my mum has MS she is still the coolest Mum ever and nothing will ever change that.
Sob sob!! (In a good way)
What a lovely boy, he is a credit to you and you are both an inspiration to me. I hope with everything I have that me and my son can have a relationship like yours.
Sam xx
Thanks Sam!
I’m probably biased, but he does amaze me with how mature he can be (at times…). He’s a darn fine boy and I love him to pieces. It’s been a tough couple of years for both of us, but am hoping he can see I’m still his mum, we can still have a laugh and even if it’s from the sofa, I can still take an avid interest in everything he does.
X
p.s. I was SO tempted to correct his grammar though!!
Wow, what an awesome post! I’m so glad The Teenager did a guest stint; reading his perspective was really moving. I think you are *both* cool!
Ms. C-P
Aw, thank you! It’s so nice he’s involved in all this.
X
p.s. just got to work out how to get him to clean his room and wash his hair properly, lol
Lovely teenager!!! Thank you so much!!! At this time my main worry is about the happiness of my baby and the way she will deal wtih this illness and all that shit…
Kisses for both of tou from spain!!!
Hello there,
Thank you for your lovely comment! And the kisses from Spain, lol. Hope you’re doing ok. Am sure you’re a fabulous mum!
Just wish I could read your blog, but my Spanish is next to nothing, sadly….
X
Hello!
I´ve just added a google thingy in my blog in order to translate it to other languages.
I´m not pretty sure that the translations make any sense. Anyway maybe what I say doesn´t make any sense even in spanish…
Just in case you want to give it a try!
Hey there!
Fantastic – will take a wee look. Must be easier than flipping through a Spanish dictionary, lol!
X
He’s a superstar…. credit to you! x
Thank you!
He’s not bad, lol. I’m glad he was able to write what he felt and he doesn’t seem scared by it all any more. We’ve been through some hard times, but hopefully it’s made our little family unit stronger for it. Plus he’s so chuffed that Jack Osbourne follows him on Twitter!
X
Ooh, that is cool (I assume “chuffed” means “pleased”?).
Yup! You’re doing well with the British lingo!
X
Hi Teenager,
What an incredibly moving and mature blog you’ve written. It takes a lot to bring a tear to my eye (why waste the make-up? your mum will understand), but you’ve managed it! Imagine the last couple of years must have been difficult at times, but you seemed to have come through brilliantly. Your cool mum must be SO proud of you, especially as you’ve probably had to grow up a lot faster than your friends and you’ve managed to come over as a really warm and likeable young man.
Well done and look forward to hearing from you again!
All the best,
Honeysucklex
I am glad you enjoyed the blog post thank you for your feedback 🙂 will hopefully post again quite soon
The Teenager
Hi Honeysuckle,
Sorry about The Teenager’s short comment – he was so pleased to read what you’d written. What a lovely comment. He’s definitely had to grow up a little faster and I’m just hoping I’ve managed to make it as easy for him as possible. It’s a hard lesson to learn to early, but hopefully it’ll make him more well-rounded. I’m proud of him!
X
p.s. he’s already thinking about what else to write….
Hi there,
Don’t apologise, it was lovely to receive The Teenager’s reply (Thanks, TT). If he’s anything like my son, he’s of the ‘less is more’ brigade!
Echoing Allyson and your other commentators, he’s a real credit to you. Congratulations.
Honeysucklex
Hi,
Thank you! Oh yes, definitely the ‘less is more’variety! He is a boy of very few words, unless they involve food and/or rugby.
X
As the daughter of a brilliant mum with MS I can completely empathise with The Teenager’s thoughts (and he expresses them so well). He’s a few years younger than I was when my mum was diagnosed, but without a shadow of a doubt far more mature.
Glad to hear he still takes the mick out of you – sometimes I think the most important part of being close to someone with MS is keeping them normal when it would be so easy (and understandable) for things to drive them insane. x
Hi Chloe,
Thank you for your lovely comment! We have a lot of laughs – best way to deal with it all I think. I want to ‘protect’ him as much as possible. He’s not my confidante or carer and I want it to stay that way – I think that’s why we joke. He does a brilliant impression of when I woke up and couldn’t speak properly. It could have been awful, but we turned it round, even though I was panicking inside.
I know you said your mum was going in for her first Campath treatment some time soon? I hope she’s doing well. I still have rough days and exacerbations, but no relapses still, touch wood. As well as the good physical effects, it’s been a relief to have a bit of breathing space to reorganise my thoughts and my life. And hopefully find a new job….
X
GREAT POST !!! Sorry about leaving this comment so long after the blog was published ,I’ve been in the hospital and am just now getting caught up on some of my reading . It’s so good to here your perspective as a caretaker and child of an MSer, you really did an awesome job with getting your feelings put in words, and I’m sure your mom is really proud of you and you should be very proud of yourself too . Being the dad of 2 teenage sons and an MSer myself I know that as much as MS puts us (the MSers) through , that the ones who love us and care for us go through an array of emotions all your own , and it’s got to be a very difficult thing to have to live with . My youngest son read your blog and he said it is really cool that you were able to write about it and he thinks that you have to be a really great guy (and so do I) ,and I also want to say that I think it’s great to hear that lot of your friends are wearing the wristbands to show there support and now Cody is going to get some to hand out !!! I hope we get to hear more from you , it’s good to be reminded every now and then that MS is TRULY a family disease that effects those who support , love , and care for those of us who have it. Again , GREAT JOB !!! 🙂
Thank you SO much! Nice to read your comment.
I like the name Cody!
The Teenager 🙂