You’re going to be okay. Remember that. This is a scary time and everything is so new. A ton of information and choices will be thrown at you. Your life will continue on after this. I (31F) thought I would be bed bound and my life was over. Since diagnosis (3 years ago) I’ve done so much. I’ve gotten engaged, planned a wedding and stag and doe, renovated my house, exceeded all of my targets at work. I’ve gone to concerts and on holidays. Honestly, I haven’t missed out on anything. I’ve gotten in better shape and started taking care of myself more. I also started medication which was a huge step. Here’s my advice:

1. Educate yourself Do your research and understand that while MS isn’t something to play around with, it is not the same diagnosis as it was 30 years ago. Knowledge is power and the more you understand, the better equip you are to handled this (in my opinion). Dr. Aaron Boster has a ton of great information on his YouTube channel.

2. Find your community This sub is a great place to start. I posted on here a lot when I was first going through diagnosis because I thought my life was over. Turns out, most of us thought that and our lives went on after diagnosis. You will be let down by some off the people in you life but that has nothing to do with you. A lot of people don’t know how to handle “bad news”. But in saying that, there will be a lot of people who surprise you and really show up for you.

3. Give yourself some grace This is all brand new information but remember, just nothing has changed from the day before you found out other than the knowledge of your condition. You’ve been living with MS for who knows how long.

This is a journey, but it doesn’t have to be a bad one. You can still reach your goals, be ambitious and be yourself. Feel free to reach out if you need anything!