Let Him guide your paths..

Proverbs 3:5-6
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths.

As someone with MS, I find that there seems to be a bit of a war amongst others with the same disease and that saddens me greatly. I read a couple of things on-line last night and this morning that I find to be so disturbing. Due to the fact that there is a specific doctor with Multiple Sclerosis, who wrote a book about eating a certain diet, there seem to be many arguments going on within the MS community as to how to treat the disease. There is so much division going on between those who choose to take disease modifying drugs vs. those who choose to use only food and supplements as medicine (yes, there are those who use both). People with diseases such as cancer don't seem to be berated quite as much, although I know that some are, for their decision to use harsh drugs such as chemotherapy to help them survive. The choice to take strong medications is not an easy one to make, but it has to be an individual's decision based on numerous factors.

I personally believe that eating the proper diet, especially foods that decrease inflammation is common sense. It certainly won't hurt anyone and may even improve your quality of life to a certain degree but eating a certain diet does not CURE the disease. In a disease such as MS, just one tiny lesion or demyelination in the "wrong place", such as your brain stem, can set off a time bomb that can disable you for life.
I know of a woman in particular who has done extremely well decreasing her exacerbations of MS through changing her diet. She is currently having a bad relapse and is asking people on social media what she should do next as far as taking meds or not. She has chosen to invite all kinds of opinions that are only going to confuse and torment her. Some people had the nerve to tell her whether or not she should take medication. Who are these people that you are asking for medical advice? I know personally when symptoms are minimal, it is easy to say "NO DRUGS" but when half of your body goes completely numb, the story has a tendency to change quickly. This disease can be extremely frightening, I will be the first to admit that, but If I choose to go to a doctor and opt for conventional medicine, it is up to me to either listen to what my doctor believes is best for my particular situation or why bother seeking medical attention at all? That is not to say I can't question my physician's advice or seek another opinion.

Another situation I read about today involved a niece who mentioned on social media that her dear aunt just passed away due to MS. She was saying that other people, including family members, were accusing the deceased woman of not fighting the disease hard enough. Are you kidding me? Every moment of my life is a struggle with MS and to think that someone could possibly accuse me of not fighting my MS hard enough just infuriates me. To top it off, the young niece has MS herself and is being subjected to those terrible accusations about her aunt. How sad.

I don't normally use this blog to go off on tangents but my heart is very heavy for those suffering with MS and other diseases that have to deal with other people's judgments and opinions on top of an already miserable situation.

When I make decisions about my treatments they are prayerful but not perfect. I have made choices about not taking a medication and feel that I suffered consequences due to that decision. I have also made decisions to take medications that have made me sicker. There is no perfect solution but there is a holy and perfect God. He is there for me no matter what decisions I make. His grace and mercy are available to cover ALL of my decisions, both the good ones AND the not so good ones. I choose to rest in that...