Join Stephen Baron as he shares his true life story involving 38 years battling this mysterious disease, and how he made the impossible possible when challenged by both the psychological and physical obstacles corrected with this chronic ailment.

 

From the seat of a wheelchair, see MS through the author’s eyes—that there is joy and hope for everyone. Stephen is a shining example that happiness can be achieved through life’s gravest downfalls, and has opened a new door of optimism and renewed strength to guide others through their trials and tribulations.

 

Find entertainment within Baron’s experiences, and realize that love truly materializes in our bleakest hours.

 

NEVER GIVE UP

 

CONTENTS

 

FOREWORD NANCY J. HAVERNICK-BARON, M.D.

 

MY SECRET REVEALED

 

INTRODUCTION

 

CHAPTER 1: PRESENTATION

 

CHAPTER 2: DIAGNOSIS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE IT, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO

WITH IT?

 

CHAPTER 3: M.D. DOES NOT STAND FOR MINOR DEITY

 

CHAPTER 4: GOING PUBLIC

 

CHAPTER 5: THE CHALLENGES OF MS

 

CHAPTER 6: DRUGS: TERRIFYING AND TERRIFIC

 

CHAPTER 7: DEPRESSION

 

CHAPTER 8: DON’T BELIEVE IT, PEOPLE STILL CARE

 

CHAPTER 9: FROM INDEPENDENCE TO DEPENDENCE AND BACK AGAIN

 

CHAPTER 10: THE HOSPITAL

 

CHAPTER 11: HOW TO BACK UP WITHOUT GIVING UP./

 

*My Secret Revealed*

 

I made a promise more than 15 years ago.

When I was hospitalized with an MS attack, I received a treatment of physical therapy daily. I felt so buoyed by the workout I asked the director of the department where I could connect with a good physical therapist.

He responded, "You don't need one. You have a great attitude, and that is more than half the battle. You're your own best physical therapist. You ought to share your attitude with other people."

"I don't do support groups," I responded, "but I'll write a book that conveys my attitude."

Thus, directly or indirectly, I have worked on it ever since. MS is not the end of life. Do I enjoy having MS? Not a bit, but I've never used it as an excuse for withdrawing from life. Technology has made life more accessible for the handicapped. That this book was composed using a voice input computer is a testament to that. As well, I hope that it might help others who know an MS sufferer. Everyone suffers a handicap of one sort or another, from arthritis to tinnitus. Each limits life in its own particular way. Learning how to pursue a complete life, illness, notwithstanding, is a challenge everyone faces. I hope that by understanding MS better, people will be able to lead more complete lives.

A long-standing friend was amazed at how I carry on despite being quadriplegic. For more than 38 years, I’ve suffered multiple sclerosis (MS). Notwithstanding, I have lived as normal a life as possible. I haven’t been able to walk for over 20 years. Neither can I do a whole host of other things. To take three of the most basic activities: I can’t feed, dress, or clean myself. Yet, I see my situation as essentially no different from anyone else’s.

As my dear wife wisely observes, “No problem is small if it’s your own.”

Haven’t we all seen that at least a thousand times? My problem just happens to be MS. For someone with chronic hangnails, his problem is just as serious.

I don’t dwell on MS. Why spend hours worrying about something I can’t get rid of? And if I did spend thousands of hours crying about it, would that change anything? I concentrate on living. Knowing that modern medicine is doing everything possible to find a cure for it, I’ve turned my attention to doing things within my grasp. For me, MS is a monumental inconvenience. MS and I have an understanding: it doesn’t bother me, and I don’t bother it.

Would that it were that simple every day. I find myself making new adjustments and accommodations for the disease. It’s an ongoing challenge. It’s like the song that Shari Lewis used to sing, ‘It’s a Song That Never Ends’.

Two things are key: humility and patience. I cannot overemphasize how important it is to be humble in the face of MS. I learned the hard way that it is bigger, stronger, and tougher than I am. I can assure every man or woman that if you are foolish enough to go head to head with MS, you’ll lose. Don’t be so foolish as even to try. And it is equally true for trying to outsmart it. You see, not only is it stronger and tougher than any of us, it’s also smarter. And I thought that getting a Ph.D. was tantamount to getting the keys to the kingdom. Boy, was I ever wrong.

 

Once I learned how important it is to be humble, I began making the adjustments that make living possible. Primary among them is being patient. How un-American of me. We want everything done yesterday, don’t we? Getting things done is enough of an achievement, regardless of how long it takes. Technological accommodations, such as the voice input computer I’m using to write this, have been essential in making my life ‘normal’. Still, there are many things I cannot do.

 

MS is another challenge the Almighty has given me. And it is said that He doesn’t give us any challenges we can’t handle. I do my best to handle it.

 

Available from www.double-dragon-ebooks.co

<http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/>

 

Stephen Baron, 58, is married 26 years, the father of two daughters, 25 and 23. He was a professor of political science for 23 years before retiring in December, 2000.