Freshman Luna Reichert and her mother, Kim Kauffman, pose for a picture at Camp Juliette Low in April 2014. This picture was taken two years after Kim’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Photo courtesy of Kim Kauffman.
Journalism 1 student Luna Reichert shares her experience having a mom with multiple sclerosis and how it has affected her life.
When a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness, it can be an extremely frightening experience. What I once thought would never happen to me became a reality in 2012.
I was seven years old when my mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Hearing that she had a chronic disease was heartbreaking.
I wondered what was going to happen to my mom, one of the most important figures in my life.
MS affects my mom on a daily basis. The disease causes her body to destroy the nerves surrounding her brain and spinal cord. The damaged nerves leave “holes” or scars on her brain that cause her body to function differently than that of a normal person.
To an outsider, it looks like my mom lives a perfectly normal life. Only those who are close to my mom can see how much the disease affects her. Some days she may feel fine; other days she may not be able to leave the couch. How my mom feels does vary, but she suffers from fatigue, muscle spasms and severe muscle pains every day.
Seeing the impact MS has on my mom is extremely disheartening. All I want to do is fix it, but I know that I cannot.
My life does not differ much from the lives of my peers. School, homework and extracurriculars are all part of my daily routine, but I do feel the impact of my mom’s MS in my life.
Times when I have been told to call 911 or have been driven to a friend’s house because my mom had to be taken to the emergency room, are when I feel the effects of my mom’s MS the most. Every day, I am worried about what will happen to her.
Maybe one day there will be a cure for MS, but for right now I will continue to appreciate my mom and accept this chronic disease in my life.
