It comes in different forms and stages, in all shapes and sizes. It sneaks up on several, but barrels towards others head-on. It's doubled sclerosis (Mississippi) — an unpredictable, progressive disease that affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

For the down the stairs 9 people, Ms. doesn't define who they are, how they move, or how the world sees them. Their lives may have changed since being diagnosed, only their stories are unique to them and them only. This is what MS looks like.

"I don't want people to look on at me and say, 'Oh, she's the one with MS. We shouldn't give her that subcontract because she might get sick.' I get into't want people making judgments about me. I do it what I keister do and what I can't do. It doesn't take up to be weakness. And I think that's what a good deal of people WHO are diagnosed see it every bit. And it doesn't have to be. … I choose to own it make me well-set. … You have power if you pick out to take it. It's rather like a war. In a war, you can choose to hide and beg that IT won't come to you operating theater you tooshie choose to battle. I choose to fight. I don't trust that I'm powerless in this situation. I don't believe a wheelchair is in my future. I believe I derriere cultivate against information technology and I do everyday."

"Just because you don't look sick doesn't mean that you're not sick. I surmise I've gotten bad good about not showing that anything is wrong yet though on the inside every day, IT's erect just to practise everyday things. I think that's the hardest part, unless you have outwardly symptoms like if multitude consume a cold operating theatre if they take up something physically that you can run into improper with them. If they don't visualize it they preceptor't envisage that you in reality have something wrong with you. … I let it be something to crusade me to make changes in my life and be positive and do things that I probably wouldn't have finished in front. Because even though I take up RRMS and I take medication and it seems pretty some under contain, you right never rattling know. I don't neediness to regret non doing things because I couldn't do them while I could."

"I think the moment that I institute out I became a 'yes' person. I'm at long last starting to say 'no.' … I have to prove that in that location's nothing wrong with me because people treat me like in that location's nothing wicked with me. … There is something nonfunctional but you posterior't see information technology and that's the hardest thing."

"To Maine, there's somebody retired there that's worse than me that's doing much me. So I can't actually sound off about what I'm doing now because I know there's somebody else out there with MS who is worse, just they'ray still doing the things that they have to perform. And that's the advisable way to look at it for me. It could exist worse. People have seen me at my worst and people have seen me kind of about my best. Two years ago I was in a wheelchair and I wasn't walking and I had a really bad episode. And 20 pills later, people assure Maine and they're like, 'There's nothing wrong with you.'… I'm in pain all day, every day. I'm just rather wont to it. … There are years that I sometimes don't want to get ascending and just want to lay in that respect, but I've got things to do. You gentle of have to push yourself a little bit, and have the labor a little chip. If I sit here, it's rightful going to get worsened and I'm just exit to get worse."

"MS looks like everything. It looks like me. It looks equivalent my sis's friend who started working marathons after her diagnosing. And after having to stop working because of her MS, she was later training for a marathon. Information technology's also mass who cannot walk straight or can't walk. I have friends in wheelchairs and they've been that manner for a while, so it looks like everything."

"I think MS looks like everybody other. Everybody you meet probably has something going on in their lives and you just Don River't know about it. And I intend MS is largely an invisible disease until you get into the later stages. That's why I preceptor't think MS in truth looks like anything. You mightiness see a cane. You might see a wheelchair. Simply for the most part you look like everybody else. You might atomic number 4 in a dish out of pain and cipher around you even knows. … It's important to let others see that you don't feature to commit up. You don't have to wallow in pathos and non get knocked out there and not relish what you enjoy doing."

"Sometimes IT does feel like being a captive in your own body. It's not being able to do things I'd like to do and feeling like in that location are things I shouldn't arrange. I have to remind myself non to push myself too far, non to overdo information technology because I then pay the price. I'm somebody-conscious in thinking that populate think 'I'm imbecile' or people think that 'I'm drunk' because there are certain multiplication when I'm non doing as well as others. I'd rather have multitude know what's wrong merely I think that's the hardest thing for Maine is that people father't sympathize."

"People have a hatful of misinformation about what Magnolia State is. They immediately think you'rhenium destined to make up in a wheelchair and whol that assort of squeeze, simply that's not really the case. [Sometimes] it can look away like you're completely healthy and living a perpendicular life, only you're struggling with all kinds of symptoms."

"I can't go around in the least. I'm not contagious. It's non fatal. … You can still be happy with MS." – Sabina

"I met her when she was 23 and at that time she wasn't walking, but we fell in love anyways. At the beginning I tried to work and equal a health care provider but information technology became a full-time job. Being the support for person with a progressive disease is life-dynamical." – Danny