May 9th, 2025 was the last day that I said I’ll see you again to my aunt. She’s 73 years old, so young to leave this earth, yet God called her home.
She was the aunt that was involved in our lives in a major way. She and my mom were best friends, they did a lot together. It just didn’t seem fair to let her go. She had vascular dementia. It progressed pretty rapidly, she also had two strokes. One she survived and the other one sent her on her way to Heaven’s gate. She will be greatly missed.
I’ve never helped plan a funeral before. I’ve offered my two cents when my Grandma Catherine passed away but that’s the closest I ever got involved. I didn’t realize the toll that it takes on your mind and for us MSer’s, our bodies.
Last week was the most difficult week of my life. I had the funeral home with my parents twice last week, one to begin arrangements and the second was the last time we got to see the shell of her. She looked like she was sleeping. Between all of that the end of year meetings with the school and my son that has Autism was being bullied that resulted in Thursday and Friday drama that I simply didn’t have the strength for.
I wanted a way out! My body began to start having pain. I was beginning to have spasms, my fatigue increased, speech was slightly affected and I started dropping stuff AGAIN!
It’s true that stress and apparently deep sadness of grief can trigger MS symptoms. How do you mourn without creating flare ups? I feel like more and more MS just isn’t fair. I don’t want it to rule my life but MS surely has its way of popping in uninvited.
If you are grieving a loss, my heart goes out to whoever reads this post. I pray your hearts be lifted and that you don’t suffer with symptoms for too long if you’re experiencing them. People always try to tell us to try not to stress out, it’s not good for you. It’s almost comical. Sometimes life sends unexpected curve balls and I’m here to tell you sometimes we just have to strike out and that’s ok. We will make a home run next time we’re up to bat.
Stay strong in the fight my MS family. Stay strong.
Happily Ever Amber 