I watched my mom hobble down the driveway like a drunken zombie, nervously grasping onto my dad’s arms as he assisted her into the car to take her to the hospital. Her legs just simply stopped working. I wondered, “What’s wrong with mommy? Will she come home again?” The last two times my mom went to the hospital, she came home with a new baby brother. But this time, she would have to stay at the hospital for six days to get her treatment. That week felt like a year. I just wanted my mommy home. Watching someone who had been so strong for me, now look so weak was confusing. In 2001, my mom was shockingly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, MS. After four years of back and forths to the local hospital for week at a time, my mom found a treatment that helps her be the best she can be. A once a month trip to the hospital for a few hours, eliminated most of the pains and gets her back on her feet. Literally. All those years of heartache taught my mom that the little stuff isn’t important. She became a happier person because she was conquering this disease and better yet helping people conquer that disease.

My mom was honored the role of being the MS ambassador for New Jersey in 2012, giving her opportunity to shoot a commercial for the Multiple Sclerosis walk, do a radio commercial, and travel around the East Coast giving speeches to other MS patients about her triumphs. She goes into these speeches in high heels, showing women they can get better with time and treatment. Her message is that everyone’s path is going to be different with Multiple Sclerosis, so you need to find a doctor that fits you. People with MS gather to hear her story to try to find a way to help them. “Your speech has given me hope that one day I will be better.” My mom has become an inspiration to many victims of this disease. She has also inspired me to get involved with the organization and go be a counselor for a camp for children whose parents have MS. My mom could have sat and said why me and let the disease take over her life. But she didn’t. I look up to her and admire her every second of everyday because she taught me to be brave and fight for what I want. My family went through this disease together and I believe we were changed for the better because of it.

Many would think my mom getting a disease would shatter our family. It did for a while but it also changed us for the better. Living with a disease taught my mom to enjoy the little things because what matters is that she’s healthy. My mom’s disease inspired me to never let something negative takeover my life. It has been eleven years since her diagnosis and she has adopted a role to educate and inspire others to fight and never give up.