Thanks for clarifying, Monique.

I seem to have missed the part in your first posting, where you explained you have only one more year of school. That, combined with the fact that you need this to do the job you want, and you are getting a fairly inexpensive education . . . I completely understand why you would persevere with this degree. Under those circumstances, I would make the same decision.

Like I said previously, I worked for 14 more years after the MS became more difficult. There are a lot of people who to work until retirement, as it really depends on what kind of job we do, and the way that the disease unfolds for us as individuals. For instance, I know several people in wheelchairs who have continued to work full-time throughout their career, because they are dependant on their minds instead of their bodies to do their jobs well.

In my line of work, what was most important was accuracy to detail, and meeting deadlines. As fatigue and reliability were my two worst stumbling blocks to contend with, it made it very hard to carry on in any capacity. I know many people (i.e. think Montel Williams) who do not experience those particular symptoms, and they continue on in their careers for considerably longer. Fatigue has never been an issue for Montel though, and obviously things may have been different for him if it was.

The first year after dx can be difficult for some people, because sometimes the disease is more active (then it will be later), and because adapting emotionally can be difficult for most. If you find yourself struggling during this period, with the disease process and emotional adjustments . . . that is normal. However, if you anticipate it to some degree, then I think you might worry less when things don't go exactly as planned all the time. To that end, you will need to cut yourself some slack, and even though you'll continue to set the bar high (because that's the kinda' gal you are :-) ), plan NOT to stress if things don't always work out the way you might have liked them too.

I had very large career goals at a young age, and I had to go through a major attitude adjustment when I realized I had MS. I never stopped achieving to my fullest potential, but I definitely reduced the scope of what I hoped to achieve career-wise. I was still the best at what I did . . . I just didn't realized early that I wasn't going to be able to the job that I always thought I would.

You are obviously an over-achiever, and that gives you a big leg up on your opportunities in life. My only suggestion would be to don't aim to be the President, just aim to use your skills and attributes in a more accommodating way (maybe Vice-President ) so that you can conserve energy and reduce stress to a manageable level.

Hope that made sense.

Cherie