Know what I mean? I essentially have four people groups (besides here, I mean): family, church, and 2 friend circle/groups. Is there some cosmic rule that every group has to have at least one person that HAS TO create and then win the sicker-than-you wars?

And that's just the people I actually talk with about MS and my other medical issues. I don't talk to my kids and adult granddaughter a whole lot...unfair to burden them with TMI about my health. And I don't talk to my brother at ALL about it, because he's of the philosophy that I've just got myself CONVINCED I can't do things. Really?

But each group has a person who is deeply threatened if she isn't sicker than I am. I truly don't think it's an "I'm the big shot" deal, I think their need to be worse is a sickness in itself. But it's still tiring.

If I mention that my fingers are stiff, within a couple of days "A" has such horrible, throbbing pain in her hands that she can barely pick up a fork. If I'm having a wobbly day, soon "B" will inform me that she couldn't go to work because she could barely stand up and almost had several terrible falls. If I casually mention that maybe I should make a doctor's appointment, first thing you know "C" will announce that she called her doctor and he wants to see her AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and he sounded VERY CONCERNED.

I know, I just need to let it go, and most of the time I can. But sometimes it just gets really old not to be able to share with people without somebody apparently feeling she's not validated unless she invalidates somebody else.

I don't know how I stop myself, sometimes, from just saying to them "You win!"