[Chris66]

"One of the things this disease does for us is to break down the walls of our pride."

The above was said about cancer. I heard it in a TV program called Living With Cancer aired by Discovery on Sunday night. The quote resonated with me, and I thought, "Yes, that's what MS does." I had spent a couple of hours on the bathroom floor that morning, naked from the waist down, since the fall happened during a transfer from the toilet to the WC. I was wedged painfully between the WC, toilet, and tub, and I had cracked the back of my head on the rim of the tub besides, but I managed to reach my emergency pendant. My emergency system is one that calls several friends, not 911. The friend who responded this time is also a student of mine. I know she was horrified. I mean, as her horseback riding instructor her image of me is one of authority and effectiveness. Being greeted by a half naked woman stuck on the bathroom floor pretty well shouts "helpless and ineffective." It all worked out, though. She was able to get me out and back into my WC.

Breaking down the walls of our pride. Don't get me wrong. I'm a great fan of pride, and I have a lot of it. But pride is a wall, a barrier that can stand between me and the help I may need, whether that help is technological, financial, or the hands of friends and loved ones -- or even complete strangers. Breaking down that wall isn't always a bad thing. Accepting help with grace doesn't make me weak. It makes me strong. Using all the tools available to me in my environment doesn't make me ineffective. It makes me effective. And strong and effective are good things to be.

Chris