[Natalie8]

I was recently visiting family and saw a cousin I have not seen in a couple of years. She heard through the family grapevine that I got diagnosed with MS almost 2 years ago. The first thing she says to me is "so how sick are you?" and "how come you are not disabled?" "You actually look like nothing is wrong." Somehow the fact that she used the word disabled in such a negative way and proceeded to dig for personal medical info really upset me. I had no idea what to say, really. I suppose I could have given her a lesson on what MS is or tell her to butt out however I just stood there feeling stunned. I think it kind of freaked me out too since I don't really think of myself as disabled -- but will I be disabled in the future??

Well, I guess there is a first time for everything....my first MS-related encounter with a rude ignorant person.