Page 30 - Panama City Living Magazine

OLIVIA CROSBYDIABETES AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS"EVERYONE GOES THROUGH ISSUES IN THEIR LIFE BUT LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT. I LEARNED TO TRUST GOD AND HAVE FAITH."WHAT’S NORMAL?With MS, my life feels “normal” most of the time, until a are-up happens. Ev- erything you can think of could or can a ect my MS, too. Nobody knows what causes MS, unfortunately, or how to cure it. I have read a few books and learned how to lessen symptoms. It’s important to eat healthy and give your body the proper nutrients it needs. Stress can also trigger a are up. Crazy, but cold weather can cause a are up, too! Thank God for Florida weather! So, for the most part, I feel “normal” and, until now, only people close to me knew I am living with MS. Sometimes, when the weather changes, or my body hasn’t had the right amount of something, I will have a are up and that can be annoying... mainly because, I love my heels!MISCONCEPTIONSThe most common misconception I hear is, “Oh you must have eaten a lot of sweets.” No, I didn’t and I don’t. I always take this as the perfect time to explain the di erences in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. For the MS, it’s so new to me, not a ton of people know and talk about it.Most often I hear, “Bless your heart!” But living in the South, it makes me smile. People are surprised when they nd out that I have been dealing with this my entire life. I like to take that as a compliment because I am “keeping on keeping on” like a healthy person would do.STRENGTHWithout a doubt, my faith is what keeps me strong and keeps me going. I am who I am because of the Big Man upstairs. What would I tell others about my experiences? You get through it. Sometimes it is di cult and frustrating and hard. Waking up in the middle of the night to check my blood sugars all through the night wasn’t what I wanted to do. I know my parents had to su er with me when I was a little girl. Then there are times I really want to run a mile, or wear the adorable new high heels I just bought, but I just can’t because of the MS. There are things in life you just have to deal with. You have two choices, you can do it and make the best of it, or you can do it and let it make you a miserable person. I am making the best of it. My preacher once told us that our bad times can be somebody else’s blessings. I have never ever forgotten that.LEARNINGEveryone goes through issues in their life but life is what you make of it. I learned to trust God and have Faith. I could have easily decided not to do certain things because it was easier and maybe not a challenge to take the easy way out. But I choose not to. I want to take the challenge. Now I have a story. I am proud of what I have done and accomplished. I am excited to see what my future holds because I know my book is still being written. You can let things slow you down in life, or you can grab them and move them forward with you. I am making my way in life with two autoimmune diseases. I have not been slowed down one bit. I love when I nd out people have no idea about my illnesses. That makes me happy. It’s a reminder that I am out here being “normal”–whatever normal is.30 • March - April 2018 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com