THERE'S NOTHING MORE PATHETIC THAN
![](radiocar.gif)
This picture shows my dad (in the background) in
his prime. He's the guy seated in the Radio Car giving pointers about
covering a story to a young fellow in a work/study program. As his
ambulatory capacity started to deteriorate, Dad had no trouble sinking into
bitterness and self-pity. Shortly before symptoms began appearing,
he had a hernia operation (that sort of thing can trigger an exacerbation,
the same thing happened to me). He convinced himself that the surgeon
(whom he correctly assessed as an incompetant fool) had cut a nerve and
all this talk about MS was a lot of hooey. He succeeded in making
everyone around him just as miserable as possible.
My dad was a very macho sort of person or at least,
HE thought so. He had his mistress, his "wholesome" wife and kiddies,
and because of his work as a newspaper photographer, his innnumerable connections.
Once, while helping him walk up a hill in front of our apartment, Dad saw
some children staring at him. He suddenly said, "I am NOT drunk."
He'd rather they thought him drunk than ill. Eventually
he ended up (like me) in a wheelchair, and you can't be macho in a wheelchair.
So he just let himself go, finally landed in a nursing home, and was gone
less than a year after that.
For me, he remains a perfect example of the wrong
thing to do. He never took care of himself, I exercise daily.
All his teeth came out due to neglect, I see the dentist regularly, floss,
the whole oral hygiene bit. Years in a regular "sling-type" wheelchair
can do a number on posture and cause all sorts of problems from lack of
support. I use a very sturdy, specially fitted chair.
So because of that man's incredibly miserble attitude I can look back on a pretty dreary
childhood. He also provided some important pointers on what
NOT to do, and what becomes of someone who wallows in self-pity.