Today I’m rewinding time…going back to March, when my little family was flown out to California for a few days. It was a crazy (& quick) adventure where we made many memories and several new friends. It wasn’t a planned vacation. It wasn’t even a vacation. But it was all kinds of fun!

It started with my husband: he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis over five years ago, and he had finally decided to start writing about his new lifestyle with an autoimmune disease at the end of 2014. Sharing his story proved to be therapeutic and helped him connect with others going through similar struggles. It also helped him connect with the amazing people at The National MS Society, which was working on creating a 9-part video series to help newly diagnosed patients and their families find encouragement and clarity. His story interested them, and so they asked us all to take part. The rest is sort of a whirlwind, but in a nutshell: we flew to California, enjoyed the 90 degree weather, spent an entire day filming, and explored as much as we could fit in.

Now that the video series is finished and out, watching our silly selves in it has been exhilarating (and a little cringeworthy, because I am obviously at my best behind the camera), emotional, and gives us hope that maybe this can help others out there with the same daunting journey ahead; maybe it will help them not feel so alone and defeated. And we are nothing short of honored to have taken part in it all.

Sometimes the grandest adventures come from the places we least expect. MS wasn’t something we planned for. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow in the beginning. But over time, we’ve learned that it’s just a part of our lives like anything else. Hard, no fair, but sometimes rewarding; and when it’s really hard, it’s sometimes the only thing that keeps us from taking the rest of life for granted. It’s a catalyst and an opener of doors…if we look at it the right way. Everything has the potential for adventure. And wow, am I grateful for that.

You can see my husband’s post and the video series here: http://wheelsandred.com/2015/11/04/knowledge-is-power/

– m