In Nicole’s great blog post titled Surface Frustration (http://www.mynewnormals.com/surface-frustration/) , she talks about her increasing physical needs and the lack of medication options for progressive MS.
Muff (http://www.kaleidoscopemuff.blogspot.com/) commented that the word “decline” seems more fitting than a word like progressive that seems to have a positive connotation.
In a previous post, titled “Six Syllables”, I question the sensibility of giving a difficult to pronounce name with six syllables to a condition that includes speech problems. I, along with others, take issue with the identifying name of our subset of MS.
According to the dictionary, the word progressive technically fits, but not until definition 6 (see below).
| progressive (prəˈɡrɛsɪv) | |
| — adj | |
| 1. | of or relating to progress |
| 2. | proceeding or progressing by steps or degrees |
| 3. | ( often capital ) favouring or promoting political or social reform through government action, or even revolution, to improve the lot of the majority: a progressive policy |
| 4. | denoting or relating to an educational system that allows flexibility in learning procedures, based on activities determined by the needs and capacities of the individual child, the aim of which is to integrate academic with social development |
| 5. | Compare regressive (of a tax or tax system) graduated so that the rate increases relative to the amount taxed |
| 6. | (esp of a disease) advancing in severity, complexity, or extent |
| 7. | (of a dance, card game, etc) involving a regular change of partners after one figure, one game, etc |
| 8. | denoting an aspect of verbs in some languages, including English, used to express prolonged or continuous activity as opposed to momentary or habitual activity: a progressive aspect of the verb “to walk” is “is walking.” |
There must be a more suitable word, but it seems we’re stuck with the present description.
Progressive MS, with its constant changes, requires continual grieving so it is as emotionally exhausting as it is physically exhausting.
Regardless of what its called, there’s nothing positive about progressive MS. I grieve not only for myself, but for those who love me, watch the decline and must increasingly care for me as time goes on.
Thank you Nicole, Muff and others for sharing your experiences and feelings on your blogs. I hate that this is happening to you too, but it’s nice not to feel alone.
Climbing Downhill 