How I've Evolved

Evolution or Adaptation

Thanks to this MesS, I’ve learned new ways for doing old things.
From bathing to walking, from driving to writing, so much has changed.
Sometimes I feel as free as a bird-with clipped wings.

Because of the adaptations I’ve made, a voice in my head sings:
“Trying to adapt rather than just sitting seems quite deranged.”
Thanks to this MesS, I’ve learned new ways for doing old things.

One adaptation that multiple sclerosis brings:
Whether short or long, the details of all trips must be pre-arranged
Sometimes I feel as free as a bird-with clipped wings.

At times the reality of this MesS is so clear that it stings
To look back at that I have lost. How much I’ve exchanged.
Thanks to this MesS, I’ve learned new ways for doing old things.

Yet there are also times when, in my favor, the pendulum swings,
And I realize that rather than gone, some skills are just interchanged.
Making me feel as free as a bird-with clipped wings.

From all of these adaptations, one important thought springs:
My resolve will need to remain unchanged.
Despite this MesS, I’ve learned new ways for doing old things.
Someday I hope to feel as free as a bird-without clipped wings.

Full Time PT

Physical Therapy

This MesS has taken so much from me.

I now must complete old tasks in new ways.

Hope for a little of what I have lost lies in physical therapy.

At the beginning, a difficult path is my only guarantee,

And, despite how much I try, my body still disobeys.

This MesS has taken so much from me.

Despite so much failure, I am starting to see

That this commitment is for life,not just a few days.

Hope for a little of what I have lost lies in physical therapy.

Falls used to require mere seconds for recovery. 

But, now what took minutes takes hours in a daze.

This MesS has taken so much from me.

I’ve gained some new skills, providing a new discovery:

Falling and recovery now have entered a new phase!

Hope for a little of what I have lost lies in physical therapy.

It hasn’t been easy, not a pleasant journey,

But learning has helped fight this malaise.

This MesS has taken so much from me.

Hope for a little of what I have lost lies in physical therapy.

-Josh Evitt 2019

Giving A Hand

As MS is progressing, I have had to modify some of the simpler things that I used to do: Writing, a switch from right to left; folding, using just one hand; and many more as well.

A Helping 'Hand'

MS has given me a sudden and unfortunate turn.

I knew to expect it, just not yet.

I will not quit; what the right side did, now the left must learn.

Without a pencil or pen, the keyboard allows me to return

To writing again, but still I cannot forget:

MS has given me a sudden and unfortunate turn.

Along with my weakened hands comes another concern:

Falling and recovery causing so much regret.

I will not quit; what the right side did, now the left must learn.

All these difficulties are leading me toward a life quite taciturn.

I cannot deny or ignore how my path is set.

MS has given me a sudden and unfortunate turn.

Walking is a thing for which I still yearn,

But the weakness in my legs remains a threat.

I will not quit; what the right side did, now the left must learn.

I still, one day, hope that my ability to write will return.

For now, I must adopt a new mindset.

MS has given me a sudden and unfortunate turn.

My hope is that what the right side did, soon the left will learn.

-Josh Evitt 2019

Wheels or Feet?

In 2018 I began to use a wheelchair. 

It's been interesting.

My New 'Feet'

While I am relatively new to being in a wheelchair, it has become a thing to which I've adapted rather easily.

The days of using my feet are now done,

Now I am confined to my chair.

I still can move, and MS hasn’t won.

My life in this chair has just begun;

Socks and shoes are now things about which I no longer care.

The days of using my feet are now done.

For a while I wanted see no one!

But, in my new chair, I can now go anywhere.

I still can move, and MS hasn’t won.

In mere moments, it seemed I was undone,

I’d be confined to a powered wheelchair.

The days of using my feet are now done.

Wheels replace the feet, and, yet there’s still fun;

Stubbing my toes is no more an affair.

I still can move, and MS hasn’t won.

So, a new chapter of my life with MS has begun,

And for a while, I had to fend off despair.

Accepting that the days of using my feet are now done,

I still can move; MS hasn’t won!

-Josh Evitt (2019)