On Being a Cripple

559 Words3 Pages
In the easy “On being a cripple” by Nancy Mairs, Nancy express’s how she lives her life with the difficulties of having multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects the brain and spine, can cause many symptoms. Since its discovery, we have yet to determine what causes it, what we can do to treat it, and how to cure it. Even though there have been many people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, we have yet to fully understand how we can cure it. In my opinion, we need to become more educated on this disease because we have made numerous medical advancements and have yet to break the surface of this disease. Throughout her essay she thoroughly explains the challenges of living with Multiple sclerosis. She begins her essay by telling us the reasons why she started to write in the first place. She begins by explaining where she was at the time when she began to write; she mentioned that she was at the restroom at her office and how she fell over in the toilet fully clothed. This was the even that motivated her to write this essay. Throughout her introduction he expresses how she doesn't like the terms handicapped and disabled and how she would dear never call anybody a cripple. Living with a disability is very difficult. The simplest tasks can become very challenging and the thought of not being able to perform activities of daily living can have a major effect on the individual. Nancy then explains the hardships that come with living with her disability. She defines multiple sclerosis as being, “…a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system" (pg 144). Nancy expresses how her senses and movements; such as vision, hearing, speech, the ability to walk, and control of bladder have, declined. Multiple sclerosis eats away the old nerves and leaves scared and damaged tissue in its place. Since our nervous systems is one of the major systems
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