When I was 13 I got the opportunity to go to New Zealand for 3 weeks with a group similar to Girl Guides that I was involved in.
It was amazing,we went to the North Island and I saw so many fantastic things,that I hope one day to go back and see if much has changed in 34 years(My guess? Yep,lots!!)
A couple of days before flying home we were in Auckland staying in a hotel and we walked into the city one night to get ice cream.We had to walk up hill to get back to where we were staying and I remember this awful heavy feeling came over me,everything seemed to take an almighty effort to do,even lifting the ice cream to my mouth was to hard.I chucked it in a bin cos I knew I couldn't eat it AND try to walk up the hill,I remember feeling that there was no way I could move my body properly and all I wanted to do was lay down and not move.I kept going and the effort of just moving my legs for each step was incredible,I looked up to see how much further and my eyes were "funny" I could see but it wasn't clear like normal.Everyone I was with were having a good time talking and laughing about the stuff we'd seen and done and I just wanted to cry but that was too hard to.If I started to cry I knew there would be no way I could get up the hill.
One of the women we were with noticed how quiet I'd become and asked me if I was okay,I told her I was fine and just tired,she walked beside me with her arm round my shoulders and the extra weight was almost my undoing.I trudged on and got back,crawled into bed,with my clothes on,I couldn't waste time to get changed,I just needed to rest and slept for hours.They had to wake me the next day and I was normally the first one up,ready to go.
I kept getting asked if I was okay and I would say I'm just tired and I've got a cold.I did have a cold a few days before hand but it had cleared up.Why didn't I say anything? Probably cos I was 13 a long way from home,with people who although really great I didn't know that well and I was scared and wanted my Mum!
I spent the last 2 days we were there sleeping heaps and resting when I wasn't asleep.
The heaviness lifted and by the time I flew home I was almost back to normal and the excitement of seeing my family and talking about the trip made me forget about the heaviness and how weird my eyes went.
I'll never know, so it's a bit stupid to speculate,but I wonder if this was my first encounter with MS?
Interesting story Alison, it sure sounds like it was a clue to what might end up happening. I can't think of any clues like that from my childhood for myself, but then, hey, we've all got MS, but we're also all unique in the way our MS hits us!
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