b'Hot TopicsH t oTTaallkkttooHooww toYYoouurrKKiiddssA o uttMMSSAbb ouBy Matt CavalloI was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a and then told the class that I had MS andcouple years prior to our two sons being born. brokedowncrying.ImaginemysurpriseSince MS can be unpredictable, my wife when I got the call from the teacher asking ifand I made a pact to be open, honest, and everythingwasalright,butinmyheartIcommunicate about my MS with our children. knew it wasnt. IalsofoundtalkingtothekidsaboutMS When you are living with MS, the challengeswhile I was in remission made it easier for and struggles of parenting are intensied.them to cope when I had a relapse. How do you tell your children about your illnessMy kids heard their whole life that I had without overwhelming them? It is importantMS, but for majority of their lives they had to communicate with your children about yourneverseenmeinanactiverelapse.That illness. The information you share with themchanged in 2016 when I had a major relapse should always be truthful and age-appropriate.that aected the whole right side of my body.Children are aected by everything thatThey were only nine and seven at the time happens in the family and even at a youngand had to watch home healthcare nurses come age, they sense when something is wrong.to the house to administer IV steroids. During When a parent has MS, it aects the entirethis time, I could barely get out of my chair family. The more serious the situation, thewithout assistance from my wife. I was having more they will be affected. Lying to yourproblems doing anything on my own, including childreninanywaywilleventuallycausebathing and dressing. I tried to keep a brave them more stress and make them questionface, but this was the worst relapse I had ever what they can trust. experienced and the treatments werent helping Whatarethebasicfactskidsneedtoas fast as they had for previous relapses. know? You do not need to overshare all of theStill, I thought I had my bases covered. I ins and outs of MS but here are some key issuesassured them daddy was going to be alright, you should explain to your children:but all they saw was that I was stuck in a chairTell your kids you have multiple sclerosis.and missing all of their school and sportsevents. While I eventually bounced back, IExplain to the best of your ability yourwas unaware of the toll it took on my kids understanding of living with MS. This woulduntil the rst day of school the following year. include what a relapse might look like andThe teacher asked the class to introduce that,whiletherearenocures,therearethemselves and say one thing about them. treatments that can help.When it was my sons turn, he said his nameIf they ask, reassure them that MS is not fatalmsfocusmagazine.org 16'