Sometimes we do not really become adults until we suffer a good whacking loss, and our lives in a sense catch up with us and wash over us like a wave and everything goes.
Richard Ford – The Sportswriter
My good whacking loss came in 2005 when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – a currently incurable and unremittingly crap condition. But this thing is now a part of my life – not the only part, but a big part – and on these pages I try to document, explain and explore what it means to live with an illness like this. What it means to grow up.
I do not write from the position of an “expert patient” – I remain in many ways wilfully ignorant of the medical side of living with MS. Nor do I write specifically in order to encourage or inspire. There are dark days and thoughts which I try to reflect truthfully though not everyone will find this comfortable or terribly helpful. But it is a consolation of sorts, and it interests me.
As do plenty of other things outside the world of illness which will make their way onto these pages too. If any of them interest you and you want to get in touch then you can write to endofcomplacency at gmail dot com.
My name is Andrew. I am 35, single and I live and work in London.
