Am I Bad for the Earth?
Let us put this part to rest...global warming is real. We, particularly in the West, are destroying our own planetary home. This is being done in numerous ways. Some of these ways are out of my hands, and for others, I can do something to help.
I am living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and I pride myself on trying my best to mitigate the harm I am doing. One only needs to do a quick online search to find ways in which they can do their part to decrease their carbon footprint. Having a chronic illness is no barrier to living more conscious of one's buying habits. One day I was opening a prepacked salad and wondered if I was actually bad for the Earth.
Spastic arms and fatigue
A person living with MS knows that some form of disability is a possibility. The unpredictability of this disease leaves us at its mercy most of the time. Disease-modifying therapies (DMT) can help mitigate or stave off the progress of MS, but they are not a cure. Additional prescribed drugs like baclofen address symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis. Taken altogether they still do not take away the pain or other symptoms.
The spasticity and nerve pain in my arms is a fact of life for me. I have begun developing ways to work around them. Sometimes that includes using assistive devices or products that are not earth-friendly. Primarily, it is in the kitchen that I find myself feeling the most conflicted.
Meal shortcuts that hurt the Earth
When my arms are acting up, they really act a fool. No amount of medication completely shuts them down. That is, unless I want to be put into deep fatigue or to sleep by one of them. Nerve pain that shoots from the back of the shoulders down to the wrists is common. I experience hours of muscles pulling at my shoulders that are only relieved after "popping" of the bones.
Meal preparation becomes supremely difficult when these twin MS symptoms occur. My usual routine of chopping, slicing, dicing, stirring, and flipping is cancelled. Lovely, second-generation cast iron skillets remain in the cupboard. That is when I turn to prepared food. Salad and meal kits come with components packaged for convenience. Everything comes measured and ready, all in little plastic packets. Meal delivery services use cardboard boxes filled with plastic ice packs along with those pesky plastic packets. It seems that my disability comes with a notation: May contribute to the death of the Earth.
Living in contradiction: My carbon footprint with MS
Of course, it is way too dramatic to claim personal responsibility for the destruction of the third rock from the sun. I clearly can only do so much to help. Limiting travel in my gas-powered vehicle and shopping with companies that actively help lower my delivery's carbon footprint are tiny ways I do my part.
Yet, every time I throw away excess plastic wrapping or the remnants of a shipment I cannot help but feel that my other efforts are going to waste. I get upset that my MS symptoms are the reason. On the grand scale, this may be a small complaint about living with MS. On the daily living scale? It is yet another reminder that a chronic illness is along for my life's journey and that it affects me in surprising ways.
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