Unlike most people, my father is one of my best friends. We always have a laugh together and can never be mad at each other for than for more than a second, but one thing different about him he has the disease Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects the nervous system. For my father, it really has a big impact on his leg. He was born with this disease, but the symptoms came around the time I was born.
It is so depressing watching my father struggle to walk while people stare at him like he is some kind of animal because he is young and has to use a cane. I wish I could ride bikes with him, take jogs with him, and to be able to do what fathers do with their children if they didn’t have this disease. I can’t change that fact his has it, but I can change my attitude towards it.

I was going out to lunch with my father one day. When we were walking there, many people were staring at us while I prevented my father from falling down. It was so silent in the room that you could hear a pin drop all because of my father, who is a normal human being who just happens to have a disease. To many people, he seems like some kind of alien that they stare at wide-eyed.

One of his struggles is when he is walking and he falls out of nowhere. Sometimes, his leg will give out without warning, and this really scares me. I always help my father when he falls even if he’s outside and I am inside or vice versa. I will run as quickly as I can to help him up.
Also, another struggle of his is when he is on the floor or sitting on his leg for a long time, it will start to shake. This makes him very frustrated and stressed which makes the disease worse for him. It’s hard on me and my whole family watching him because frustrated, yell, and even let a tear out sometimes.

My two biggest fears are that he might fall when no one is there to help him up and also, that his disease will get worse. I can’t see my life without my father because he is always there for me. When I need a shoulder to cry on, someone to watch horror movies with, or even laugh about stupid stuff that no one would understand, but that is why he is my best friend.

One of the ways that I am dealing with this struggle is that I am a leader of a team of about 45 people who are participating in the MS Walk on May 6, 2012. I want to show people that my and family and I are stronger than this disease, and we are not going to let it break us.

I always pray for my father to get better. I promised him that when I am older, no matter what it takes or how much money it costs, I will find a cure for him, so one day we can ride bikes together, take jogs together, and he can be the man I know he wants to be and the man I know he can be.