I have MS. Let me state that again. I have Multiple Sclerosis. I learned that fact on May 15th this year, two days before my 61st birthday, four days before my wife's birthday, and six days before becoming a great-grandfather. Yes, a great-grandfather. Hard to imagine that I've lived long enough to be a great-grandfather. Yet, I anticipate every breath that I can take, the sweet taste of clean air after a rain, because last year, in July, I was told that I have COPD. I've used oxygen at night ever since and all day some days, if my blood O2 is too low. That came on the wake of my heart attack in February of that same year. Two years before, I was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration in both eyes.
This gives me two oranges, a red, and a purple. Odd things, really, these ribbons; they are meant to raise awareness of a disease, though they seem to be a collection for the aged. My two orange ones are MS and COPD. Heart Disease is the red one and the purple is Mac Degen. I recall the Tony Orlando song that rekindled the ribbons, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'round the Old Oak Tree." The yellow ribbon represented a welcoming for those in the military, or more generally, anyone that had been away for a long time. Once, my brother and his wife put yellow ribbons all through their Japanese Maple in their front yard when I came to visit. I had been gone a long time - far too long - and I had been in the Navy, so the ribbons were very appropriate.
So, that adds a yellow to the mix. I mentioned the Navy, and I collected medals and ribbons while I was there, as well. One Navy Overseas Deployment ribbon, two Sea Service ribbons, a Good Conduct Medal, a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon, and a Navy Achievement Medal. More and more - ribbons.
I've not had the pleasure of being awarded a blue ribbon for first place, and I don't think that I have that aspiration any more. I would like, someday, though, to tell my great-grandson about these ribbons and the chill of south Korea in the winter and the warmth of camaraderie. The cold fear of a heart attack and the warm knowledge of having MS. Yes, I have MS, and I have had it most of my life, and now that I know that I understand why I've always been clumsy and uncoordinated. Why I've hit more wall corners than I've missed. Why I need to lean against the shower wall and why holding my hands steady is an impossibility.
I hope that he likes my stories, too.
-- Steve Scheider, 2018
