Her Hero Of The Week Is… Incredible Irish Woman’s Post About MS Is Guaranteed To Put A Smile On Your Face

Ever wondered where all the good men are gone? Or where are all the gods? So have we. It’s that time of the week again, ladies… This week’s #HerHeroOfTheWeek goes to one pretty exceptional lady. Claire Mitchell describes herself as a "sometimes frantic, occasionally overworked, always optimistic and usually happy" Mum of two.  The 39-year-old Corkonian suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, a phrase that doesn't sit well with her. "I hate the term 'suffer from MS' but in truth it has a horrible, debilitating effect on my life that I try my best to ignore when possible and refuse to let it define me, even if it does control some of my deepest thoughts and worries." Follow Your Nose is Claire's blog where she shares the trials and tribulations of some who battles with MS. 'Meet My Left Arm' is just one of the witty and inspiring posts about her life that guarantees to leave you with a smile on your face. Claire Mitchell, you're a hero! Meet My Left Arm: My left arm is stuck in the 90s. It parties non-stop like a pill popping raver. It behaves like a 20 year old who has just danced for 12 hours straight with the aid of copious amounts of chemicals. My arm shamelessly drinks gallons of strong coffee to keep itself awake after this orgy of debauchery. It still hasn’t had enough… I wouldn’t mind so much, if I wasn’t dragged along for the ride. I am the grumpy neighbour downstairs rapidly banging my ceiling with a broom handle asking my nerves to be quiet. I am the nightclub bouncer trying to kick my arm out at the end of a night. Once upon a time I might have envied my arm for its hectic, partying lifestyle, its luminous yellow lycra top with a huge smilie face, its whistles and its lollipops. Now all I want is for it to behave normally, to stop partying and behave like a boring suburban arm who spends his weekends grocery shopping, mowing the lawn and washing his car. I would be happy if I could touch-type again, use key commands for my work, hold my fork in my left hand (table manners were drilled into me growing up, I’m failing miserably at my attempts with my own kids by the way) and hold a cup of coffee without the fear of spillages. I am so thankful for the anti-shake capability of my camera, even though nowadays it’s usually my phone with something to lean on and steady my rogue limb that capture my moments. Give me a handful of popcorn, and standby by with your mouths open, hilarity will ensue. A normally behaving left arm is one of the simple things MS has stripped away from me. There is no doubt it is not one of the worst symptoms, jeeze it’s a summer breeze compared to my balance issues! Which are playing havoc with my stability at the moment. Ireland is being gripped by some epic storms this winter. Bad news for me because I’m tall, I blow over easily. I spend most of my life nowadays trying to hide my symptoms, from myself as much as everyone else. I brush off questions about my health and treatments with vague answers. Oh I’m fine, everything is grand – not to worry. Followed up by me changing the focus of the conversation immediately, only my closest friends wear me down, persist and badger me for answers. I’m glad they do, otherwise I’d never talk about how the disease affects me. I need to reprimand my arm, if he was a teenager, I’d ground him. I’m tired of his tremor party, fed up of his lack of enthusiasm at simple things like picking something up. I’ve had enough of his endless all-night-long stamina and I think it’s time he returned the Ministry of Sound CDs he borrowed from me six years ago. It’s time he started responding to my reprimands & treatments, gave me a break from unsteadiness, and made himself useful by cutting my lawn and washing the car.   For more post by Claire check out Follow Your Nose.   Do you know a HERO? Ladies, every week we will select one complete gentleman to be Her Hero, not without your help of course… How can you help? Send an image of someone you think is an absolute hero, and if we agree, your entry will get a very deserving and coveted place. He doesn’t have to be fast, he doesn’t necessarily have to be brave, or have ever been involved in a fight in his life… but it may help. The picture can be anything, a nice gesture from your boyfriend (providing you have one), a text from your Dad or friend, or even someone lovely you happen to meet on the street. Surprise us! Send your potential Her Heroes to grace.oreilly@her.ie or use the #HerHeroOfTheWeek on Twitter. Until next week…