My question is, “Are celebrities who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis inspirations to me or other non-celebrity people who have MS; or are they inspirations to people who do not have MS and feel their stories are inspirational for them?”
I bring this up because recently Selma Blair was on the Today Show and in People magazine talking about her new book, “Mean Baby,” a memoir. I have not read this and she deals with a lot more than just her diagnosis of MS. Regardless, Savannah Guthrie stated what an inspiration she was. That brings up the above question.
I have listened to other celebrities who have MS, ie; Annette Funicello, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Jack Osborne, Ann Romney, Montel Williams, Terri Garr, Richard M. Cohen and many others. These are just the ones that I personally have listened to. While I have felt some inspiration from Terri Garr and Richard M. Cohen, (author and husband of Meredith Viera). In general, I have not felt any inspiration in their stories. I remember when Terri Garr came out with her diagnosis, she was very involved with the National MS Society and traveled giving speeches and working to raise awareness and I did admire that. Richard M. Cohen, has written several books about dealing with his MS and I admired him greatly for telling his truth. He doesn’t want to be a poster boy, (man) for MS. He doesn’t talk about how “wonderful he is doing.” He gets very real with his struggles and his resentment for having this disease. That I can truly admire.
The reason that I don’t find inspiration is because all of these celebrities have a major advantage over the rest of us. They are well known and more important they have money. This enables them to receive the best treatment options, the best doctors, and the best means of physical therapy. Would I love to have the means to see the doctor of my choice? Would I love to be able to ride horses any time I wanted? You bet your ass I would! So when I see these celebrities showing what helps them, no they don’t inspire me. I’m jealous and wish I had the options they have. Notice I used the word admiration, not inspiration.
I would love to know how anyone else with MS feels about celebrities with MS.