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Medicine and religion, what do I have to lose by believing in prayer? I know that there are those who will stop reading right now because of the BIG “R” word but please hear me out.

Where do people with chronic illness stand when it comes to medicine and religion. I know that there are chapels in several major hospitals. Do the doctors believe that it helps to have religion or prayer when dealing with diseases that don’t follow normal medical treatments? MS is so unpredictable it is my opinion they do think it helps the patients’ frame of mind.

I never really believed in religion. Several months after I got my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis prayer became an important part of my life. I now wonder how I ever did without it. I get a sense of relief knowing that I don’t have to carry the weight of the whole disease on my shoulders. I once heard that a problem shared is a problem halved.

Living with a debilitating disease presents problems that some medical people can’t relate to. They may no the theory of the disease but the feelings about it are foreign to them. When having a High Power to believe in it makes life a little more bearable. My day starts by asking for help to get through the day and the end of the day is a thank you. If I didn’t have that I am sure I would lose my mind on those days where my arms and legs don’t want to cooperate. Then there are the days when I have vertigo so bad that I feel like I have a major hangover.

The best thing about having something to believe in is that I am never alone the Higher Power is always with me and will never leave me. I remember a time when I was first diagnosed and felt so depressed and angry. I kept thinking why me? A very wise person said to me “Why not You.” Stronger people get bigger problems. Now, I am no stronger than anybody else is. I know that my strength comes from people, prayer and believing that by keeping my mind alive that I have a chance a being around long enough to see a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.