By Lauren Kovacs

Step right up and get your tickets for the carnival of summer with MS. Don’t be shy about entering the MS fun house. Try and visit places before the landscape melts in the summer sun. Distortions can be fun and dealt with at the same time.

MS is not fun, I know. Attack it with caution and preparation. Fatigue is an annoying clown that follows you around the carnival. It taps you on the shoulder just when you get your cotton candy. It makes you see it as a fluffy pink pillow. A nap would be nice. Take charge and eat it. I hate clowns.

Sandals can mean cool (temperature wise) feet. Cool feet often lead to cooler bodies. If you are a lady treat yourself to a pedicure first. I recently could not expose my toes because my son told me my feet were “jacked up.”

Stay cool by hanging out in the shade, if you skip a ride, for example. Eating ice cream or a snow cone can help cool you. Just use two hands because fatigue and/or heat can bring on tremors. I learned this by launching my ice cream cup at my mother-in-law. It missed and we laughed.

Laugh at yourself. MS can be funny. It can be very mean, but humor helps calm that beast. If you make light of something you did, it seems to help everyone to move on. Yes, I threw my ice cream cup. Funny. Next.

Wear wrap-around polarized sunglasses, and a hat that you can wet down. I had my manual wheelchair, when we went to a theme park recently. One of my sons pushed me and I occasionally closed my eyes to block out over-stimulation from sights. The glare was reduced when my eyes were open. Too much to look at can increase my fatigue. Glare drives me nuts.

Drinking only water can help limit bathroom trips too. I love soda and I often need the kick from caffeine. However, sticking with water is better. Fewer bathroom trips also help limit fatigue. Wear an incontinent pad, if you need to. They are bulky, but if you are sitting no one knows.

Limiting sights and stopping in shade helps slay the fatigue clown. Only drinking water limits the energy exertion involved with numerous bathroom breaks from caffeinated beverages. Proper sunglasses and hats you can wet down make a big difference. Wearing sandals, if your toes are pretty, can help keep your body cool too.

The summer carnival of life with MS can be tough to navigate. We are always trapped in the fun house. I know it is not really fun; however, the many distortions in our lives can be dealt with. Preparation and humor can help smooth that wavy mirror in the MS fun house.

Go enjoy yourself. Limits are all around us, but do your best. Shade, frozen treats, and limiting energy sucking activities can assist us. Try and stay involved and fight the inner hermit. Send that fatigue clown to the naughty corner, while you enjoy life. Know your limits and have no regrets at the same time. Have a churro. Chocolate melts.