Multiple Sclerosis and a Nightlight - Multiple Sclerosis Blog

Even though we lived in a quiet neighborhood in Seattle, it never seemed to get really dark. Our arborvitae hedge rose over 15 feet in the back garden, but we were only a block from the bus route. A city ball field was only a few short blocks (an easy walk on a good day) which flooded the area in a blue-white light of mercury vapor bulbs. The infamous Seattle cloud cover held, reflected and re-reflected the city?s lights and gave everything a perpetual glow, even on the clearest, moonless nights.

Not so in my new hometown.

Here, there aren?t many sources of light pollution. We?re at the end of a very quiet (like 5 other houses total, and 3 of them are holiday homes not let for the winter) laneway, the countryside has far, FAR more sheep than people and they turn off the streetlights late at night!

Back in Seattle, when I?d get up in the night to pee, the ambient light from a neighborhood miles away may have been refracted in through my windows and I could walk (or wall-walk) my way to relief even when canes or crutches were required. Here in West Kerry, I can?t even see the six feet from my bedside to the en-suite door in our room!

I?ve never really feared the dark. As a navigator on ships, standing the 4:00-8:00 watches, I required the dark in order to preserve my night-vision in order make out stars, the horizon and objects which might be floating in the sea. Now, in order to preserve my uprightedness when spastic bladder symptoms jostle me awake and only a pinprick of white flecks the view out our bathroom window (and that?s from a farmhouse nearly a mile away), we are in search of a nightlight.

It?s not that big of a deal, save for the fact that it?s yet another little thing in my life which requires modification for our stupid disease.

I?m sure this will pass as we move closer to the summer solstice and my town on the same latitude as the capital of Siberia sees daylight from about 3:00am. For now, however, we?ll head down to the local hardware/haberdashery/bike-hire/pub to see if they might have such a thing.

In the meantime, how has MS changed the way you get around in the dark?

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers

Trevis

You can also follow me via our Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter, and in our group on MS Connection.org. Also, check out our bi-monthly MS blog for the United Kingdom, look for our very special new monthly blog for the National MS Society, and don?t forget to check out TrevisLGleason.com.

Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/trevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms/multiple-sclerosis-and-a-nightlight/

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