Scary Questions - But not so scary answers

When someone you love has MS, it's natural to have lots of questions. Some of them are kind of scary and you may not want to ask your parent about them because you think they might feel bad. Even if asking them might seem mean to you, it will make you feel better to ask. Your parent will feel better too, having the chance to explain things to you.

Is MS catching?
NO. You can't catch MS from your parent or anyone else. It's not like the flu or chicken pox.

Will I get MS because my parent has it?
No. MS isn't passed directly from parent to child, although there can be more than one person with MS in a family.

Will my parent die because of the MS?
People who have MS hardly ever die from it.

Will my parent have to go to the hospital?
Maybe. There may be times when your parent has to spend time in the hospital. This is usually for tests, or to treat some of the conditions MS may cause.

"When my mom had to go to the hospital it wasn't really scary, but the house just felt kind of different while she was away."

"We visited my dad in the hospital and stayed with him until 10:00 at night. My mother let me stay up later than I usually do."

More Facts about MS

Although there is no cure for MS yet, some of the symptoms may be helped by medicine and other treatment, like exercise.

Most doctors say that a person with MS should go ahead with normal life, and try to work around the extra problems the symptoms may cause. Your parent with MS will always be the same parent you've always had…things just may need to be done differently, depending on how he or she is feeling.

Children of parent's with MS have a slightly higher chance of getting MS as adults. It is not hereditary.

Even though we know a lot about MS, we still can't tell ahead of time who will get this disease.

It is mainly people between the ages of 15 and 40 who get MS - twice as many women as men.

You can't catch MS by touching a person who has it or by holding an object that this person has touched.

MS may be different for each person.

The symptoms of MS may not be too serious and may change over time.

MS may suddenly cause problems, because you never know what it will do or how it will affect someone.

Researchers are still looking for the cause and cure for MS.

It's not anyone's fault - not Mom's, Dad's or your own - if one of your parents has MS. There is nothing that you could have done to keep it from happening.