Hospital diaries : Multiple sclerosis

Knock knock. An old man pushing a young man bound to a wheelchair entered the room. The first thing I noted was a bag for containing urine hanging out of the man's legs. It was a follow up session for this young gentleman with multiple sclerosis, who had been diagnosed at age of 22, but the specific variant of multiple sclerosis that he had was a bad one and the disease progressed beyond its control. It is called tumefactive multiple sclerosis. 

It is the first time I saw a male patient with multiple sclerosis, as they are more common amongst females. To my surprise, it is 1 out of the 3 cases that they saw in the hospital. How lucky I am. This gentleman had a suprapubic catheter placed because he had developed a fistula (meaning a connection between his bladder and his bowel), and couldn't urinate through the normal route (ie. the urethra). He also developed a sacral sore which I am guessing from the pressure sores from having been wheelchair bound for the past few years. As a result of his sacral sore, he had to have a stoma inserted in his bowel for feces elimination. He spent his past year in ICU undergoing all sorts of operation to get his catheter and stoma in place. 

The thoughts that came into my mind was : I couldn't imagine what sort of life I would be living if I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't urinate / defecate and had to rely on other people for the rest of my life. I salute the father as well, for he appeared cheerful, and was constantly reassuring his son throughout the interview. I am not that brave to be able to dwell through whatever that the gentleman is facing, and I laughed at things that I usually fret about / worry about. What are my problems compared to theirs anyway?