Power of Acceptance

In the article “On Being a Cripple”, the author, Nancy Mairs, is suffering from multiple sclerosis. She is diagnosed with this disease at an early age and it is hard for her to accept the biggest disease of her life. Through this article, Mairs illustrate twists and turns of her life because of this distressing disease. She is trying to overpower this painful disease by her strong personality and a power of acceptance.

Mairs is a strong person. She is physically sick but mentally strong. Rather than staying in bed, she wants to work and enjoy life until the death comes. She has a wonderful husband and three children. She is a technical editor and a teacher. She teaches writing courses and also educates medical student about neurological examinations. She cannot hide her disease from any unknown person. For me it is really hard to share some silly thing like spilling oil in the kitchen. But, for Mairs is not to be ashamed. She discusses openly the critical problems that she undergoes on daily basis. .

Every day is filled with numerous challenges for her. For example, in the article she mentions that when she wakes up in the morning she feels fatigue and is unable to start a day like a normal person. For each and every activity like brushing teeth, wearing clothes and taking shower, she has to put enormous amount of effort to finish. She is going through such circumstances every day. It is not at all challenging for a normal person, but the person who has such a disorder has a pretty hard time. Mairs experience reminds me of my cousin’s uncle; he was also suffering from a serious illness. However, he had a very positive attitude towards life. He told us, “He is going to fight back the disease with courage until the life ends”. He faced the truth of his life, worked hard and took care of his family instead of lying on the bed. In the article Mairs does the same things she raised a foster son and her two children. She goes to Mass every Saturday. She goes to work although she is suffering from severe pain of multiple sclerosis. I think because of her family and friends she is able to overcome her pain and live her life with strength and power.

The support of family and friends is the most precious gift for such a person’s life.  Mairs is truly blessed with this gift. Her family and friends are a backbone of her life. They always encourage and help her in the work. In the article, Mairs provide many examples her children and husband help her in cleaning the house; her colleagues and students are try to overcome her burden by sharing the work. Also, every person who knows Mairs accommodates her need that helps Mairs to accumulate the power to accept the catastrophe of her life.

Mairs has a great power of acceptance to adapt to devastating disease. Initially, when doctor has told her that she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she does-not want to believe it. As a reader if I put myself in her shoe then I might have reacted in the similar way. She does not want to lay on a bed the rest of her life and blame someone else for her condition. Therefore, I think, she uses the word “cripple” to define her disease. This word is originated from the history and gives her the moral support to accept the multiple sclerosis. I like the way she has uses the word “cripple” as this word does-not upset her. Though there are many symptoms of this disease that she faces regularly in her life. Symptoms like the ability to walk, hearing, lose vision, control of bladder/bowl movement, coordination of movements and many others. She is struggling with all these symptoms on daily basis. She does-not lose hope and tries to gather the strength to fight with the disease as a soldier.

In the article, Mairs is showing her power of acceptance by telling herself “I am not a disease” (41). For a reader it is really hard to accept this bold sentence from a person who is suffering from an incurable disease. In spite of helplessly lying on the bed and begging for the “Death” for the rest of her life, I believe by using such a word, she is trying to gather the courage to accept her condition. She has a good sense of humor though in this condition there is possibility person lost their sense of humor. In the article she mentioned, “I am a superb, if messy cook. I can do italic writing and, in an emergency, bathe an oil soaked cat” (Mairs 37). I think this type of humor helps her to faces the reality and lives every day to the fullest. She accepts multiple sclerosis as a challenge of her life and as a normal person I think, this is the biggest turn of her life which illustrate the power in herself towards the life.

In conclusion, Mairs is an optimistic woman. She is the strong and powerful woman, who has the ability to accept the truth and show it to others without any apprehension. In my opinion, she is a role model to all those people who are suffering from any kind of disease in their life. Although I am living a normal life, but many times I feel weak and struggle to accept the facts around me. Mairs teach me to fight back all my difficulties and never lose hope in the life. One most important thing, I have learned is do-not blame God if anything goes wrong to in life, always accept and face the truth with courage like Mairs does.