Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Openness - Sarah Keitt's Story

Sarah Keitt discusses how she is open with others about her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

I am very open about my MS diagnosis. I decided, when I was first diagnosed, that I wasn’t going to hide it from anybody, that life would only be more difficult if people didn’t know what was going on. Would I rather people think I was a drunk because I was leaning against the walls when I was walking, or that I was stupid because I couldn’t remember something that I should know, or would I rather them know that I have a neurological disease? And that has opened up so many doors for me. It allowed me to stay employed. It allowed me to work with my employer to make my environment better for me at work. It has brought in new friendships. It’s has allowed me to help other people with MS, other people with MS to help me. It just builds connections, and I think honesty is always the best policy, and I think being open about your diagnosis will get you a lot farther in life if you are in the right situation. For some people, their employers might not be as supportive as mine were, was, and you need to work with somebody like the MS Society to help you plan how to disclose and when, but I believe disclosure is the way to go.