On Being a Cripple by Mairs
Kaitie Tunilla
12/16/12
Mairs essay
Early in the essay, Mairs wrote about how depression, “which may or may not be physiologically related to MS but are certainly its logical concomitant,” affects her almost daily. This depression results from the sadness that she will never run again, the fear that people only put up with her because, “of the way that she is,” and the anxiety that her condition will only get worse as time goes on. Even though she lives every day with this knowledge, she continues to keep living as much as she can. Mairs knows several other people who suffer from MS as well, they all have different outlooks on life. One friend of hers stays at home always and she has her husband stay at home with her at all times, other than to run to the store for the necessities. Another woman has continued to live fully, she raised children, and traveled around the world with her husband. She works and teaches college courses on neurology. Mairs hopes to be like the second woman. Mairs hopes that she will be able to continue living the life that she is. Her outlook on the situation is that, as long as you try to continue living to the fullest, you will enjoy every day that you have, because you are not guaranteed tomorrow. I think that her view on life can be used by every person, because people that do have the ability to go and do things often times don’t, they choose instead to sit at home or complain about the things that really do not matter all that much at all. If people were willing to live each day like it was their last, people would have a greater appreciation of things like their health and their family and
12/16/12
Mairs essay
Early in the essay, Mairs wrote about how depression, “which may or may not be physiologically related to MS but are certainly its logical concomitant,” affects her almost daily. This depression results from the sadness that she will never run again, the fear that people only put up with her because, “of the way that she is,” and the anxiety that her condition will only get worse as time goes on. Even though she lives every day with this knowledge, she continues to keep living as much as she can. Mairs knows several other people who suffer from MS as well, they all have different outlooks on life. One friend of hers stays at home always and she has her husband stay at home with her at all times, other than to run to the store for the necessities. Another woman has continued to live fully, she raised children, and traveled around the world with her husband. She works and teaches college courses on neurology. Mairs hopes to be like the second woman. Mairs hopes that she will be able to continue living the life that she is. Her outlook on the situation is that, as long as you try to continue living to the fullest, you will enjoy every day that you have, because you are not guaranteed tomorrow. I think that her view on life can be used by every person, because people that do have the ability to go and do things often times don’t, they choose instead to sit at home or complain about the things that really do not matter all that much at all. If people were willing to live each day like it was their last, people would have a greater appreciation of things like their health and their family and