well, so I felt comfortable saying,
‘I don’t know what’s going to
happen, but so far, so good. And
there’s no reason to think it won’t
continue.’ Carlos still worries
about me more than he needs to,
but he understands that symp-
toms will come and go. Overall, I
will be OK.”
Finding common ground also
helps, Kump said. “I dated a kid
whose sister was also in a wheel-
chair some of the time. She didn’t
have MS, but she’d had some
strokes and we had a similar gait.
It was kind of familiar territory
for him, which I think is why
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that was the most successful rela-
tionship I’ve been in.”
Now single, Kump said that
juggling a social life and her
health can sometimes feel over-
whelming. “I’m at that age where
people are starting to get mar-
ried, and I’m not, and sometimes
I wonder if it’s the MS or me.”
She continues to date, often
taking the lead. “I’m not scared
to be the first one to say some-
thing,” she said. “I think it’s
better to find the good in life,
instead of focusing on the bad,
even if sometimes you have to
look really hard.”
Gordy agreed that remaining
positive and open has much to
do with the success of any rela-
tionship. “Carlos and I talk about
everything. And he has sup-
ported me to such a degree that
I honestly don’t think I would
have made it this far without
him,” Gordy said. “I don’t know
where we will end up, but I know
we will be there together. I feel a
much greater sense of possibility
than I did two years ago.” n
Emily Wojcik is a freelance writer in
northampton, mass., who specializes
in health and fitness issues.
