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Parent with MS - Education for my son

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My son is amazing, let me be clear – everyone's kid is amazing but please can I take a moment to tell you about my son?  He is 15 years old and his mother (me) has Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  I don’t know about you but at 15 (also with a mother who has MS) I was a hot mess.  My priorities were on backwards.  However, at 15 my son is an honour roll student every year – not because it’s easy for him but because he works hard.  He is a passionate Trombone and Baritone Sax player. He pushes himself to become the best he can be.  He is up at the crack of dawn for 730 a.m. band 4 days a week, played in the musical theatre orchestra and then was invited to play in the Vancouver Island University Big Band.  If that wasn’t enough, he started his first part-time job this summer to save up for his first car and a performance trombone and maybe his very own Bari Sax if he can swing it.  He is not afraid of hard work and he puts his back into it.  All the while, he is a caring, kind, funny and generous person.  I am watching him grow into a young man that the world will be better for.   
This year, my MS has given me a run.  We had a dream trip planned to New Orleans for spring break 2019 because it is the home of jazz, which is the music that sings to his soul.  It was paid for and arranged for months.  And then I had a relapse and we had to cancel.  Nevermind the money, my heart broke but he handled it with grace and care.  Disappointment of course! But his only concern was for me.  He has yet to leave the house before making sure that I have everything I could possibly need in easy reach, double, triple checks that I’m OK and without fail hugs me and says I love you.  Every time, no matter who is around, I am blessed and grateful for him every minute of every day.  Everyone who meets him is struck by his kind soul and genuine good humanity. 
 I have been off work for the better part of this year, trying my best to get healthy enough to pick up the pieces after the devastating relapse and rebuild.  And I started to but 3 months later MS showed me again that it is the boss.  Luckily I had some savings, which I counted on after the first relapse.  And now I am in the rubble, trying to keep the destruction as far away from him as I can.  He does not deserve to be limited in his future because of the limits of my health.   I have real life super heros: he is one of them and I want to be one for him, I want to be his champion –   because I believe in him.  With every fiber of my being.  I mean who wouldn’t walk barefoot through hot coals for your kid? 
A few years ago his great-grandma left him small amount when she passed with the intention of opening him an RESP and imparting the value of education.  It was a sad time and a touching legacy.  She was a spitfire of a little (tiny) german woman and I promised to continue the contribution yearly.  And I have been able to until now. My goal is to contribute $1500/year for the last remaining 3 years of government matching to give him the best possible start after graduation.  He is tireless and inspiring and his future is hope.  
I am notoriously stubborn and reaching out for help is a bit of pride swallowing on my part, but I will swallow swords and fire for this amazing human that I am blessed to call my son.  I am private and tend to downplay my struggles, but for him I will unabashedly ask for some help if you can.  My goal is to cover this year’s contribution to his RESP and I am grateful for any amount to help me remove roadblocks to my son’s future because of my MS.
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    Organizer

    Samantha O'Neill-Edgar
    Organizer
    Nanaimo, BC

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