Living with MS makes me a lot like Scarlett, our pet corn snake

I wrote a few years ago about a snake we kept that temporarily went missing. It was a wild snake that we released back into the wild because that was the right thing to do.

The kids were quite taken with it, however, so we obtained a captive-raised corn snake to keep as a pet, and she (in this case, I’m sure she is a she) has been with us ever since.

We also have two cats and two dogs. They are much more loving and attentive than Scarlett the snake, but sadly, because of my level of disability from multiple sclerosis (MS), I doubt I would be able to take care of any of them by myself. Without the help of my wife and kids, I couldn’t even take care of myself, much less our furry companions. Our non-furry one requires a lot less care and attention, but I doubt I would even be able to take care of her.

With all that said, it’s probably a good thing that this column is not actually about finding the right pet for someone with MS. After all, a snake is certainly not the right fit for everyone, no matter if they happen to be completely able or not. I have, however, noticed a few things about our little corn snake that make me think of someone living with MS, like myself.

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Neither of us is good at controlling body temperature. She can’t control hers at all, and while I’m better at it than she is, sometimes it doesn’t feel like it — especially now, when it’s the middle of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. Heat affects me, too, but like Scarlett, cold weather makes me slow and sluggish. I can’t speak for her, but it even seems to make my thoughts slow down considerably.

Even when the temperature isn’t holding us back, both of us move in a way that the average observer would think was unnatural. In her case, it’s because she doesn’t have any limbs. In mine, it’s because my limbs don’t work or move very weakly, sometimes in a jerking motion. I’ve never met anyone who was phobic around disabled people the way some people are around snakes, but it does seem to make people occasionally uncomfortable.

I don’t think Scarlett cares one way or the other about being held, unless, of course, it’s too tightly, or if you took her by surprise and she thinks you’re a predator. I am OK with certain people holding me, I guess, but definitely not everyone, and it’s not because I think they’re a predator. Like a lot of disabled people, I’m very particular about the way I’m being helped or moved around, and it sometimes seems like some people are a little too eager to touch disabled people. I don’t bite, but I have been known to occasionally hiss angrily.

Scarlett doesn’t make any sounds at all because, like all snakes, she doesn’t possess vocal cords. She also can’t hear. My hearing isn’t great, but I don’t think that has anything to do with MS. My voice tends to become quieter and hoarser as the day progresses, gradually weakening. At that point, I’m not mute, but I do tend to become increasingly silent and gesture more. I never would’ve thought that the act of speaking would use up some of my spoons (that’s a metaphor for energy), but it does.

I don’t live in an enclosure as she does, but MS has made my world much smaller than it once was. There is some debate regarding a snake’s memory, but it’s unlikely that she remembers anything else, as she is captive-born. Unfortunately, I was not born with MS and do remember a life that didn’t include it, and, although I have plenty of distractions in my enclosure, it’s just not the same.

I didn’t mean to finish on a depressing note, but MS can be a depressing disease, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. I suppose I should be grateful that someone feeds me more than twice a week, and that I don’t have to swallow my food whole and then digest it slowly over several days. Then again, eating a big meal and getting to sleep it off in a warm place doesn’t actually seem all that bad. It’s a shame that’s not an option for people with MS.

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