I have MS. We know that already. I've had a few recent conversations with co-workers about our new hobby and they have all asked me basically the same thing, "Is it safe to do something like that with you're mobility issues?"
Yes.
Do I sometimes have a bad day? Also yes. Do I go shooting on those days? No. Almost all of my symptoms revolve around mobility. I struggle to lift my foot of the ground and sometimes I am very unbalanced. Sometimes. Most of the time I have no issues and you wouldn't know that anything was wrong.
Shooting with something like MS is just like shooting with anything else. If you are under the weather or not feeling with it, maybe don't go shooting that day. It's just a good safety practice.
If anything, shooting is actually helpful for me. It helps me with a lot of the symptoms that can come with Multiple Sclerosis like, cognitive issues, motor skills, fine motor skills, emotional stability and so much more. Shooting makes me happy. And when I'm happy, I'm not thinking about all the other stuff that MS can bring.
Thanks to new technology, even if I'm having an off day with my walking ability, I just put on the Cionic Neural Sleeve and I can walk normally for most of the day. (If you have MS, talk to your doctor about Cionic and see if it's available in your state. They are still very new and are not approved everywhere.)
I think it's safe to say that my targets speak for themselves. I've only been shooting for 6 months and I'm doing better than some people I know who have been shooting for years.
(Point of fact: we often see people at the range that look confident and act like they know everything about shooting and they own the world yet their targets are covered with wide spreads. They are not very accurate for their confidence. Sometimes you just think to yourself, "Please god don't let me get shot today." It's totally a joke, but is it?)
Here are my targets from this past weekend.
I had some weird spread on the first (blue) target. It was spread a little wide and there was an "up and to the right" pattern, which I don't usually have. My second target (black) was more normal but my spread was a little wider than usual. I did shoot a little further away this time which might be part of the reason for the wider spread.
So I'll keep shooting and getting better. I like proving people wrong so I'm going to become the best shooter I can be, regardless of my limitations.
MS may be debilitating sometimes but that doesn't mean I am going to let it run my life. Shooting is fun, it's a great skill, and an awesome hobby to enjoy with your friends and loved ones. I may not be able to run marathons anymore, which is what my wife and I used to do as a hobby, but I can do this. And it's something we both love to do.
Oh, fun news. My wife wants an M4. So that might be happening soon. It might not just be pistols for long.
Till next time.
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