sarcastic blog

⚠️ Please read with care: This blog shares personal, sometimes painful experiences. My intention is to support and speak honestly—not to harm. I’m not a professional, just someone who understands how hard it can get. If you're struggling, you're not alone—please reach out for help.

Imagine, if you will, that Multiple Sclerosis wasn’t a neurological disease. No. Let’s say instead it was a car, a British car. From the 1970s. Built by British Leyland. Already, you should be hearing the distant sound of doom.

We're not talking E-Type Jaguars or lovingly restored Triumphs here. No. MS is the Austin Princess. A car so catastrophically cursed it should come with a priest, not a warranty. A car that had style, yes—if by style you mean beige vinyl, flammable wiring, and the turning radius of a small aircraft carrier.

Much like MS, it shows up when you least expect it. You’re cruising along the M-road of life, wind in your hair, dreams in the boot, and then—bang. Gearbox gone. Foot won’t respond. Vision doubles. You veer left without meaning to. And suddenly, you're parked on the hard shoulder of your own nervous system, smoke pouring from somewhere expensive.

The garage (aka Neurology Dept.) says, “We’re not exactly sure what’s wrong. But here’s a new fluid. Try it for six months.” Great. Like pouring Redex into a petrol tank that’s already on fire.

And just when you think it can’t get worse, the electrics fail. Again. The horn blasts randomly when you're trying to stay silent. The indicators blink out Morse code for “You're screwed, mate.” And you? You're still trying to drive this bastard machine down the A-road of everyday life while the engine stalls mid-sentence, mid-step, mid-shag.

You try to keep it together. Duct tape your face. WD-40 your joints. But every fix is temporary. Every workaround has a workaround. And the passenger door won’t open unless it’s raining and you swear in three languages.

Meanwhile, you’re now the sort of car people stare at in car parks and say, “How is that thing still going?”

But you keep going. Of course you do. Because scrap's not an option. You’ve got Albertine in the passenger seat chain-smoking roll-ups and telling you, “I told you not to buy British.” And the cat's asleep on the dashboard. And you’ve got your own strange dignity—a rusted war machine with knackered brakes and a boot full of sarcasm.

Yes, MS is a British Leyland car. And I am the bastard behind the wheel.

I write in ink and fury, in breath and broken bone.
Through storm and silence, I survive. That is the crime—and the miracle.

Well, it's Wednesday. That sacred midweek slump where you're too far from last weekend to still care, and too close to next weekend to legally give up.

Today? We ventured out. Yes, out — into the feral wilds of a local market near where we used to live (back when I had fewer diagnoses and more hair).

Albertine chauffeured me like the dark queen she is, and I stared out the window like a faded Victorian child recovering from consumption. The fields were full of cows, sheep, and idiot drivers who'd traded brain cells for car roof boxes and screaming children.

And then — boom — the average speed cameras appeared. Those big yellow poles of despair. Sentinels of the apocalypse. Albertine had to dodge more bad drivers than Gandalf dodges Balrogs.

Gone are the days of jeans, leather jackets, dodgy boots and patchouli-soaked pheromones. Now it’s all people-movers packed tighter than Tory lies, roof racks piled like refugee carts, and dead-eyed dads named Dave.

We arrived. Market time. Indoor chaos. Got out of Mr Rusty (my noble van) and rolled the wheelchair into the sea of fluorescent lighting, discount socks, and the perfume of stale chips.

Fat Tony's stall? Glorious. Tony and Paul – sages of the street – held court like two greasy prophets. We talked life, death, and probably cheese graters. I was sipping juice like a royal goblin while Albertine suffered in solemn, saintly silence.

Then I rolled past the 3D print shop – a futuristic corner of the market that honestly makes NASA look like cavemen with Play-Doh.

And lo – a crystal stall! Witchy delights. Pagan bits. Pointy shiny things that allegedly absorb vibes (hopefully not my brain fog, but one can dream). Obviously, I bought some. Witchcraft's cheaper than the NHS.

Then met a biker. Simon. Old school. One of us. Had a proper chat about the 1970s, leather, death, and what’s left of life.

Brain fog still thick. Cognition feels like someone parked a fog machine inside my skull and left it running. Whole left side’s numb. NHS? Useless. "Come in sir, let's slice you open and shrug!" No thanks. If death is the cure, I’ll pass.

Spellchecker now malfunctioning. Cognitive warning sirens going off. Too many lunatic motorists today. Seems everyone's running from something, probably themselves.

Anyway — we survived. Just. Another victory for the broken and the damned. See you next Wednesday.

                                             !!DISCLAIMER !!

This blog shares raw and personal experiences with mental and physical health. Some posts may be triggering. I'm not a professional - just writing my truth. Please don't take this as medical advice.

                          “The views in this post are based on my personal       
                         experience. I do not intend harm, only honesty.”   

                               “By ink and breath and sacred rage, I write.
                                      By storm and silence, I survive.”

                                    @goblinbloggeruk  -  sick@mylivinghell.co.uk