MS Brought Us Together, Love Keeps Us Strong

“Being an MS Ambassador, a Peer Support Group facilitator, and an advocate isn’t just something I do—it’s who I am. My journey with MS has reshaped my life in ways I never could have imagined. It’s given me a new purpose, a deeper understanding of resilience, a passion for helping others, and most importantly, it led me to the greatest love of my life.

My wife, Yolanda, and I met at an MS Peer Support Group in 2018. We completely hijacked that meeting. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to come, but her friend convinced her. We did a round of introductions, and I mentioned I was an MS Ambassador. Yolanda asked what that was, so I told her a little about the role and mentioned it involved spreading awareness and advocating for the MS community. Yolanda said, "Well, have I got some stuff for you!" And we were locked in conversation for the rest of the meeting. The group facilitator told me later, ‘We were watching love flourish, but in a very interesting way.’

Yolanda came at me like a bull in a china shop, challenging me immediately, and I loved it. She’s strong, opinionated, and passionate. After the meeting, she gave me her number and that was it. We texted constantly, talked for hours, and when she traveled to Nova Scotia to visit a friend, the messages never stopped. The first thing she did when she got back was drive straight to my place. Our connection was like a snowball, growing bigger with every conversation and still is to this day.

At first, we kept things quiet. But when she met my son, I knew it was time to tell everyone. Even my dad saw something special. He would bring her coffee, which he never even did for my mom! He told me, ‘This one's a keeper, my boy.’ And he was right.

Then came the proposal. One evening in 2019, my son was sitting on my computer chair, spinning around, and he said, “daddy, you should ask Yolanda to marry you.” I didn’t have an engagement ring, but I did have a family ring. He took the ring and spun around, grinning from ear to ear, holding out the ring to her and said, "Here!" She was completely caught off guard. I got down on one knee, and before I could even finish asking, she said yes. Actually, she said it multiple times. We laughed, we cried, and just like that, our future was sealed.

Living with MS together comes with its challenges. There are days I want to do more to help, but physically, I can’t. I have issues with the left side of my body, so I only have one good hand, and the other hand is like a fish out of water and flops around. Yolanda does so much for our family, and it breaks my heart when I see her out there shoveling snow, scraping ice off the car, or other things I can’t do myself. Our son has stepped up in a big way--he’s my mini me (but not so mini anymore!) and our daughter, her mother’s mini-me, always wants Yolanda’s attention. She won’t even let me pick her up out of the crib. It’s mommy or nothing, and that’s okay!

Yolanda is the backbone of our family, our Wonder Woman. She supports me, and I support her in every way I can—emotionally, mentally, and through my advocacy work. If she’s exhausted, I tell her to rest. If I need a break, she understands. MS is unpredictable, and the only way to face it is together. We talk about everything: our struggles, our fears, our hopes and dreams. Our own MS journeys brought us to each other, and by sharing our experiences, we’ve made them one. That’s what makes us strong: communication and love. We share the same lived experience of MS, and we don’t go through it alone. No one should ever feel alone. MS may be a part of my life, but it will never define me. Yolanda shares the same mindset. Despite the weight of fatigue, she takes on so much with no complaints. When we got married, I remember telling Yolanda, ‘I’ve been waiting many years to meet you.’ I had never been married before and never thought I would be. Neither did Yolanda. And yet, here we are, with a three-year-old together, a blended family, and a love that continues to grow. She always says, ‘I got lucky with you,’ but really, I think I’m the lucky one.

Despite everything MS has taken, it has given me so much more. I have a purpose, a family, and a love that I never expected but one that I’ll cherish forever.”