Thread by @RealSpikeCohen

7 years ago today, doctors told me that it was likely that I had multiple sclerosis.

It took over 2 years to confirm that likelihood, but I knew I had it as soon as they told me. Nothing else could explain the sudden numbness on the entire right side of my body, especially after the MRI showed that I had the telltale lesions on my brain and spinal cord.

After they dropped that bomb on me, they wheeled me into a hospital room to process what had just happened, all night long.

I spent the next few days, including the 4th anniversary of our wedding, in a hospital bed, being poked, prodded and examined.

It was uncomfortable but I didn't really care about that.

All I cared about was this new reality: I had an incurable, degenerative disorder where my immune system wants to destroy my central nervous system.

It would be easy to pretend I was a tough guy who took it in stride & forged ahead. The reality is it destroyed me for months. I alternated between crying & yelling, I was bitter & depressed. I gave up alot. I'd always get back in the saddle but I quit so many times I lost count.

My business, making money, becoming a big name in the corporate world. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that my life and wellbeing, my ability to provide for my family, was seriously threatened, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I got back to running my business, but I was a shell. I was miserable. I was just waiting for the inevitable, with constant dread.

I'm forever grateful for the support of my family, and for the love and patience of my wife Tasha. She had to deal with being married to a man who felt broken inside. She never wavered from supporting and caring for me. I can't begin to say how much I love you, Tasha. Thank you.

After a couple years of no new attacks, I suddenly began getting relapses every couple of months. I started having mild seizures. I became extremely fatigued. My arm and hands would occasionally stop working right.

I started wondering how much longer I had left.

Then I finally got the official diagnosis.

My doctors sat me down and explained my options for treatment. They told me that the goal of MS disease modifying therapy (DMT) is to slow the progression of MS to the point where it isn't much different than the natural aging process.

That was supposed to make me feel better.

It hit me like a demolition ball.

When they said that, I realized that it didn't matter if I had MS or not. The simple fact is, one day none of us will be here, no matter how healthy we are.

Wealth, possessions, prestige won't matter. All that will matter is this: how much of an impact did we make to help others? Was that impact great enough to create a ripple and help many more people? Will it live on after we're gone? Will the world be better because we were here?

For the next year, I decided to reset myself. I retired from my business, started on a DMT, changed my diet, got on a regiment of exercise, supplements and meditation, learned how to live with my issues instead of raging against them, and allowed myself time to heal.

I lost 100 pounds and began to feel better, especially once the DMT stopped the relapses.

More importantly, I focused on what I wanted to do with my life. I had reached a point where I didn't need to work to make money. What did I want my legacy to be?

I've been libertarian for many years, but it always came from a place of anger. I was angry at government, the people in power, the voters who enabled them. I raged against everything I hated.

But I didn't have a place for that rage anymore.

I didn't want my life to be defined by my anger. By what I was against.

I wanted to be for something.

After re-reading some of the literature that helped me to become a libertarian, I realized that I had been looking at it the wrong way.

I'm against the actions of out-of-control government and the people who exploit it for their own gain, not because I despise it or them, but because I want to set people free from cages and rescue them from wars and abuse.

I'm a libertarian because I want people to be free, and prosperous, and safe, and healthy. Because I want future generations to be even better off than we can imagine.

My advocacy isn't going to be defined by what I hate, but by what I love.

With that realization, I started my show My Fellow Americans, and soon after I became the co-host of The Muddied Waters of Freedom and the co-owner of @Muddied_Waters.

Our mission was clear: use good cheer & humor to reach people outside of traditional libertarian circles. Share the message of liberty in a way that connects with them.

Years later, I was invited by @VerminSupreme to run for @LPNational's VP nomination, and the rest is history.

It is incredible looking back and seeing how far I've come in the last 7 years.

If you had told that broken man in 2014 that one day in the future I'd travel across the country spreading the message of freedom and encouraging others to do the same, I would've never believed you.

Imagine what more can be done over the next 7 years.

Imagine what you can do.

I'm telling you my story for 3 reasons:

1. Whatever you're going through right now, no matter how insurmountable it may seem, it too will pass. Things can & will get better. In the meantime all you need to do is focus on healing. I'm proud of you, and you will get through this.

2. This life is not about what we often get distracted by: consumerism, petty disagreements, past shame. It's about putting as much good as we can into this world. Whether it's as big as fighting to set the world free in our lifetimes, or as simple as being kind to someone.

What we leave behind will be the only thing that matters when we are no longer here. I encourage you to try your best to be what you wish to see in the world: love, peace, hope, kindness.

3. When something bad, even devastating, happens unexpectedly in your life, it might just end up leading you to a greater journey than you could've ever imagined.

I will never say that I'm grateful to have gotten MS. It is a terrible disease, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. But I am grateful for the journey I've been on for the past 7 years, even if it started with immeasurable fear and hopelessness.

When I say you are the power, I mean that you have more power inside of you than you know. Power to change the lives of others. Power to change your own. I believe in you. You've got this.

Holy crap this is longer than I meant for it to be.