Fall Down Laughing by David Lander

Fall Down Laughing, How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis...

and Didn't Tell Nobody by David Lander

This book - Fall Down Laughing, is one that I read early after Cir was diagnosed with MS. I read parts to him and we laughed at the life experiences of Squiggy. His real name is David Lander, and he was one of the characters on the show "Laverne and Shirley", a sitcom back in the '70s.

I know I'm dating myself when I say I used to watch this show. But what can I say; time goes on.

The book, "Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody", is a hilarious and poignant account of Squiggy, or David's life. He tells how even during the show he had symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Thinking back on the "Laverne and Shirley Show", I can't tell that there was anything wrong. He was very good at hiding his symptoms. Plus, MS is sometimes called the invisible disease. In his case, this was true.

David wasn't actually diagnosed until after the last show was filmed in 1983. And he didn't tell the public about his MS until 1999. His strength and determination to continue doing what he loved, in spite of having multiple sclerosis are inspirational.

To us, he was a big reason we began to laugh at the symptoms Cir would have. And we still laugh today. Maybe not when the event is happening, but most times after the fact.

Hopefully you won't "fall down laughing" too many times. But it doesn't hurt to laugh when it's all over and done. Find the humor in everything (well almost everything), and you will be able to deal with the difficult times of MS.

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