Reading and MS

I used to read a book a week. Every lunchtime, I'd grab some fresh air and sit by the canal with the latest piece of weirdness that I'd picked up at Waterstones. Every evening I'd lounge with my face buried between the pages while my wife sat next to me watching telly.

That all disintegrated five years ago at the same time as my first major MS relapse. I had a stressful time of it, working in a new job that I hated and a newborn baby waiting for me at home. The stress probably triggered the relapse but I didn't really have the time to read anything in the evening, anyway.

These days, I really like the idea of reading but find that I simply can't. My MS makes it difficult to concentrate when I get tired and at the end of a day spent in front of a computer screen, my eyes will jump around. Any attempt to read more than the few pages I read to my daughter before bedtime requires great effort and sends me to sleep and the very prospect of reading makes me feel tired.

I have tended to substitute for it by immersing myself in films instead.

I am wondering if graphic novels might be a way of re-building my reading stamina. If I only have to read dialogue and the odd caption, it may take a lot of the fatigue out of reading and restore the enjoyment of a good book. It is something I intend to explore.