The name’s Corr, Michael Joseph Corr.  Call me MJ.

I borrowed that first sentence above, changed it a little.  No, not from where you think, I’m not into martinis.  I’ll probably tell that story sometime.  And that is what this blog is about… stories about my life, and people and things that have affected it.

By trade I am a software engineer and project manager.  I bounced back on a regular basis from the east coast to the west coast of the US, and Europe.  I was very successful at it.  On August 15, 1989, a day that will live in infamy; I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  This actually changed the way my life was going as alot of you can probably imagine.

A few years later I got married and had a son (who is now 8).  My wife has fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and asthma.  She has also just recovered from a hyper thyroid condition.  My son has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, adhd, aspergers, odd, and ocd.  Our family members have autism, cystic fibrosis, hepatitis c, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, diabetes, paralysis, multiple sclerosis.  If I’ve forgotten anything I’ll tell you later.  Some have survived and some have not.  I have had the opportunity to be caregiver and personal care attendant to a few of them.  

Is it unusual to have as many members of one family with issues?  Perhaps not, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 20% of Americans have a disability or chronic illness, with another, perhaps 5-7% who don’t know or don’t want anyone else to know they have an illness (I was one of those for years).  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that it is 10% worldwide.  These numbers may be even higher since the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 26.2% of the US population over 18 “suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year“.  That’s more than 76 million people in the US alone!  This means there are very few people that don’t know at least one person that is affected. 

I’ve had some very depressing times and I’ve also had alot of fun with my family.  Hopefully some of my insights and experiences will help other people.  And I want to hear your experiences and comments too! 

Don’t be a stranger!