Diary of a Gimp

My name is Scott and I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). If you unconsciously said, “Hi Scott” we probably can be friends.

I’m the sort of guy who sees the glass as half-full; or 25% full, or 1% full. As much as I am able, I look at the positive in every situation. For example, I still can feed myself, work out with my arms, think clearly and use a laptop computer to write this. On the other hand, I can’t get up or go to bed without a lift, I need someone to shower me, clean me up after I poop, dress me and prepare my meals. I cannot stand so I use a wheelchair, but it’s great state-of-the-art wheelchair; it can even make me stand up!

I am very much better off than many of my friends. I am not as bad off as others. But I don’t compare myself to others. I compare myself to me; where I am now and where I’ve been. And more importantly, how and what am I doing today.

My life motto is adapt-improvise-overcome. You’ve probably heard something like this in other settings. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) uses improvise-adapt-overcome. The US Army uses it in the same order as I do. I am a US Army Veteran, so there’s that. (21 years if you’re interested.)

I am married, 34 years and counting. I have four adult kids and three grandkids. I also have a birth-son from a university relationship who was adopted. He and I connected in 2013. Unfortunately, he died in a motorcycle accident only a few years later. The positive 1% there, is that I had a great relationship with him and his wife before he passed, and I still chat online with her from time to time.

My blog logo is taken from the National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG). I hope they’re OK with my using it here. It speaks visually to the Can-Do-Will-Do belief I have and try to live by. I won a Silver medal when I participated in the NVWG last summer, so maybe that would earn me some grace in allowing me to use it without guilt. (I was raised in a church that seemed to thrive on making kids feel guilty about something; and if you felt no guilt about anything else, you felt guilty about that!)

I live in the North in a border state. We have snow on the ground now (January 2026) and air temperatures (not windchill) are in the single digits. In the summer we have temperatures in the 90s, sometimes going into three digits. Ours is weather that might be called bipolar, and residents of this state love to talk about it.

I’m a psychologist emeritus which is a fancy way to say I’m retired from being a licensed psychologist. I’m also retired from the US Army, where I spent my time in Infantry units, never as an Army psychologist. I ended my Army career when I got MS and had to retire. It’s one my life’s disappointments, since I was on track to attend the Army War College, and after that, be able to be considered for attaining a General Officer rank. In my civilian life I worked in a psychiatric hospital, whence I retired as Associate Director of that hospital.

I’m currently 78-years-old. I am Caucasian and of European descent. Politically, I am an independent. I am a Christian and try my best to live the life Jesus the Christ taught us, attempts at which I sometimes fail spectacularly, so I’ll never judge you for your personal failings. Also, I don’t judge you if you follow a different Christian denomination or even a different religion than me. Your choice is between you and God, regardless of how you see God.

The way I’m going to write this is as a weekly blog. I’ll pretty much write down what’s on my mind for that seven days. Some days I’ll be lengthy and some days I’ll struggle to put a single paragraph on the page. l’ll do little in the way of censoring my thoughts, and that may involve the occasional expletive. I use all the vocabulary I have at my disposal, both blue (as befits an Infantry Soldier) and academic (as is appropriate to someone holding a doctorate) .

By the way, don’t be offended that I used the word “gimp.” It’s an offensive word when an able-bodied person says it, but we in the disabled community can and do use it with each other. It’s analogous to an African-American using the N word with another African-American or two gay persons using the Q word with each other. Neither of those, N or Q, would be acceptable of someone used it outside of their peers.

For me, this is an adventure. For you, I hope you will find it relatable and provoking of your own thoughts and insights. I admit to being a little nervous starting this journey. I hope it will be a worthwhile one for both you and me.