"I can't get up and down by myself," she said. "My ability to write is almost gone, but I can still sign my name."
Wilson was diagnosed with MS at age 21 just after graduating from Cumberland College. Since she was 14, she had many strange symptoms, and went to several different doctors, all of whom were as baffled as she. But she endured her physical problems, happy with her new job as secretary to the director of Independent Study at the University of Kentucky.
"Things went well for my husband and me," she said. "I continued to have episodes of numbness and tingling in different parts of my body, some distorted vision and much fatigue. But my husband, Roger, and I were so happy in our newly-married lives that I hardly said anything about my problems. I just assumed that my life with these strange problems I was having was just the way my life was going to be, and I tried to ignore them as much as possible and move on."
But soon after, ignoring her problems became impossible.
She lost vision in one of her eyes, and went to Lexington Clinic for tests. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
"My dear young husband and I left the doctor's office troubled, frightened and very sad," she said. "We did not know which route to take or where to turn. At that time, so little was known about the disease, and virtually no treatment was available. We could only get into our little car and drive home."
Once home, the couple turned to the only source of comfort they had.
"We went into our bedroom, and held each other tight," she said. "Then, teary-eyed, we held hands, and knelt down to pray. We poured out our hearts to God. We felt like God told us there would be a way for us to continue with our lives, to trust him, to continue to have faith."
That was October 1971.
Wilson was determined to live her life as normally as possible, and that meant having children.
She and Rodger have two daughters, Haley and Lory, and a grandson, Talon, who is 2 years old.
Wilson said that of all the problems MS threw at her, some of the worst were not physical.
"The worst thing was having to go through it without people knowing," she said. "I have tried very hard to act like others who did not have a debilitating disease. I wanted so badly to function normally, and did not want others to feel sorry for me."
Now nearly bedridden and totally dependent on her husband and caregiver Linda Gray, that desire to live a normal life still burns brightly in Wilson's soul. Though she continues with her therapy in hopes of being able to regain some degree of movement in her limbs, and though she has a glimmer of hope in a new medication she may start, being incapacitated with little hope of recovery has taken its toll.
"I feel like I have lived out my time, and I have made peace with that," she said. "Because I know there is no cure and if I have to live the rest of my life this way, I would just rather not. There are still some things that make me happy, but if I can't hold my little grandson in my arms, and cook my food and clean my house ... well, that isn't me. I have always been so independent, and now I have to be waited on like a baby."
Gray is glad to do any little thing for her friend.
"I also do housekeeping and she heard about me and called me," she said. "When I came over, we talked for two hours; we felt like we'd known each other all our lives. She's one of my best friends."
Wilson also does occasionally get out to go to church, although she has to attend services in a wheelchair.
Her pastor, Steve Sholar of Edgewood Baptist Church, describes her a a "very faithful person."
"She's one of the most Christ-like people I've ever met," he said. "She's loving and encouraging to everybody who knows her. She has such patience, and takes such joy in little things. She's been such a blessing to me and my family."
Being an inspiration to others is important to Wilson, and she is glad that she was able to write her story before becoming bedridden.
