Recently I flew from Denver to New York. It was the longest flight I had attempted since my MS had progressed to the point that I could no longer take any steps at all. I figured I might have to sit on the plane for 5 hours but I wasn’t worried because in my mind I had already worked out how it would go.
At the airport they would assign me a seat in the first row and Evangeline Lilly would sit next to me. (If you are one of the 25 people in America who haven’t ever watched the TV show “Lost”, she plays the character Kate on the program.) About halfway through the flight I would need to use the restroom so the pilot would land in Chicago to make it easier for me. Everyone on the plane would be understanding. No one would complain. While waiting for me my wife would meet George Steinbrenner who had a middle seat in the back of the plane. He would say that his grandmother’s cousin had a friend with MS so he knew exactly what I was going through. He volunteered that he used to always pledge $10 to those Jerry Lewis telethons. He would invite us to join him in his private box for a Yankees-Red Sox game. Then Evangeline and I would hit it off so well that she would ask me to visit her in her hotel suite while I was in New York. My wife would think it was a great idea and would suggest I stay with Evangeline for the whole trip.
That is how it went in my mind. And that is pretty much how it went in real life too – except for the Evangeline Lilly, George Steinbrenner and landing-in-Chicago parts.
On the plane I read the magazine “Inside MS” and it described the lives of some real people with MS. One man climbed Mount Everest and a woman won the Boston Marathon. Another was a scientist who found a flaw in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and one was a politician who brought peace to the Middle East.
It is unlikely the magazine would do a feature article about me since my biggest accomplishment to date has been sitting on an airplane for five hours between Denver and New York.
I saw Spiderman 3 last week and could relate to Peter Parker because I too have a secret identity. At home I am sometimes grouchy and complain to my wife. In public I am cheerful and act like there is nothing wrong. As a result I have friends who say I inspire them with the way I deal with MS. A 10 year-old boy even chose me as his hero for a report in his elementary school class. Which is the real me - the grouch or the optimist?
I used to actually resent being told that I was inspiring or heroic. But Spiderman improved my perspective. In one of the first Spiderman movies Peter Parker is feeling cursed for having these unusual powers, and resents that people want him to use those powers to help them. He just wants to have a normal life. One day his uncle tells him “With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter Parker decides to accept the responsibility that has been thrust upon him and vows to use his superpowers to help others. His choice was heroic and inspiring.
And so it is with me. I would rather be normal. But I have MS and there is only so much I can do about it. If I can inspire people simply by going to events in my wheelchair and being cheerful, then I choose to do it. That is really not that much work. Being Spiderman and having to save people all of the time would be a lot more tiring.
With this new perspective I have changed my attitude. People can call me inspiring or heroic and it doesn’t bug me anymore. Still, all things considered, I would rather be Spiderman.

David LeSueur lives with his wife in Littleton, Colorado. He was diagnosed with MS seven years ago.