Everlasting Lives

M y d i a r i e s

M y H u i c h o l a n e c k l a c e f r o m M e x i c o

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V i v i a n e F a t i m a n i , 2 9

D I A G N O S E D W I T H M U L T I P L E S C L E R O S I S
I N D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 9

I have a lot of diaries. I have kept a diary since I went to Mexico. I never write anything very specific, it is more in poems.

My grandmother died last year at Christmas two days before we came to visit but I think it was on purpose because she always made me promise I would be at her funeral.

When I was living in Mexico, sometimes she said

- You will come back for my funeral right ?

- Yeah of course I will Mémé !

I have kept her perfume because it smells of her. I can’t believe she used to bath herself in this stuff ! It is Cinema by Yves Saint Laurent.

After my grandmother died, my aunt told me "you should take the perfume".

After the funeral, I took it to my sister and said:

- Close your eyes, smell this, what is it ? What does it smell of ?

- It smells of Mémé ! she shouted.

I went to Oxford University and studied French and Spanish. I am dyslexic and I found it quite difficult. I thought I would find it easy because I spoke French at home but I discovered that no, that wasn’t enough. I never regret going to Oxford because I discovered Marcel Proust and I am such a big fan.

I remember I was in France, in Fontenay Le Conte where my grandma lived. My grandma was saying to me 'oh ma pauvre Chérie! This Proust is so boring and you have to read it. I am so sorry.’

I was reading it like ‘oh no, it is so boring’ and I remember getting to page 40 and said to myself this is BRILLIANT !!!’

I had to start again because I was reading it through my grandma’s eyes. Who later, I realised, hadn’t even read Proust !

T h e s o n g m y b o y f r i e n d w r o t e m e

I n s e a r c h o f a l o s t t i m e b y M a r c e l P r o u s t

My boyfriend wrote me a song when I was on my gap year. That is the best present I ever got. We went to see him play in a bar and he played this song to me. Everyone was like ‘Oh my goodness !’

I was like ‘it is a song about friendship, you don’t understand, he understands me ! What can I say, I understand him too, this is a friendship song.

But really not at all, I was in denial about our relationship !

I met with my boyfriend before I got diagnosed with MS. He is really supportive, very understanding.

T h e s c e n t o f m y F r e n c h g r a n d m o t h e r

E v e r l a s t i n g L i v e s

b y E l é o n o r e d e B o n n e v a l

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