The Tip of the Dinosaur

Most of you will be familiar with the old iceberg analogy, in which we are presented with an image of the tip of an iceberg representing visible MS symptoms, but when you look below the surface of the water the true size of the iceberg / disease becomes apparent. It’s an image that regularly appears on social media to highlight the true extent of so-called Invisible Disabilities – what you see on the surface is just the tip of the iceberg.

Image taken from MyMSTeam.com

I’ll be honest – I’m pretty bored of this whole iceberg thing and have avoided it as a topic on my blog for a long time. At least, that was until I dreamt up a far more powerful image to represent the more menacing side of invisible conditions.

There is a recent, though controversial, theory that the majority of dinosaurs were actually aquatic creatures living and evolving in shallow waters, rather than the terrestrial creatures that we have become accustomed to seeing in films, books and even museums*.

Rather like a crocodile lurking beneath the surface of the water, imagine a T.rex immersed in a murky lake, the tip of its head just visible above the surface, its beady little eyes flick from side to side while its nostrils calmly flare. Now imagine just what is going on below the surface. The true extent of the Tyrannosaur’s size and ferocious nature are hidden from view. Its deadly, dagger-like teeth gnash menacingly together while the sharp claws at the end of its forelimbs curl in anticipation. This is MS in all its fearsome glory, its true impact concealed beneath the tiniest visible ripple – what you see on the surface is just the tip of the dinosaur.

*This is a fascinating theory championed by Brian Ford in his 2018 book, ‘Too Big To Walk’.