A Capital Region woman who has been battling multiple sclerosis for more than a decade is debuting her first book, a fiction romance novel inspired by what it’s like to live with the chronic illness.

Delaney Parker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 13 years ago. Her symptoms started surfacing in 2007.

“One day, I got out of bed because I heard my son cry, and I fell right to the floor," Parker said. "There was nothing. I crawled to the edge of my mattress and pulled myself up, trying to call my husband’s name."

She knew something was very wrong, but it was an uphill battle getting a diagnosis.

“The doctors kept telling me that I was bipolar, obese," Parker said. "They said I was obese, and that’s why my legs gave out, and that I was a hypochondriac that was developing physical symptoms that really weren’t there."

About a year later, doctors heeded her concerns.

“I went to the doctor, they did the MRI," Parker said. "Two days later, I was back in his office and he said you have MS. I said ‘I know, but thank you.’ Then I looked at my husband and said, 'Can you just say that again so he could hear it?' I wanted it to be heard, that I was not crazy."

Today, Delaney can barely feel her hands, her feet are numb and there’s pain creeping up her arm and across her face.

It took her two days to get ready for an interview.

“Everyone just sees a girl walking down the street with her cute little hair and her lipstick, and she looks all put together," Parker said. "Again, it took me days to be OK for today."

Having a chronic illness that sometimes appears invisible to the outside world has been the toughest part. And that is why Delaney wrote her first book.

“Everything I wrote about MS in that book is true," Parker said. "It is horrible. It is painful, and it’s humiliating and embarrassing and lonely. When you’re in it, no one is there. It’s just you and the day, passing, waiting."

Grace is a fiction romance novel inspired by Delaney’s own battle.

The main character, Margaret, is a 38-year-old trying to maintain being a mother, a wife and a friend while struggling with MS and her husband’s betrayals.

“If there’s just even one, if they have a relative, or a friend, and it’s like hey, 'I read this book, I saw this on the news … I’m really sorry,' then it’s worth it,” Parker said.

Writing it was challenging, but cathartic. In the ending of Margaret’s story, the author found some peace with her own.

“She realized that she’s stronger than she thought," Parker said. "She can do this. She can take care of these kids, and she’s not broken. She’s not a burden.”

If you’d like to read Parker’s debut novel, you can visit the Troy Book Makers website or Amazon.