Although author and speaker Shelli Lynn Ross is legally blind and confined to a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis (MS), she is a woman who loves the Lord, laughs often, and has a positive outlook on life.
An Indianapolis native, Ross was born in 1974 and led an extremely active life until she was diagnosed with MS at the age of 19. At the time of her diagnosis, Ross was an undergraduate studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois, and despite her illness, Ross went on to finish her undergraduate degree in 1997, earn her master’s degree in biomedical engineering in 1998, and publish two books.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that damages the body’s central nervous system and causes a variety of symptoms including: loss of balance, numbness, fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness, and problems with vision and speech.
The symptoms and severity of the disease vary depending on the individual, and currently, there is no known cause or cure for MS.
Due to the progression of Ross’ MS and her worsening mobility, she was forced to resign from her job and move in with her parents at age 25.
“After having an undergrad degree in engineering and a master’s in engineering, when I got sick and had to come home, I thought it was all over, I thought my life was done,” said Ross.
Now, however, according to Ross, “that opened up the opportunity for me to write and to share the lessons that the Lord has been teaching me through my adversity.”
“The Lord says in John 16:33, that in this life, you will have tribulation but to be of good cheer because he has already overcome the world so … knowing that Scripture, I know that I have absolutely no reason to give up.”
Ross went on to further explain why she began to write after returning home.
“I just wanted to help someone else going through a hard time, a tribulation. I wanted them to know that we don’t have to give up.”
Ross’ debut book, Successful Suffering Part One: Transformation: From Fear to Faith was released in August of 2011 and “is all about getting over fear and moving toward faith,” she said.
The second of the series, Successful Suffering Part Two: Walking by Faith was released in April of 2013 and as the subtitle explains, is about walking by faith.
To celebrate, Ross and the release of her second book, friends and family hosted a book launch and birthday celebration at the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) where Ross is an alumnus.
During the event, guests enjoyed messages by Ross, her father Ed Ross, and her two best friends from high school, Lori Wilson and Crystal Haslett in the atrium of the CLD.
When Ross spoke in front of the gathered audience, she praised God for his faithfulness and what he had done in her life. Ross also encouraged the audience to “get to know God.”
As for the family and friends that spoke, they playfully teased Ross but their love for her was unmistakable.
Following the last speaker, Ross spoke with a seemingly unending number of family and friends that wished to congratulate her on her success.
“What I’ve learned about these trials, the adversity, I’ve learned to trust the Lord. No matter how dark it looks, trust the Lord. You can never go wrong trusting the Lord. It’s when we try to do it our own way that we get in trouble.”
