The week I wound up in the hospital began on a Sunday when we went to a friend's house for an afternoon gathering and I was so weak I sat the whole time, which isn't like me. I thought I might be coming down with something. And that's when we came up with Diagnosis #1:… Continue reading Competing diagnoses
Category: Multiple sclerosis
From push to pace
I'm what you'd call a bit of a workaholic. I regularly put in 50-hour-and-above weeks before winding up an MS patient, working odd shifts and split schedules. I'm such a nerd in that my idea of leisure time involved learning how to get better at my job by taking on projects in coding, video editing… Continue reading From push to pace
Moving past the negative
I never want to say "I used to dance." But the reality, though, is that limitations come with the territory. I can't move the way I used to, the way I'm used to. Every step is different. Every muscle feels heavy. Every movement takes a conscious effort, and even then it's sometimes not what I… Continue reading Moving past the negative
Life in the poky lane
The universe was apparently trying to tell me something when I got MS. The message? Sloooooowwww dowwwwwwn. And I've tried to heed the advice, really. But slow isn't really my style. I'm more a it's-already-finished-and-filed-away-move-onto-the-next-challenge personality type — I feel in my element frenetically zig-zagging from one task to the next. I don't linger. I… Continue reading Life in the poky lane
Head case
Went into the narrow tube of magnetic fields (great band) today for another look-see of my innards. I feel like the Alan Shepard of MRIs by now, I've logged so much time. It's gotten somewhat easier, although I always have that last-second panicked breathing before I'm guided into the machine. I've found if I close… Continue reading Head case
Walking contradiction
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a thing for shoes. Love. them. So of course it devastated me to think that I couldn't teeter totter along in silly heels anymore. But so long as my legs aren't all gumby-fied, I'm going to rock the hell out of some sky-high shoes. With my cane… Continue reading Walking contradiction
Bee stings and snake bites and hyperbaric chambers (oh my!)
As I am guessing is the case with most diseases, there are a couple of approaches doctors must take - treating the disease and treating the symptoms. Right now we are in the throes of handling my myriad symptoms, which I elaborated on here. I did the oral steroids thing and tried to tough it… Continue reading Bee stings and snake bites and hyperbaric chambers (oh my!)
Absence noted
How do you prove a negative? In our case, with pregnancy tests. Not long before MS sent shockwaves big and small through our simple life, Nick and I had The Talk about The Future and decided to try to have a baby. It wasn't a high-pressure situation, because we felt no real sense of urgency.… Continue reading Absence noted
72 pills in 72 hours
I am in the middle of a relapse that began mid-October, a little over a month after getting my MS diagnosis. It started in my right hand and quickly colonized my right side - arm, torso and even boob (sorry, breast, for those who prefer the clinical term). The first exacerbation (technical term!) in September… Continue reading 72 pills in 72 hours
Lost in translation
The day we finally went to the ER was the day I couldn't put on my underwear and then face-planted in my kitchen, my body contorted on the floor like some sort of crime-scene chalk outline. I thought about how I might be paralyzed and wondered which of my darling pets would start gnawing me… Continue reading Lost in translation
One, Wild & Precious 