Treatment

Woo! Hoo! Today was the last day of my 3 day infusion steroid treatment. Tomorrow I start the 7 day oral Prednisone. It's been a rough three days to say the least but I made it through. I really wanted to quit yesterday but I knew I needed to do this for my baby and me. The burning sensation has stopped under my breast and back but my leg and foot are not much better. My foot actually is having a different feeling. It's hard to explain but I'll try. It feels really really cold but when I touch it it doesn't feel cold. It also feels hard on the bottom and really uncomfortable to walk on. My foot feels like a rock. It feels like I am walking on a rock. Do I call my neurologist and tell him about his new feeling? I've decided I will call him Monday if it still feels like this.

MS is so hard to deal with. I feel like you can't really fight it. I am definitely a fighter and very competitive person. I really don't like to be beat. I am doing my best to not let MS beat me! It's hard for me to know and understand that I really can't fight MS. The only thing I can do is try to stay positive and continue to walk in the MS walk each year and raise as much money as I can for the society.

Today I am thankful that in 5 days my sister will be taking a long journey to visit us. I miss her so much!

The ABC's of Me

Weebs- I chose to do this on my blog rather than share it on FB.

A - Age: I'm apparently 32. I'll need to share that story sometime because it's funny.

B - Bed size: Queen size bed and so comfy.

C - Chore you hate: Cleaning the shower! Yuck!

D - Dog's name: I don't have a dog. I have a cat named Lucky.

E - Essential start your day: a shower

F - Favorite color: used to be blue but now might be green

G - Gold or Silver: Platinum please

H - Height: 4'11 and 3/4" which I round to 5 feet (I kept your exact same answer Weebs.)

I - Instruments you play(ed): I played the violin since 2nd grade and also the piano.

J - Job title: Teacher

K - Kid(s): I have a son who just turned 1.

L - Living arrangements: husband, son and cat

M - Mom's name: I call her Mom.

N - Nicknames: HB, Babes

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None- thank goodness

P - Pet Peeve: I have a lot!

Q - Quote from a movie: I'm not much of a movie girl.

R - Right or left handed: Right handed

S - Siblings: 1 sister (who is also my best friend)

T - Time you wake up: It all depends on when the kid wakes up. If he's still asleep at 6:30 then the alarm wakes us up.

U- Underwear: yes

V - Vegetable you dislike: asparagus

W - Ways you run late: I honestly have never been late. If I ever were late it would be because I got lost. I have absolutely no sense of direction. I think this makes my husband a bit crazy especially when we are going to a get together. He hates when we are the first people there. He made me go to a BBQ an hour late once and somehow we managed to still be the first people there.
X-rays you've had: MRI's and in high school I broke my elbow, wrist and thumb while cheerleading

Y - Yummy food you make: vegetable lasagna and many many desserts

Z - Zoo favorite: monkeys

Today I am thankful for having so many wonderful friends who care about me.

Letter to a Friend

Dear K,
I believe that people come into our lives for a reason. We met in Sept. 1999 during my first year of teaching. We shared what used to be a janitor closet.
I wouldn't wish MS on any of my friends or enemies. I can remember the day I told you I was diagnosed with MS so perfectly. You knew where I was going with my story because you too were going through the same thing. I couldn't help but cry. I wanted to come and visit you that instant and just hug you and cry. I was so sad this was happening to you. It is so awful to have MS happen to such a dear friend of mine. I was and am truly blessed to have you as a friend in my life. You are the only one who truly understands what I am going through with my MS. We share the same treatment. I can't count the number of times you have been there to listen to me and to share suggestions on how to make the Rebif less painful.
I just want you to know how much I appreciate our friendship. I wish we lived a bit closer so we could see each other more. I am always here for you when you need me. I am so blessed to have you in my life.

Love,
~Heather

Today I am thankful for the sunshine and warmer weather it will bring (although I don't like much over 75).

Update

I went to the neurologist today to get the results from my MRI. Here's the scoop: the new lesion that I had on my brain is now gone. I have a lesion on my spinal cord which is causing all the lovely symptoms. I am going to do a steroid treatment starting next Wed. I hope it helps. I don't know if I can wait that long. I can deal with my torso but my entire leg and foot are absolutely driving me CRAZY!!!

Today I am thankful for my husband. I appreciate that he came with me to my doctor appointment.

I am also thankful for my sister. I hope she knows I too would do anything for her.

Frustrated

I really am just feeling so frustrated at the way I feel. I've been on Gabapentin now for 6 days and am feeling no relief from this burning, numb and tingly feeling on my entire right side (except for my arm - thank god). My leg feels like it is 3 times its normal size and I can't stand the way it feels. It feels how your foot feels when you say your foot fell asleep. This is my entire side. I am uncomfortable to do everything like sit, stand, lie on the floor, you name it. It is really hard having a 1 year old when you feel like this. Ever since I was diagnosed in Nov. 2006 I have been so lucky to not have any symptoms of my MS. I just can't believe this is happening. I have been so positive and believed nothing was ever going to happen. I guess I was wrong. I know I need to stay positive but right now that is hard. I am so uncomfortable which makes me grumpy and sad. I love pedicures and massages and I am thinking if this never goes away how the hell will I do those things again. It hurts to have my husband hug me. )-: Sorry to complain but this is what I wanted this blog to be for.

Today I am thankful that the sun is out and spring is in the air.

Uncomfortable

I am writing in red because this is how my body feels under my right breast and back. I feel like I am on fire or I have a wicked sun burn. This whole numbness and tingling sensation has gotten worse. I called my neuro and he wasn't there so I talked to another one. He scheduled me for an MRI (I wasn't suppose to have one until June.) on Tues. morning at 7:30 and put my on Gabapentin to help with this feeling I have. IT ISN'T WORKING!!!!!!!!!! I am so uncomfortable! No one can touch me on my right side. It is really hard for me with a 1 year old. I am hoping to just wake up tomorrow and it all be gone. I feel like each morning I wake up it is a little worse. I am scared. I am really scared and need to live in the moment rather than thinking the worse about the future.

Today I am thankful for an amazing 1st year with my son. Happy 1st Birthday Asa!

Tingling

I'm not sure what is going on but I will be calling my neurologist tomorrow. I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar feeling as I'm having now. I'll do my best to describe it. It started a few days ago. A few days ago I thought my bra was just irritating me. I started to realize that even when my bra was off I was still getting this feeling. It wasn't until this morning after my shower when I was drying myself off that I felt a different sensation. From under my right breast all the way to my right hip (only the right side-divided by my belly button) and even my ride side and a little on my upper back I have this tingling sensation. When I touch it it reminds me of the way your foot feels when it's asleep. I really don't like it. So, basically I'm wondering if this is an MS thing or something else? Any ideas?

Today I am thankful for spending time with a good friend and her two beautiful girls.

Good job!

On May 3rd I will be walking in our local MS Walk. I usually just ask for donations and have a wonderful team of friends and family who do an amazing job of collecting donations too. I am a stay at home mom this year and decided to do something different seeing as though I have a little bit more time. I went around to local businesses and asked for donations. I collected a total of $225 worth of gift cards/certificates. I had some friends help sell raffle tickets. We collected a total of $300 to be donated to the MS Society. Go team! It was a lot of work but I am proud of myself and my team. I won't be able to do a raffle again next year because it was very time consuming. Any ideas of easy fundraiser ideas for next year would be appreciated.

Today I am thankful for my amazing friends.