Hanging Out

The Rebif arrived and no one stole the box from my lobby! Yay! I get to stick a needle in my belly tonight! Woo-hoo!

Kids and I are having a lazy day today, bringing laundry to the laundry room, writing letters to friends, and playing with Christmas toys. Zane just drew a picture of a big huge lollipop and asked me to write the following note to his friend Zachary M. who no longer goes to his child care center: "Dear Zachary M. Come, come, come back to school now. From Your Friend Zane." He folded it up into a triangular-ish lump and is looking for an envelope. Since we don't have Zachary's address, he told me that if I see his parents in a store I should ask them where they live. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I have absolutely no idea what Mr. or Mrs. M. look like.

Ruby is writing a letter to her friend Katie. Although Katie lives several states away, Ruby is asking her to call for a play date. I hope I don't have to drive her home.

I'm chit-chatting on and off with my MS Moms online group. So far, I've met a dental receptionist who lives nearby, a Christian cattle rancher/animal midwife from somewhere in the Midwest, a Wal-mart manager who was misdiagnosed with Lupus before getting the MS diagnosis, a grandmother with a new grandniece, and a young mom who is no longer able to work and trying to qualify for Social Security Disability. We are very different but share a common disease--the MonSter (a common nickname among people with MS).

Since I am still early on in the acceptance process, it's really helpful to talk to other people, especially other moms, who deal with MS and its unpredictability. I get to take what I like and leave the rest. I chat/post on other groups/sites, too, and they help me not feel so alone and different with this disease. I don't have to "buck up" with these people and they let me vent without fixing it, feeling sorry for me, or wishing I would hurry up and accept my disease. By being honest with other people about how I feel, I CAN move on. But I can't skip that step. Believe me, I've tried.

I found out that the walking blurry eye thing I've been experiencing is called Uthoff's Sign (exacerbated by heat and fatigue) and I think the bands around my arms (feels like they are being pulled tight around my biceps) is an isolated version of the "MS Hug" that many people struggle with. I think I'm going to try to rest a lot this weekend and then weigh how I feel on Monday before calling the neuro about possible steroids. I'm also trying to take the sinus meds every four hours because I'm sure this cold/sinus thing is not helping the MS symptoms and my be raising my temperature which is not good for MS either.

Back to coloring.