Kamis, 10 Januari 2008

Take As Needed


There is nothing I can do when multiple sclerosis rob me of some of my cognitive. I can take Provigil to battle ms fatigue invade my body with a wave of extreme fatigue. I can also take a milder anti-depressant as I have in the past to fight ms depression.

Finally, there is the Solu-Medrol infusion that works when my ms symptoms cause my body to break down like Humpty Dumpty.



After my Solu-Medrol infusion Saturday, I felt great my body no longer felt like Humpty Dumpty. During my office visit Friday, my neurologist gave me her reason why she thought it would be a good idea for me to take Lexapro and Tizanidine daily. I explained to her why I did not want to take Lexapro and why I take Tizanidine on an as need basis. I finally gave in and told her I will start taking Lexapro once a day and Tizanidine twice a day starting Saturday January 05.

My living hell began Monday morning, mentally I felt as if I was going out of my mind and physically I could not get out of bed. I took back control of my life Wednesday. I do not try to play doctor on myself, but no one knows my body as I do. I called my neurologist and informed her on how I was feeling and as of today I will not be taking Lexapro anymore and I will only take Tizanidine, as I needed it.

It did not make sense to me to take pills that had me totally incapacitated mentally and physically. I went from living life to having no life and that is not me. I was not going to continue to take prescription medication that altered my mental state and robbed me of physically getting around no matter what my doctor thought. Life has been fine for me wearing a Fentanyl patch, taking Lortab as needed for break through pain, and injecting myself daily with Copaxone. Mentally, I am coherent and physically I could get around taking what I call my fabulous three. I also knew if I had any other symptoms that arise from multiple sclerosis I have an arsenal of medication as needed because at one point I was taking more pills than I can count on a daily basis because I was told to do so.

Because I was told by my doctors to take certain prescribed medications I almost lost my life twice. I am damn if I do and damn if I don't. I rather be damn if I don't from this point on.

Minggu, 06 Januari 2008

My Sunday Inspiration


I decided to start something new on my blog this year. I am the first to admit I do not attend as regular as I should, but I also know God knows my heart. For the last three months, I found my self-waking up 6:00 in the morning when the broadcast of Creflo Dollar, T. D Jakes, and Joel Olsten comes on in that order.

I enjoy listening to all three. I found it strange that I was waking up without an alarm clock and I am definitely not an early morning person. I finally, accepted that maybe God is trying to tell me something and I am no longer questioning WHY I am waking up on Sunday Mornings at the time the three above T V evangelist or on air.



My first Sunday Inspiration video is special to me because my Baby Girl called me this morning she is no longer mad with me, we were able to discuss our misunderstanding like adults. We both were missing each other and in the end, I had to share with her what my parents said to me when I cried to them about our argument.

They said, “I saw myself when we had that argument and she is just like you. You did it to us and all parents go thru at least once with their child. She will realize you are her best friend and she will come around sooner than later”. I am happy it happened sooner than later because I was missing her dearly. She told me in the end our relationship is too special and she was sorry for lashing out at me, but she was more hurt that I lashed back she did not expect that. After taking a few days to her self, she realized I lashed back because she was out of line, she was no longer a child, and as she thought about it, I was speaking the truth as I always have with her and her siblings.

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Sabtu, 05 Januari 2008

Wonder JUICE


I knew my neurologist was going to order the Solu-Medrol drip when I went to see her Friday. Thankfully, I was schedule for one instead of three. I do not know about other MS’ers, but I experienced it all from the Solu-Medrol.

The best side effect from the drip is feeling like super woman and I hopefully I will become super-woman today. I am mad at myself because I did not get my caffeine in (Pepsi) before the nurse injected the IV, the metallic taste form within minutes. Now I have to wait several hours for my taste bug to return to have my tall ice filled glass of Pepsi. A thousand milligram of steroids works wonders.

Everything looks 100 times brighter and I FEEL GOOD right now!

Rabu, 02 Januari 2008

The Danger Of A Second Life


I enjoy watching all the CSI shows and cop shows such as The Next 48 hours, Lock Up, and Inside America Jails as an example. Blame it on my experience working with law enforcement for several years. If it were not for DVR technology, I would be an overweight couch potato watching my favorite law enforcement series. Getting back to why I am posting about Second Life.

A few months ago, CSI New York had an episode of catching a murderer by entering the world of Second Life. It was one of their most intriguing episodes, avatar characters being murdered in the real world. The episode intrigued me so much that I went on line to see what the Second Life World was all about, I was tempted to create myself an avatar. Of course, I would create myself as a sexy young woman who does not live with multiple sclerosis.

As I flirted with temptation to join the Second Life World, reality of there are serious psychopaths in the world prevented me from doing so. I also thought about how a person could become emotional addicted and the psychological affect of living as an avatar in a virtual world. In the end, I decided it was dangerous to flirt with creating an imaginary life. There is some truth in art imitating life and life imitating art.

I was right about the danger and psychological affect of joining Second Life. This morning on CBS Up To The Minute News, they had a story about a single nurse who joined Second Life a year ago. In the world of Second Life, there are 500,000 active members. Linda whose avatar character name is Cala, a sexy, curvy red head met the man of her dreams in the world of Second Life. They became engaged in this virtual world after a four-month courtship. Linda/Cala said in the interview that when Richie (her virtual world boyfriend) proposed to her it felt like a real life proposal. They are now married in the world of Second Life; they had a fantasy wedding including the minister, bridesmaid, groomsmen, cake, reception, and honeymoon.

She stated in her interview with the journalist it started as a game, but they both admit they have fallen in love for real. The flip side of the fantasy is Linda/Cala virtual husband Richie is married in real life. His real life wife doesn’t know about Second Life nor that he is married in the virtual world of Second Life. The reporter in real life would not interview Richie because he did not want to be interviewed in real life, but he did agree to talk to her in Second Life. The reporter created an avatar for herself and entered the virtual world of Second Life to interview Richie at his Second Life home he shares with Linda/Cala.

The reporter asks him if he feels as if he is cheating on his wife, his response was, “I suppose its cheating in a way, but it’s a meeting of minds not bodies”. He also admitted to the reporter that his Second Life marriage is stronger than his real life marriage. I agree with the psychologist interviewed for the story, there is no if and buts about it he is cheating on his real life wife. I am going a step further and say that Linda/Cala is being a home wrecker and Richie is committing adultery. Just because there is no real touching in this virtual world there is emotional bonding and sex between the avatars in their virtual world.

They both say they have no plans in meeting in real life, but Linda is having second thoughts of being single in real life. They both need to give me a break…there is some psychological issues going on with both of them. Linda/Cala need to look for a man in the real world and Richie who feels his virtual marriage to Cala is stronger with the one he have in real life needs to work on his real life marriage or get a divorce and move on. He is being unfair to his real life wife no matter how he tries to justify his Second Life adventure.

Senin, 31 Desember 2007

Home Alone


Obviously, I did not go to Texas with my husband and daughter Sunday. I been experience numbness and weakness in my hands, I noticed it when I was preparing a feast for Thanksgiving. I tried ignoring it because I thought it would go away. I can no longer keep ignoring what I have been feeling because I experienced a new symptom that frightens me.

I had already told my husband I would not be going to Texas; I let him believe it was because I was upset with him. Which is wrong of me, but what the hell? I was upset with my Baby Girl because after putting my pride and stubbornness to the side and calling her to tell her I was sorry. She did not come home that morning. To be honest it bothered me, she did not come home until late that evening. I expected her to tell me she was sorry for her part of the argument and she did not after that, I shut down and decided I would give her what she want. I had nothing more to say to her and I do not know when I will.

My husband did not make things better when before my daughter came home, he said something I did not like, in all fairness to him. He did come to me and said let us start over, but I was already upset with my daughter and I was not ready to start over with him.

Hopefully, this new reaction I experience was because I was upset. Stress is a bit** it wakes up crap in your body and I try to keep my stress down. Although, I consciously felt I was not bothered by my daughter’s actions, subconsciously I must have been. When my nerves start trembling, I did not say a word. I did not say anything because I did not want to interrupt my husband trip (I was no longer mad with) and I did not want to be the reason he did not see his Mother (which I know is very important to him).

When I went to bed the nerve tremors on my left side was hard to ignore. I did not think anything of it because with my multiple sclerosis my nerves tremor mildly through out my body every now and then. As I said at first, it was mild, but gradually my entire left side started tremoring violently. It was so violent the entire bed was shaking. My mind start racing wondering what was happening. The violent shaking stopped after five minutes, but that five minutes felt like an eternity. My next appoint to my neurologist is not until February, but she gets in my a** when I do not tell her of noticeable changes. It is time to call because my noticeable changes have been headaches that caused dizziness and lost of balance, hand numbness and weakness, now violent nerve tremors. I bet a silver time my neurologist is going to schedule a Solu-Medrol infusion; I hope it will be for one day instead of three.

I am going to be optimistic about the violent nerve tremors, that probably happened because of the argument I had with my daughter and it was our first. My daughters are very respectable and I my feelings are hurt that my Baby Girl took her frustration of breaking up with her boyfriend off on me. The one thing I will not apologize saying to her is, “If you are broken up with someone, you cannot be dating. Because if you do date him now and then you are not broken up, you are just playing with yourself”.

I do not sugar coat LIFE with my children, I have always told them how it is because no one loves them as I do and I have no reason to lie to them. I know she is hurting from leaving her first love, but like I told her she is young and she will definitely fall in love again. A young man I know who likes my daughter afar, emailed me recently and ask me if she was still seeing the young man she met in college. I emailed him back and told him no, I want to share a portion of what he emailed back when I told him she was single. I probably should forward the email to my daughter maybe it will help her realize she will fall in love again.


The email referencing my Baby Girl...

So as not to bore you with more law school talk, I must say that I'm relieved that you weren't offended when I asked you about T***. I know that mothers can be very protective of their children. I do have to admit that I've been interested in her, particularly when you informed me that she was socially-conscious and had an activist streak in her. To any man who's also conscious, single, and ambitious, her qualities would stand out. And I'm not brown-nosing when I say that I could tell she had your spunk and passion when I saw how she got involved with various issues at Vanderbilt. And lovely too? Beautiful inside and out? What a combination. The bad part was that she wasn't single.

I haven't cyber-chatted with your "triple-threat" (T***) since long before the last time I corresponded with you, so I have no idea what's going on in her world. Anyway, let me not digress any further. She's a gem; that's undeniable. She probably deserves the best; I'd supply nothing less. But, unless I'm missing something, I don't think that she's looked at me in that way. Sometimes there are women who see later what they couldn't see sooner. Sometimes there are women whose preferences change as their priorities change (in life and in time). Sometimes it's greater later. Said Bill Withers: "Good things come to those who wait, but not to those who wait too late." I'm sure you understand. If I weren't knee-deep in law school preparations and plans, I'd probably email your Baby Girl.

Winning takes a plan and a strategy, along with many intangibles. No one can win for me but me, just like no one can get someone else into Heaven. If I might quote author Claud Anderson, we all have our own row to hoe, our own trail to blaze, and our own path to find. It would be one of life's uncanny ironies if my and Tara's paths crossed that way, but of course, the true question is whether the two ships intersect at parallel lines or at perpendicular lines. (Remember that from Math class?) If those lines are perpendicular, then those two ships will meet by coming from different paths and then will diverge because they're on different courses. If those lines are parallel, then that means that the two ships somehow meet while coming from similar paths but continue on, beside one another, while charting the same course forward. But again, no matter what the lookout sees, "It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it out of sight." If it's meant to be, it will be.

To me, she would be gold.
Her rarity - exemplary - unfolds.
The look of her lash, the purity of her pupils,
Cheeks that know no tear.
The luster of the eye, that innermost ambition,
Her driving force - no fear.
Whether in wind or in water, in humidity or heat,
Each day would be blessing, refreshing, unique.
Every blue moon, yes, dare there's a frown.
Heart's temperature up, up, then down.
But never, never long enough for her sweet smile to drown.
To hold her is bliss, so kind, the first kiss.
To acknowledge this not, is foolish, remiss.
Her energy, frenetic,
Her virtue, a wonder.
What D**** joined together,
May none put asunder.



Anyway, anyway, anyway...

Maybe you liked that poem, maybe you didn't. It was all in the spirit of fun (with a hint of seriousness).

Jumat, 28 Desember 2007

Out with the OLD In with the NEW


My resolution for the New Year is to continue to live life as if each day is my last and continue a positive attitude as much as possible while living with the unpredictable illness of Multiple Sclerosis. I have goals in mind, but I am superstitious about talking about them. As I achieve them, I will blog about it.

Wishing everyone who read this blog a SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Leaving for Texas Sunday to bring in 2008...I'll be around again next year.

Baby Girl


This evening should have never happen. I am sorry for what I said to you and I forgive you for what you said to me.

There is a first time for everything and this was our first and hopefully last argument. We both stand firm when it is about principle. You are more like me than I realized, neither one of us wanted to give in. As I think about our argument you had a valid point and I hope you realize once your anger subside that I had a valid point.

When you left out of the house upset with me, I prayed to God to keep you safe. I hope you did not mean what you said. I am writing this post to you because I know you read my blog. Call me.

My LOVE is unconditional; I would lay down my life for you. I will always be there for you.

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UPDATE (2 hours after posting)

After posting this post, I could not stop thinking, “What if something was to happen to me or my Baby Girl and the last conversation between us was an argument”. I do not think either one of us would be able to forgive ourselves.

Knowing my Baby read my blog was a coward way to say I am sorry. It was also out of pride and stubbornness not wanting to pickup the phone to call her after she stormed out of my house. As mature adults, we can still be childish at times.

I called my Baby to tell her I was sorry for my words in the argument and that I wanted her to come back home. She is home because of the Holidays and I do want to spend every moment I can with her. I honestly was no longer angry with her when she closed the door to leave and I should have stopped her before she drove off. Pride and Stubbornness stood in my way at the time.

Life is too short to allow Pride and Stubbornness to stand in the way of someone you LOVE.

She will be home in the morning.