Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The MS Card

So much I want to write about.
 When I have time, I have no energy.  When I have energy, there are so many other things that need attention. And of course when I really do need energy, MS laughs at me and  drains every drop.

The MS Card.  In some ways it is like a credit card, in the bad sense; that the MS card will always have a deficit and  it will be a temptation to use it.  What exactly do I mean by the MS card? Well I guess it is something I can use to explain why there are so many things I would like to do, but MS prevents me from doing them.

 I really hate using it, but I learned a valuable lesson that sometimes I really must.

 Example: A few weeks ago,  I was summoned to jury duty. It was clear in the summons that the trial could go on for at least three months. When I filled out the questionnaire I said that yes, I would be able to commit to that time period. Oh how stupid of me! Thank goodness the judge excused me because of my job. I guess someone involved in case had a connection to my employer.  What a mistake it would have been if I had not disclosed  my MS ( which is what I planned to do) and had been selected as a juror. Yeah I suppose I could have  begged off at a later date, however that would have required a medical certificate  and a whole lot of bother for everyone.

At the end of  my one day at court, I was  exhausted from doing not much of anything.  I came home and   tried  to revive myself:  tea, a shower, food,  a glass of wine, music. Nothing worked! Even trying a nap was painful!

 I was  miserable  sitting on the sofa and mad at myself that I was so foolish to think I could have taken on such a responsibility, yet at the same time feeling like a total loser that I couldn't.

So next time, even though it sucks to use the MS card,  I will have no choice.  I have to stop thinking that I'm still the old me that can do everything and accept that  the new me can't  do much of anything. At least not most of the time, or not when MS decides I can't.

It really sucks though , really really sucks!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Hello 2012 - Good Riddance 2011

Decided to  use my morning coffee break to update my blog.

I really meant o do a year end wrap up a couple of weeks ago, but there was just so much going on over the holidays Some of it good, some of it really awful.

2011 was the usual roller coaster ride. The year ended on a positive note. My new "duty to accommodate" contract at work is good for a year. I only have to be in the office 10% of my time; barring any unforeseen need  to be there, like a meeting or seminar. Thank God ( and I really do mean it when I say that) .

When I received the news I broke down in tears of joy and said a prayer. All the struggles, all the hassles, that could have been avoided but that's human nature. We don't seem to be capable of admitting when we're wrong until a very long struggle has occurred. I know I had to let go of many of the small  grievances that I now see were petty and focus on the ultimate goal: to continue to work, be productive  for as long as I can, and retire with dignity.

Then there was the surgery on my thyroid which turned out to be the best case scenario. Hooray!

The saga of the tree falling on my house still continues to plague me, but only in small ways. I'm hoping my house will be back to normal by spring.

So moving on to 2012.

 I have already broken two of my resolutions To take a break from online shopping and  Ebay auctions. My excuses being that I can't resist free shipping and I simply can't face  going to a mall ! It was so great to be able to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping online. No crowds, no overheating, no confusion, no exhaustion. Just a  computer and a nice cup of tea.

Three of my other resolutions I have already made positive steps toward achieving. They are:  my diet ( yeah how boring of me), to do more writing (non blog related ) and the biggest and most challenging one; to eliminate emotional poison in my life.


I can no longer permit the human drama and  the  endless soap opera  to infect me. My health is at stake. I see how the negativity of others makes me get sick. If they want to live in the past, blame me for their failures, and continue to abuse themselves physically and mentally; good for them.  I'm not going to allow myself to become  fat, miserable, alcoholic, out of shape, and  irrelevant.  And for those of you trying to drag me down that path. I say goodbye to you. You aren't my friends. Hmm this sounds very  negative, but it's out of my system now.

It isn't easy to turn my back on so many family and friends; but it must be done. I want to move on. I want to hold on to those that I truly love. I want to enjoy my life for as long as this crummy MS will let me.  Oh yes there's no getting away from that monkey on my back, but  I'll save that for another post

Anyway, I'm going to do something daring here. Post a photo of myself from New Years Eve 2011. I'm doing it to show the world( that is anybody who still reads this blog)  and bust the MS stereotypes !!

Cheers everybody!!