New Life- Same Old MS

Here is a very strange looking photo of me at my new home in Miramichi ,New Brunswick

I don't why my camera refuses to take normal pictures, but I've had my fill of technology woes for the present and I'm not in the mood to fiddle with it.

Otherwise, I'm very happy with my new life. The first month was rough.  Selling a house, packing, moving,  setting up a new place,  in a new city, new province, and in the middle of a heat wave . A challenge for a healthy person, and more so for a person with MS. There were a few days there when I didn't think I was going to make it. Had to do lots of praying and positive thinking in order  to keep going.

If anyone out there needs, or knows a person who needs, an affordable place to live, with the best landlord you could ever find, Retirement Miramichi is it. Here a link to their website Retire NB.

It isn't your typical retirement community It's more like living in cottage country with all the conveniences.
Everything is well maintained  and clean. It is safe and secure and also very picturesque. I will post some photos once I get this crazy camera to work properly!

I get a free bus pass and the bus stops right outside my door. I have a business card that  I can show to local merchants etc. to get senior discounts, even though I'm not senior age; yet.

  New Brunswick has true universal health care. I never have to worry about going to a clinic or hospital, because everything is covered.The only snag is that all the specialists are in another city, Moncton, but that's only an hour away.

Retirement Miramichi is located on a former air base,Chatham. I think it was a wise decision by the province of New Brunswick, to have converted it to a retirement community, but also incorporate many local groups such as the Boys and Girls Club. One of the old hangars now houses a beautiful recreation center with a fantastic swimming pool.

I just can't say enough good things about this place. I just wish I hadn't had to bring MS along with me. It still sucks! At least now I'm in a place where I don't have to worry and I can enjoy life.

There's going to be an air show in a couple of weeks; right outside my door.  Have to get this camera to
 co-operate, so I can post some photos of that.

Here's to retirement!

Sold!

My house is  sold! I don't think the agent would mind  me using this photo.

 Surprising that it didn't take very long; less than a month to get an offer. I was worried  because houses in my city  can sit on the market for months, although I did  notice that a few other places in the neighbourhood also sold quickly. This is supposedly a "hot" area . The person who bought my house said to the agent that they are looking forward to going around the corner to Starbuck's. I guess that's as good a reason as any and what do I care.  

It was crazy for awhile. Every day at least two or three viewings That meant that not only  did I have  to keep the house super clean and tidy, I had to be out.  The couple of times I did stay home were awful. People are so rude and ask such stupid questions.  When I did go out,  I would return home to  doors  left unlocked, all the lights on , back door and gate open ( "come on in  thieves")  and people actually used my toilet!

Not my agent's fault, but all these other ding a ling agents, who were so rude. Like the one guy who was looking for a bargain for an investor (watch out for those guys!). Of course he found a hundred things wrong with the place.

Then there was the joke of a home inspection and I really don't understand why people waste money on them. I complained about the lazy, unprofessional way the inspection was done at my home. The list of things is too long to put here. I also complained about what I saw as a conflict of interest. The buyer pays for an inspection and then the buyer's agent and the inspector come and check out the house.  Who's representing the seller?  Anyway, they decided to withdraw the inspection based on my complaints.

So now I'm getting ready to move very soon. It's a killer for somebody with MS. I have to take advantage of the times I have energy, but Oh! does that ever run out quick and I can't get over how weak I'm getting.

I  won't say where I'm moving  to yet, but I do have a nice house waiting for me.  It's a rental so I will no longer have to worry about living in  a money pit.

I feel pretty good about things Retiring and selling my house were the right decisions.

Earth Day

Here I am planting trees on a very cold Earth Day.

 The weather went from summer like to winter  in one day, so hmm, is there such a thing as climate change?  I think yes , not that we are really doing much to stop it.

 When a young woman asked me if I wanted a sign to put in my lawn "Stop the Pipeiline" or something like that, I pointed out the  scores of SUV's and trucks parked in the lot at the Botanical Gardens.  As long as we continue to promote the use of gas guzzling vehicles; turning out a light or planting a tree on Earth Day  makes us feel good,  but isn't doing us much good.  I took a free shuttle to the event. A smoky, smelly, vehicle it was; so  much for my efforts to lessen global warming. Well, I keep trying.


This old tree has seen better days.  

As for me. Only 4 more days till retirement!!

Good Bye Shingles- Hello Another MS Drug

I decided to use this famous image by Andy Warhol in my post because I just recently watched two  documentaries  about him.  I could go on for hours about why I agree that he was the greatest artist of the second half of the 20th century  and that there has been no new art since his death.


It only took 4 months but my shingles have finally cleared up . Once again I say : If  you are over 40 get vaccinated for shingles!!

Reading the news this morning I see that there is another new MS drug, called Tecifidor. As usual it is being heralded as a significant treatment for MS, with studies claiming it can reduce relapses by 53%. Serious side effects are  possible reduction in white cell counts and  fetal harm, which means it should not be used by pregnant women. Less serious side effects are  stomach and  bowel disruptions.

Did you know that drug companies earned over $14 billion from MS drugs last year? It is expected that this drug will bring in about 2-3 billion yearly.

All these drugs and yet where is the proof that they work? By work, I mean stop or slow progression.
My research; including reading several MS blogs and reading medical journals has led me to the conclusion that none of these drugs really work.

If you feel that they work for you, great. I'm certainly not going to say "Hey don't take MS drugs!"

 But, let's look at the claims made for this newest drug. How can they   say that relapses can be reduced by as much as 53%, given that relapses are so random, so unpredictable? I could take this drug and maybe only have one relapse during the time I use it, however, maybe I would have only had one relapse if I hadn't used it.  And how can they say this based on control groups. One group is using the drug, another is taking a placebo. They still don't know what the rate of relapse is or could be for either group..

MS progresses. It does so at different rates and  in different  ways. The way it progresses for me will be very different from the way it does for another person.  Relapsing/ remitting MS becomes secondary MS, most of the time, but not all the time. Progressive MS is rare, but it happens.  Having MS does not mean you will end up in a wheelchair, but it can.

So I live with uncertainty and I feel this is used as leverage to promote drugs that will not really improve my quality of life very much, if at all.

Only a few more weeks to go till retirement!  I also received news that I have a house available where I want to move to.  I'm excited and nervous and looking forward.

Here is a view of the harbor just a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful spring like day . Now we are back in the deep freeze and I'm hating it. It is partly to do with the fact that I have shingles .

 I'm telling anyone who has ever had chicken pox to please go and get vaccinated for shingles. You don't want to go through this painful, itchy, ugly, illness.  It's been over a month now and I'm still covered in a disgusting, sore, red, rash. I have also heard so many horror stories about shingles causing blindness and even death!  So please, please, go get vaccinated. Why the heck don't doctors tell people about this vaccine and why aren't they offering it to their patients as part of a regular vaccination routine?  I found out about it too late.

2013 is going to be a big year for me. I'm taking early  retirement in April, selling off all my possessions, and moving to another province.

 I thought about it for a long time and decided that I need a change in my life. My house is getting to be too much work and expense. I also can't bear to live in my adopted city of Hamilton any longer. I don't know why, but I just never took to this place, never made any meaningful attachments.

It wasn't all bad. This house was affordable and my son had twelve years of stability. You can see from  the photo above that there are some lovely places to go walking. It is also close to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

For the last six months I have slowly been getting rid of my stuff. Giving it away and throwing it out. Every week when I go to the office I wear one of my office outfits, then come home and put it in the donation bag. Wow, has my wardrobe shrunk! It feels so liberating to know I will never wear business casual ever again. I have always hated it.

 Once my house is sold I will have an estate sale and get rid of all  the rest. Yes everything must go!  It isn't worth the cost to ship everything where I'm going and I do like the idea of starting fresh. It will be a minimalist lifestyle from now on. No more collections, knic knacks,  magazine subscriptions,  kitchen gadgets, books, movies,  etc. etc.  All that stuff I thought I wanted, needed, and now I see what a burden it is.


I'll be doing some updates as I go along to map my progress.  Stay tuned, if you like.

Retirement

Not much going on, so that's why I haven't posted on my blog for a while.OK that's not exactly true, but some things I either can't share or won't.

Social media can be a good thing, but it also carries a heavy burden You think you have privacy and can express yourself  freely? Wrong.  If they can get the head of the CIA, they can get you.

So I would like to talk about my work  and social experiences however with all the rumour mongers and spies out there, it's just not worth it.

I can say that I will be retiring  early 2013. Don't want to publish the exact date yet until I get closer to that time.  The bureaucracy can be very unreliable.

Do I sound negative? Sorry. The world can be a disappointing place sometimes.

Summer 2012

Summer 2012

And wasn't it a hot one! So many days with record breaking temperatures . It was a challenge for me and I'm sure for everyone else out there with MS. Most days I could only go out if my clothes were stuffed with frozen cooler packs!

At least all the crazy pains in my legs have disappeared. I still walk much slower than ever; but I can walk, and can still  climb the 200 stairs at the harbour trail. Slowly.  


On those super hot days  I had  things to keep me busy : my garden, postcards, and an online course from Coursera  https://www.coursera.org/ .

I recommend trying a course there. They are free for now as the site is in the beta stage, so I imagine once they sort out the bugs they will either start charging money or zap us with a million ads like all the other sites do. I have ad blocker from  Google  Chrome which really works to get rid of those pesky ads.
 
Here's a few snaps from the Locke St. Festival, which is held every September and is right around the corner from my place.  

That's me posing with the car for Festitalia which is this weekend. I have my free sunglasses on that I picked up at one of the booths.

Then there are the energetic folks who make it a good time.