MS: Back to School and Work

…So I’ve been off from my Master’s of Social Work program now for two weeks, and I’m kinda looking forward to starting up again tomorrow. My online program resumes and I think I really need the activity: being off too long reminds me too much of my unemployed days when I found myself scrambling for things to do and ways to feel meaningful. I’m also working part-time as a home companion, helping a senior gentleman with his daily activities. This is very part-time right now, so an increase of work to about 25 hours/week— hopefully in a more sedentary area of social services— and some resumed school work will feel good…I am currently feeling fairly well and I’m up for the challenge of finding more substantial work. We’ll see how it goes!…

Summer School

So I’ve been away from this website for a while again, mainly because I’m in the throes of grad school and a clinical rotation. I’m really beat most of the time and I DO think the unpaid clinical portion could be shorter (it’s for a Master of Social Work program), but all in all I’m enjoying the content: HELPING OTHERS.

I’ve also been working for about a year with a senior gentleman. I’m his home companion and I take him shopping, do his laundry, go out to eat with him, and take him to appointments. This has been a wonderful— although tiring— experience and it reinforces my belief that I’m headed in the right direction.

My MS has been relatively stable during all of this, and I’ve been able to do about 25 hours a week of outside work, paid and clinical combined. For this I am grateful. I’m due to see my neurologist again tomorrow, and perhaps get scripts for a new set of MRIs. I did have a slight decline on my brain MRI last year, but I feel this is par for the course given that I’ve had this condition now for about 14 years. I can live with this.

Hope you are stable and enjoying the little miracles that life has to offer!….

 

Best—

Jen

Forgetting MS?

I must confess here that I’ve been away from this site and it has felt GOOD. I remember when I was going through tough times with my MS, I’d post at least once a week and tell my continuing story. Now not so much. And I’m thinking it’s because I’ve been doing relatively well with this condition. Things have picked up in terms of manageable employment and an opportunity to do a graduate program. However, I do feel the whispers of multiple sclerosis when I’m immersed in the “real world”, where things run at lightning speed and others expect me to juggle many tasks because that’s what grown-ups do. So being back out in the “real world” has been good but it’s also been a tad bit isolating: I don’t go at lightning speed and I don’t cram my schedule with too much to do. I’ve been burned by this in the past. So I have almost become more aware of my MS and how it makes me different when I am out with non-MSers. There’s nothing wrong with this— I know this in theory. But I do have a nagging feeling of, “I have multiple sclerosis” when I get out into the world. So it’s good and it’s not so good. This is my thought today as I manage to do homework and consider how I’m going to perform a watered-down schedule this week to keep up my strength. My inside world freely acknowledges this and I almost forget my MS. My outside reality, however, reminds me that I am a product of my multiple sclerosis and that I have adapted my lifestyle, for better or worse.

Quick Catch-Up

I’ve been off the radar for quite a long time (noticing that the last post to my personal blog was months ago. CRAP!) I’ve been so busy doing online graduate school as a social work student and also volunteering at my local hospital’s patient information desk. This work had been very fulfilling, and I might add, comical! So many silly things happen at the desk and I really go there now for the entertainment!…Aside from all this I am basking in the fact that I haven’t had– to my knowledge– a new, acute attack in THREE YEARS (when I originally started this website.) I attribute it to the slower pace and the pacing of myself. Sometimes I really want to do more, but this moderation has been good for my health…..If you come across this post as you peruse the internet, I wish you the most optimum health and joy and good fortune! Because life is SO much like Texas Hold’em poker: it requires a little bit of skill and a WHOLE LOTTA luck.

Peace and Joy—

Jen

MS and Logging Achievements

Wow! I haven’t written at this website in ages. I must tell you that I’m currently swamped with work for my graduate program: a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) degree. I’ve had a dream of getting a graduate degree for quite a while—  I’m not sure why, besides the fact that I love to learn. I simply have this goal on my list of “life to-do’s.” This being said, I am also trying to log a more basic accomplishment list for day-to-day triumphs. As you probably know, living with multiple sclerosis can take a toll on your ego when your abilities wax and wane (or completely disappear) and you find yourself feeling less than accomplished.

Take heart: although we are challenged on a daily basis, we can track what we achieve, because it ALL COUNTS. I used to think that major accomplishments were necessary to feel important or validated. I have to be candid and completely honest with you now— some days just getting out of bed IS the day’s accomplishment! It’s true. So I log this achievement and treasure what it means on particularly challenging days.

Here are some ideas for you to start your own MS accomplishment log:

  • choose an inviting notebook to log your achievements
  • set up your log in a simple manner, much like a journal with daily entries
  • you can list your daily accomplishments or write about them in paragraph form
  • remember: no accomplishments are too small (include the fact that you made the bed or swept the entryway, if these are challenging tasks for you)
  • don’t feel compelled to list a certain amount of daily accomplishments– this is your space to state positive achievements, whatever the number
  • this log can be much like a gratitude journal where you give thanks for what is possible

This will be your log, so make it as personal and as uplifting as you like. Pat yourself on the back for making dinner one day, or for enduring a long day at the office. Whatever you do, it is important to YOU and it COUNTS. Over time you can look back and see all of the positive things you’ve achieved on a day-to-day basis and this will help you in challenging times to remember how absolutely vital you are and how far you go, in spite of MS.

Good luck!

Simple Text-Enlarging Tip

I recently learned this tip for enlarging text fonts on all websites, thanks to a friend on Facebook. I figured I’d share it, considering many of us with multiple sclerosis not only have MS-related visual problems, but we also just suffer from the great leveler: AGING!

Here goes:

To increase or decrease font size, simply hit Ctrl (Control) + or – , depending on your needs.

MS Orange is for Halloween

The (United State’s) National MS Society’s official color is orange, but I still prefer to consider it Halloween’s hue. Taking a break from all of my writing homework has allowed me to kick back and listen to SPPPOOOOKKY tunes. Love this Edwyn Collins one: it reminds me of the Monster Mash…. Hoping no one’s multiple sclerosis is eclipsing all of the seasonal fun.

Be healthy and happy!…

Jen

29 Gifts: An MS Patient’s Book About Giving

I’ve been swamped with school work as of late, but before I jumped into the fray, I had a chance to do a little summer reading and the book 29 Gifts felt much like a gift given to me by a good friend (it was actually suggested to me by an acquaintance with a great deal of insight about the values of selfless giving: I had learned about this book through another MS patient whom I’d recently met at the Nat’l Multiple Sclerosis Society’s annual walk.) So in a respect, I was given this book as a gift to open my mind and find a new way of focusing on others and giving freely of both time and assets.

The book’s author, Cami Walker, recaps her ventures of giving away 29 things during 29 days. As a recently-diagnosed MS patient, she is trying to find her way back to a stable and productive life, something that can be very difficult for those with multiple sclerosis. One of the most satisfying aspects of the read is the author’s positive change over the course of the month of giving: she goes from struggling with the effects of a bad relapse to rallying and making not only physical gains, but emotional strides. Walker learns the benefits of selfless giving not only for the recipients, but also for herself. In the process she decides to create a website to share her new-found knowledge: www.29gifts.org. People are encouraged to try the 29 day challenge of selfless giving and to write about their experiences on the website.

*I’m finding myself considering the challenge as well. : )

John Ritter

<a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lGIKTn_V0hU/SqrDCXHh0FI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GZO6p4MhrTA/s1600-h/ritter.jpg”><img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lGIKTn_V0hU/SqrDCXHh0FI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GZO6p4MhrTA/s400/ritter.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380327150180225106″ border=”0″ /></a><br />I almost forgot about this little-known fact. I remember when John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″>Ritter</span>, master of comedy as well as drama, died.  I was doing a brief subbing stint for a middle school and a student casually mentioned this— heard by way of a parent— and I could have been knocked over by a feather. I stopped what I was doing and came to full attention. How could such a vibrant, funny, attractive, and YOUNG guy possibly have died? As it was, MANY similar men and women had met their fates on this day in 2001, and yet something about this comedian’s death really struck me. Perhaps it was the recognizable face.<br /><br />Today I sat at the PC in my library cubicle and loaded children’s books into the database (as usual) when I suddenly came across a Clifford book and my memory was instantly jogged. You see, the character Clifford the Big Red Dog was animated by John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″>Ritter</span>. This man’s amicable, easy voice came into thousands of children’s homes and brought to life one of their favorite characters. Heck: it’s STILL one of my favorites and I vividly remember my second grade teacher reading Clifford’s adventures to us. What would this big red dog do next? When Clifford came to television, I again began to follow him. The fact that zany “Jack Tripper” infused this character with life was icing on the cake.<br /><br />I have a lot of respect for actors who have mastered both comedy and drama. This is a huge challenge, and I can only think of several— off hand— whom I think have done it well: John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_2″>Ritter</span>, Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Williams, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, and maybe Tom Hanks. They’re all that immediately come to mind from my lifespan. “<span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_3″>Slingblade</span>”, one of my favorite movies, demonstrates both <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_4″>Ritter’s</span> and Thornton’s abilities for the profound.<br /><br />It’s odd to think that out of such a grave, desperate date on the calendar one can lift up a talented, well-loved person from which to draw creativity, vibrancy, and authenticity. And to celebrate exactly why he/she was here. Although we leave under different circumstances, we are all human in our earthly forms and fragile in our collective exquisiteness.<input id=”gwProxy” type=”hidden”><!–Session data–><input onclick=”jsCall();” id=”jsProxy” type=”hidden”><div id=”refHTML”></div>

Harry Potter Author Helps MS Cause

I found the following USA Today news story on Facebook this morning. I didn’t realize the famed author of the Harry Potter series had a mother who was affected by multiple sclerosis. Apparently J.K. Rowling’s own mother died from complications related to MS when Rowling was young, and it has shaped the writer’s own understanding of illness, loss, and helping others. Having been catapulted to fame and fortune with her novels, Rowling has recently donated a large sum, $15.4 million, to the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) to create a research center for multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative illnesses.

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