MS Strength

Sometimes we beat MS into the ground with the constant discussion of the topic. Sometimes it’s healthy to stop, clear the mind, and just BREATHE…

I was recently away on vacation visiting my parents and aunt and uncle down in Florida, and I felt pretty good: I maintained a nice steady pace and I sorta kept up with the seniors!… Things have been about the same (healthwise) for a while now and I like to think that no news is GOOD news, hence the lapse in website writing and the increase in meeting the outside world with grace and gratitude. 

I’m falling into a pleasant groove here with some library and hospital volunteer work getting me out of the house and some freelance writing ventures keeping me employed and satisfied. I’m also in the process of applying for the Master’s of Social Work degree (MSW) through a couple of universities. My primary interest is in a college in Maine that offers an accredited– VERY RARE– distance education program with a part-time, in-person clinical component. I think I can handle this and conserve my energy until the final clinical rotation.

So things have been peaceful, steady, and sane here for the past few months. Whew!!

This past Sunday my husband Bill and I got out and volunteered at our local MS walk. We’ve been doing this for four years now, and the vibes and the camaraderie are always upbeat and supportive. I like to help run the registration table and assist participants with forms and donations and Bill finds himself getting shirts for the walkers who raise a certain level of money.

This year I also had the opportunity to meet a newly-diagnosed girl (she appeared to be in her twenties) who had a rough first attack. Her mom sat next to me at the registration table and she came over with her small walking group to talk. Jenni wasn’t participating in the walk herself because she was rebounding from leg paralysis and was happy to be out of a wheelchair and using a cane. Both mom and daughter marveled that I “looked so good” for someone who had battled MS for nearly 12 years. I had to confide that not everyone has a bad first attack and I was one of many patients with a LONNNNNNNG and winding road to the proper diagnosis. Even though Jenni and I had different stories, we both had similar symptoms– as do many MSers– and we related to one another. I then invited her to attend the next local in-person support group in our area. A guy from high school got me to it, and I wanted to “pay it forward” and get her to consider. So Jenni and I may hopefully meet again.

What a great day yesterday! I ventured down to Delaware to meet Joan (from A Short in the Cord and Joan’s MS Chat Room), Lisa (from Brass and Ivory, MS Central, and The Carnival of MS Bloggers), and Sonia (one of Joan’s local MS buddies and a fellow chatter.)

Woo Hoo!!…… It was awesome to meet fellow MS writers and chatters in person, after nearly two years of online interactions. And we found that we had TONS to TALK ABOUT in person. Joan was a little concerned that we might have nothing to say when actually brought together in one room, but not so. We had lots of laughs, we shared more information, we learned more deeply about one another’s lives, and we also talked about NON-MS stuff!

An MS issue we did discuss: what did we feel were our greatest multiple sclerosis symptoms and did they greatly affect us? Joan and Sonia mentioned their stopped-in-their-tracks fatigue which altered both of their career paths. I mentioned my own embarrassing and VERY annoying bladder and bowel urgencies, and Lisa explained her right leg weakness and the compounding rheumatoid arthritis hand symptoms (although it was good to hear that her current RA med is helping BOTH of her conditions.)

We enjoyed food and some wine and we gazed at Joan’s adorable backyard with bird houses, feeders, and many visitors. Joan’s home actually backs to a water runoff area that has filled in since she moved there, giving her a serene small pond that she shares with other neighbors. SO COOL!…..We even met Joan’s husband Tedd and I got some better directions home, since I got thrown off course with MapQuest’s ambiguous information (SIGH…)

All in all: what a GREAT TIME!…. Thanks for such a splendid day, ladies, and I can’t wait to do it again soon. We hope to continue and make this a tradition, involving more MS ladies who’d like to gather and celebrate good food and good friendships and LIFE. We all ROCK n’ ROLL!……