My MS Update 2017

I entered last year celebrating by watching 'new year at the needle' fireworks display (The Seattle Space Needle) on a hospital TV.  I was in there from 12/27/16 to 1/3/17 with, I believe, cellulitis and a bladder infection. 

I have been in the hospital several times since then, 5/19 to 5/22  with cellulitis. I didn't have any cuts so it must have been a cat claw poke or a bug bite... any break in the skin will do for those of us who are immuno-compromised.

August brought me in hospital from 8.19  to 8/25 with the perfect trifecta -  cellulitis, vaginal and bladder infections.

So, how am I doing? you might ask. Well,  36 years with MS and this is my current condition. From head to toe, here goes nothing.

if you are newly diagnosed let me tell you here that mine is not a typical case, but still, you may want to stop reading now.

• head - intermittent memory lapses; I thank the heavens for post-it notes, I have three on my laptop now reminding me of things: like how to get to my Kindle library where DH has stored a thousand books- not for my Kindle, but that's the name of the folder they're in. One to tell me the first 5 Coffeehouse mystery books by Cleo Coyle that our public library has mysteriously lost, and one to remind me to order medical supplies.

• vision - optic neuritis. Mostly in my left eye, but which acts up in the summer or when i get too hot. they also tear up due to eye strain; an explanation would be a digression.  

• torso - right side weakness which has me chronically leaning, made worse because I am right side dominant and use it for all my one finger typing.

• arms/hands - my left hand is numb,  and also has a tremor which I only notice when I type, aaaaaaan a. It also  misses the mark between caps lock, shift, and cntl keys. It doesn't help that i have short arms that can't reach all the keypad. 

• bowel & bladder - I have no bowel control, and diminished sensation of both anus and urethra, which is why I wear Depends. I can feel hot/cold, but can't tell when I'm  going, so I am on an every other day bowel schedule where my DH gloves and lubes and manually gets me going -- now that's what 30 years of marriage gets me: true love.  As for the other, I have a supra-pubic catheter which is why I am so prone to infection. I wear belly bag instead of a leg bag

• buttocks - I have a pressure sore that is healing slowly.

• legs/thighs - I can feel both thighs, but I can't move them. I can feel my legs from about the mid calf to my knee, but again, I can't move them.

• feet - They're the worst, I now have not only a total lack of sensation due to MS, but contractures, or permanent deformity of them as well. I wear puffy "boots to protect them from injury that i would not feel.  

                                 

Even though I am so compromised, I feel generally content. I wish that I wasn't so dependent on others, but I am glad that I have people to depend on. I have not only my husband, but a caregiver from Copes for 103 hours each month. I consider myself lucky.


Good Night, TTYL, and Be Well,