A blog about my struggle with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), our wanderlust and other cool stuff. Plus tons and tons of hyperboles.
7/10/2021 - Red rocks of the southwest - The Grand Canyon - The Great American Roadtrip part 2
7/9/2021 - And you thought all my emails didn't work
7/8/2021 - I'm published!
I wrote an article for cureup.org and was published! I actually just used one of my recent blog posts. They published it word for word. I was so impressed until I looked at it.
THEY DIDN'T CREDIT ME AT ALL!
I replied to their email congratulating me asking why my article wasn't credited to me. I told them if I didn't get the credit it would be the last article I submitted.
Anyway, here it is:
7/7/2021 - Four-twenty
I've been using medical marijuana for a couple years now. I'd like to tell you the difference it makes for me:
- Calms my nerves
My nerves are my major complaint of pain for both my MS and fibromyalgia. - It calms me
Those of you that know me know that I'm a jitterbug, I can't keep still. - It tempers my mood swings
MS can cause major mood swings, from laughing to crying, from anger to rage. - Helps with nausea
Sometimes the quivering I have is in my stomach muscles which causes nausea. - Reduces inflammation
Fibromyalgia and MS are thought to be autoimmune diseases. - Helps with anxiety
Yeah, I know, when you see me I don't seem anxious. If you could roll back a couple hours you'd see a basket case. So when you see me high, at least you're getting to see me. - Lets me sleep in peace
Being able to calm my nerves long enough to get sleep is worth its weight in gold. When you sleep, you heal. - Calms muscle spasms
My legs are so toned because the muscles in my legs spasm, often. Now if only the muscles in my stomach would give me six-pack abs. - Fights off depression
Like most anyone with chronic pain, they also fight depression. Some of your deepest and darkest days are when you are hurting. Heart hurting and body hurting. - Fights pain
The major use for me is for pain. That is why my Neurologist suggested it. I bless the day he did.
7/6/2021 - Great American Roadtrip Part 1
David and I left June 2020 on our Great American Roadtrip and travelled over 10,000 miles and visited 18 states. All in the middle of a pandemic, what were we thinking? Here are some photos of our trip, if the campground was great, I'll leave a link. Some of these places we stayed I'd stay at again.
Mama Gertie's Hideaway Campground |
The mountains of North Carolina hold a tender spot in my heart. We camped there when I was a kid and that's where I fell in love with mountains and cold mountain streams.
Twin Lakes Catfish Farm |
We camped and ate catfish and hushpuppies and more catfish, and what's catfish without hushpuppies?
Elk City/Clinton KOA Foss, OK |
A Mississippi Kite that we saw in Foss, OK. I love taking pictures of birds and clouds.
More to come...come back soon...wait, don't leave...there will be more tomorrow...
7/5/2021 - The morning after, back to reality - Senate voting
Granted Congress does some messed-up stuff but this one caught my eye.
S. 1260: United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021
A bill to establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other purposes.
Look pretty innocuous right? They have to put in amendments like:
S. Amdt 1771 (Braun) to S. 1260: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of human-animal chimeras.
Human-animal chimeras:
- a human embryo into which a nonhuman cell or cells (or the component parts thereof) have been introduced to render the embryo's membership in the species Homo sapiens uncertain;
- a chimera human/animal embryo produced by fertilizing a human egg with nonhuman sperm;
- chimera human/animal embryo produced by fertilizing a nonhuman egg with human sperm;
- an embryo produced by introducing a nonhuman nucleus into a human egg;
- an embryo produced by introducing a human nucleus into a nonhuman egg;
- an embryo containing at least haploid sets of chromosomes from both a human and a nonhuman life form.
- a nonhuman life form engineered such that human gametes develop within the body of a nonhuman life form; or
- a nonhuman life form engineered such that it contains a human brain or a brain-derived wholly or predominantly from human neural tissues.
7/4/2021 - Independence Day
On this day, in 1776, the Continental Congress declared the thirteen colonies were no longer subject to the Monarch of Britain. It declared we were united, free, and independent. We were no longer beholding to anyone. We were free.
Freedom is nothing to take for granted. None of us living in the United States has been enslaved to a person or another country. It's a freedom we all can appreciate, it's a freedom we can love. All of us. You may not appreciate that freedom, some don't, but it's freedom nonetheless.
This day has been relegated to fireworks and parades but let's take a moment and think of all this country has been through, is going through, and will go through. Take a moment and relish the great country we were born in.
May God bless America!
7/3/2021 - What do you do when the candle burns out?
I love candles. I don't burn them as much as I want (or remember). Once those amazing smells burn down to the end, what do you do with the jars? Seriously, what do you do?
I could probably count 3 or 4 empty candle jars in my room. I can't find it in me to throw them away. I keep thinking there is something I can put in them. But nope, they sit empty, maybe with a little trace of candle wax still in them. Some are so pretty I don't want to throw them away, some are just empty.
Now you tell me, is this weird? p.s. I already know the answer to that.
Use of empty candle jars:
1. Change keepers.
2. Pour new wax and make a new candle.
3. Make a terrarium.
4. Use in your pantry? Yankee candles, maybe.
5. Desk organization e.g., rubber bands, paper clips, etc.
6. Craft storage.
7. Sit on my shelf and collect dust.
8. Flower vase.
You can find hundreds of ways to reuse those jars on Pinterest. This one I love and may use:
7/2/2021 - It's hard for me - some insight on MS
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) eight years ago. That's my diagnosis date but not the onset of the disease. I don't know when the onset was.
When I was a child we lived on a farm. I think it was one of the better experiences I had. That was back when I liked cats, and we had A LOT! The morning milking of the cow was ours, the second milking the cats. I remember hanging out in the hayloft with kittens all around me. I can remember laying on my side in the hay playing with a cat when one kitten walked up the side of my leg, it hurt. Now as a kid what you experience feels normal so you don't tell anyone. I mean who'd believe a tiny kitten can hurt your legs. I don't know if this was the onset of MS or Fibromyalgia in my life. My Mom would poo-poo all the pain to "growing pains". I'm still having them and God only knows I don't want to be growing.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system (CNS). All the nerves in your CNS are coated in a fatty substance called myelin. Myelin insulates the nervous system's "wires", like the coating on an electrical cord. MS attacks the myelin in the CNS. The damage can cause such symptoms as muscle weakness, numbness, tingling, itching, and also cause vision problems. I've had all these symptoms and more. The pain and optic neuritis (a lesion on my left optic nerve) sent me to my first Neurologist. I went through a lot of testing including tests for Lyme's disease and many others. My first MRI did show I had a lesion on my optic nerve and several small lesions in my brain. I wanted to get a second opinion, and I did. The next Neurologist said the MS diagnosis was iffy, so more testing, even a spinal tap. He wasn't convinced soooooooo, onto my third and current Neurologist. He confirmed the MS diagnosis along with his colleague. I've been on three different MS disease-modifying drugs, my current one, so far, has been working good for me. This medicine is from a specialty pharmacy, I can't go to Walgreen's and pick it up. It's very expensive and I thank God the manufacturer has given me a very low deductible. I'm saved over $20,000 for three months. Actually, if I didn't have that discount I'd never take the drugs.
My MS, like everyone else's MS, is different. That damage of the myelin can be anywhere in the CNS. I don't have any lesions in my spinal cord, they are all located in my brain.
MS is a progressive disease, it never gets better, it only gets worse. No one knows the cause of MS. There is no cure for MS. The disease-modifying drugs may slow down exacerbations. An exacerbation is the worsening of the disease, maybe a temporary worsening or permanent damage. I have pseudo-exacerbations which are temporary worsening of my symptoms, or new ones, which get better after a few days. Some triggers for me are high heat, stress, cold, and exercise of any form, like cleaning. Air conditioning blowing on me hurts, yeah, it's nuts.
My daily woes are pain, mostly in the lower back and legs; heat intolerance, and cold intolerant. I stumble through life and look like a drunk. I literally bump into most door jambs, walls, refrigerator, and stove. I have brain fog. I can't remember words and have to describe things I mean. I can't remember things I've memorized, like the 23rd Psalm. I can't remember names but I'll always remember your face, weird. I'll start a conversation and then forget where I was headed with the thought. Yeah, I know, you have that too...try ALL THE TIME.
MS is a progressive disease. I'll leave it there.
7/1/2021 - Who really cares? And so it begins...
Who really cares about what's going on with the country?
Who really cares that an Olympic athlete disrespects her country?
Who really cares that our border has been overrun by illegals flooding into the country?
Who really cares that the virus came from Wuhan China, through a lab leak?
Who really cares that our president may have dementia at best, flat our stupid more likely?
Who really cares that race relations in the country are tearing us apart?
Who really cares that people representing and running this country hate it?
Who really cares if a few cops are killed?
Who really cares if our cities are wastelands of crimes?
Who really cares that the democrats are for research in human-chimeras? (Google it)
Who really cares if the president chooses to run the country by Executive Order?
Who really cares if there is a war against white people?
Who really cares about real voting integrity?
Who really cares if the government wants to take away our right to keep and bear arms?
Who really cares if our first amendment rights are trampled on?
Who really cares if you are safe?
The answer, me.
6/29/2021 - It's about to get crazy
I've been planning on blogging every day in July. I've got some great subjects that I've been researching. A lot of times when I blog it is whatever is on my mind. Hopefully, in July you'll find some subjects interesting. I think my friends on Facebook are a little tired of my political posts. That's ok, they can slide on by. If my blog post is political, I'll show it in the title.
Some subjects include voting records for Delaware's representatives, Joe Biden, life with MS, what the heck is going on in this country, and a few surprises. I might even throw in a few recipes. I also have tons of pictures from our adventures.
Stay tuned...
6/15/2021 - It's all about me - Understanding
David and I were talking about understanding yesterday. There are people that can't understand, like children. For instance, my grandchildren can't understand why GiGi needs to rest. Most people can't understand why I'm not more active and they can't possibly understand why I'm not. Then there are people that won't understand. They understand the situation but won't show you understanding. I guess I'm describing empathy more than anything. That grieves me.
2/2/2022 - Tips before your spouse dies
Here are some tips that I've learned with the death of my husband. Have your own credit cards. If you have individual credit cards you w...