when I don't use the walker it's time to celebrate

when I don't have to rely on this thing I'm a happy guy. With the help of my weekly physical therapy, my ankle and foot strength has been great. So by using my A.F.O and my ergonomic cane I was able to test my balance and walking today when I went to a family birthday party. Lucky for me all the festivities were indoors and I had a guaranteed seat. I had a great time and didn't get fatigued.

Adventures in The Brain Fog

Multiple Sclerosis isn't funny but you have to take your fun from where you can get it. One of my side effects is a mild case of cognitive dysfunction. I had the most interesting morning while I was getting ready for physical therapy I had forgotten where I placed my wallet and I spent all morning trying to find it. Time came to go to therapy, as I was leaving I reached into my second pocket (the joy of cargo shorts) and I felt my wallet in there. It may not be much but it was my morning.

Socially awkward

I refer to it as being socially awkward but I really mean something much meaner and  less politically correct.. It's not really a symptom or side effect of my Multiple Sclerosis, it's just something that I think is unique to me. Being alone for 14 hours a day tends to get to a person after a while, I tend to say stuff thats only funny to me and sometimes I'll say inappropriate things at the wrong time.

today is better than yesterday

I woke early again today but overall I feel alright. Had an ok day at physical therapy and decided to do a searrch on Optic Neuritis. This picture is a pretty good example of how I see the world, so to speak.

This second pic is a better representation for me because it involves a view from both "eyes"

Tuesday 3/22/11

As I have mentioned before I get moody.. I actually don't remember If I've mentioned it before.. but yeah, I get moody. I woke up earlier than I intended to wake up and I really haven't done much today except catch up on old episodes of "My Name is Earl" and 11 year old episodes of SNL. I did read a bit from a Deepak Chopra book, so today wasn't a complete wash. As I type this my legs are feeling a bit heavy..after I do a brief stand up by my walker I think I'll kick my legs up... I guess I'll just mark this down as an off day.

Quick Note

I wanted to share this quick overview of what MS is. Once you've been diagnosed, slowling down this insidious disease is key.



http://www.healthline.com/hlvideo/multiple-sclerosis-overview

Last year right after I was diagnosed I was in full "ignorance is bliss"mode mostly because I didn't want to get my hopes up, also because my initial neurologist had absolutely NO bedside manner. So rather than suffer out loud I chose to isolate myself and learn as little as possible. Needless to say staying uninformed is absolutely the worst thing to do. Toward fall of 2010 I started attending a monthly support group, I really recommend a support group to any person with MS (regardless of stage) and for family members as well. I also recommend getting involved in your online MS community as well since it may be a bit easier to navigate it. Aside from using facebook and twitter (and this blog) I also use google reader to organize all my blogs together into a    neat and convenient location. Staying uninformed might delay possible progress that you can make.   I'm using my phone to piece this together so please excuse my run-on sentences and the jumbled together look of these words.