I think my B12 supplement is working

Despite all of the "walker-ing" and cane using that I did yesterday, I was surprised by the fact that my knee wasn't swollen up. I did the usual use my walker up to the craft doors and hoof it with my cane the rest of the way and that is not an easy task when you are larger framed like I am. The one inconvenience was my knee being immobile which I tend to let it out in the open so it can twitch away if it needs to, but I sucked it up. But my main point in starting this post was being at my in-laws house (different bathroom) I believe that my b-12 supplements are working because I was able to stand for about 95% of it and that made me feel great!

I'm leaving on a jetplane

traveling in todays post 9/11 society can be a daunting task, travel is not made easier for someone traveling with MS but I intend on making it tolerable. Last December I went on a roadtrip with my wife, it was comfortable enough, a day and a half to Dayton Ohio with a stop-over in Atlanta. I'm going on the same trip with my wife but this time by plane, aside from the usual headaches with TSA and baggage we also have the extra hurdle of a layover in New Jersey. In a normal situation I'd be excited to be back in NJ but I'm not returning for a "real" visit, just a 2 1/2 hour tease. But back to my point, As I travel with my wife tomorrow I plan on traveling as smooth as possible with my cane & walker. The key point as far as I'm concerned is just taking the time to TAKE MY TIME. that includes  not trying to be the first off of the plane (my first time on a plane with MS). While I have my NJ layover I have about 2 hours to take my time getting off of the plane, using a restroom and grabbing a bite if having MS has taught me anything is that, I have all of the time in the world, I shouldn't be in a hurry to get anywhere.

How I walk

Walking is always taken for granted by most people. Once a person deals with an illness such as Multiple Sclerosis it gives you a renewed sense of how important walking is. As soon as I was discharged from the regular hospital I spent almost 2 weeks in inpatient physical therapy being retrained on something I had been doing for about 29 years. It didn't come easy to me, I won't lie I had spent alot of time balancing in front of the ballerina bars until I didn't need two hands to do it. I started out like most folks lumbering forward like Frankenstein's monster. I was fortunate to have my own cheerleaders )my wife and family,even my cats)(nothing encourages you like a cat freaking out because you're all wobbly over it)

I embraced my franken-walking no matter how silly it looked to the unknowing public. With continued phys-therapy and continued tysabri (natalizumab) I believe I have progressed to baby step walking where my joints are a little more co-ordinated and I'm more confident that I won't fall on my face. I have been using a cane rather than the walker (when strength permits) and that's why I refer to it like baby walking. Life is going good and I'm feeling stronger, and no squashed cats!

life in TV

anyone truly knows me can tell you, I am a pop culture junky and severe tv show addict. Having alot of free time I have been able to view all of "24" and I'm in the middle of watching lost, in my opinion those shows have little parallels to my life with ms. How so? 24, is the tale of CTU agent Jack Bauer fighting all kinds of terrorists and baddies, I equate that to the MS trying to storm into my brain and start trouble kind of like a terrorist or anti-american bad dude and. Then it's up to Jack Bauer and CTU or my Tysabri/other meds n vitamins to bring em down and set things right! The other parallel is the TV show "Lost" this show if you haven't seen it is kind of hard to explain. it's kind of like a serious non-comedic version of Gilligan's Island, well not really but you should "wiki" the shows. Thats not as direct as my "24" references now but I find similarities on how everyone with MS is just going on with life all nice as can be (pre-MS) like life before the plane crash then all of the sudden BOOM we're on the island kind of like how some of us have the first crash or iniial incident where we fall or have vision problems. Then we deal with new problems like optic neuritis kind of like the smoke monster or the dharma bunker. Flashback scenes are always interspersed with the daily action, similar to how we might try to over investigate the time that lead up to the diagnosis.

Confessions of a cog-fogged mind

i tried to post this yesterday, didn't notice it until know

since I was diagnosed 17 months ago I have went through a total of four MRIs. Of those MRIs I have seen the results of 0, zilch, nada. I really don't know why, probably fear, probably some weird superstition. I've never been a fan of inspecting my own brain, despite MRIs being a miracle and advancing the science of neurological diseases, it doesn't seem normal for me to have that power. Irresponsibility aside I've decided to put the fear of my brain aside and get educated this time around.

Part of the giving in is because I've been on Tysabri for almost a year and I need to know that my brain isn't swiss cheesing anymore

confessions of a swiss cheesed mind

I wrote out an extensive posting yesterday right before blogger crashed and took my posting down with it, "Save" be damned. I started off by confessing that in the seventeen months since I've been diagnosed, I have gone through a total of four MRIs. I have never really viewed my MRI results I've pondered why that is, Perhaps fear of viewing my own brain sliver by sliver?  the claustrophobia part of it really doesn't bother me, it's more of the being subjected to a 2 hour bizarro concert of hums whirling magnetos in my ear. I had my fourth MRI this morning and I've decided to "man-up" and finally take the plunge. I wrapped up my morning by taking my monthly tysabri infusion (number 10!), and so far I'm feeling good. I am achy from the 2 1/2 hours stuck in one position not moving, thank God for couches!

a line in the sand

many of us who try to stay current on MS and are homebound tend to rely on social media. I use Google reader to sum up all of my blogs, while scanning the subjects of all the blogs and the daily news rap-up involving Multiple Sclerosis and CCSVI it seems there are two camps, the pro and against. I try to stay current and informed with all the developments, it seems theres a war of words between the two factions. I clearly fall in the middle between the two parties, I want the process to succeed, I really do, but in the meantime I just do my best to remain positive. Negativity is a horrible thing, I do my best to be positive, not in a wishy washy lets go hug a tree kind of way but in a preserving sanity/bitterness is bad for my body way. Because my information is from blogs and not first hand accounts my knowledge is limited. I have the utmost respect for both sides.

Positivity isn't such a bad thing. I welcome all comments.