Further adventures in the cog-fog realm

Last Thursday while I was preparing to leave for this month's MS Support meeting I twisted the doorknob lock as I was walking out the door, as soon (LITERALLY as soon) as the door shut my brain did a silent scream of NOOOOOOO My keys both house and car were in a bowl inside in the hallway. I quickly alerted my father who carries a second set of my keys, my dad lives about two miles away from me so he told me to stay still because he was going to walk over. I may have RRMS and use a cane but my father is almost 72 years old and has his own health issues (beside that my neighbors dogs are unruly and loud and I didn't want to sit in the humidity listening to them bark at me) I had the excellent  idea of at least trying to meet him half way. About sixty feet from my driveway I tripped over a plastic reflector fastened into the ground. Luckily I was able to stand up and I continued on my mission.

that's about one mile, not bad for a guy with a cane and an A.F.O 

I was almost there when the amount of walking added to the heat added to the stress of not wanting to fall again my optic neuritis seemed to dance a bit (my eye would temporarily cross) I met up with my dad and I made my way back home. The way back was uneventful, aside from being a bit sweaty my eye returned to normal and I made my way to my support meeting forty minutes late. What have I learned? I need to keep extra set of keys around.

RIP Don Cornelius

I only mention the passing of Don Cornelius because according to the LA County Coroners office Mr. Cornelius had an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound. I only mention this because I like to bring awareness to depression and suicide awareness. Please note that the official report hasn't been released and I'm only using the incident to cast light on a serious matter, my condolences to his friends, family and fellow fans

                                                   Don Cornelius September 27, 1936
                                                                              February 1, 2012
latimesblogs.      HELP

December and January were too dark

toward the end of December I made my pilgrimage to go to Ohio to see the inlaws with my wife, after being there for a few days I received  word that my uncle passed away. It was unexpected, he passed away in his sleep, and being a thousand miles away from my family really didn't make me feel too great. I started the new year quietly with my wife and trying to adjust my on-line presence (per my NY Resolutions). And I can't help but feel that I really haven't done much regarding making any changes to what I do when I come online. Last August I started a second profile on Facebook to set apart what I do. I guess I'm amending that resolution to be that I will be online less, I'm not really a "guru" (or as I have proclaimed myself at times) MSNinja. and when I sign onto Facebook it just seems that all I do is say Happy Birthday to twenty people and poke at others. I'm not really quitting per se, I'm just going to try to focus more on me.  

I don't celebrate

Just as the title suggests I won't be celebrating my latest anniversary, it has been two years since I was officially diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis. I can remember it as it were yesterday, I was in the hospital because I was I kept falling at home and I was completely zapped of strength to stand back up not to mention if I were to manage standing up, it was doubtful I could keep my balance. My wife and I were still a little clueless as to what could be wrong, but the day after being admitted I was alone in bed when the attending neurologist, and might I add the Dr with the WORST bedside manner in the world, she waited till I was alone and half asleep and just came out and said Yeah, It's MS. The next day in front of my wife she started going on about the possibility that it could be HIV. Thankfully it wasn't and thankfully I now have a neurologist that minored in Tact and bedside manner. In the past two years I have tried my darnedest to get educated about MS and try to share info (as is seen here)

So in a way I guess I've just lied, I should celebrate the fact that I'm alive and the fact that the MS hasn't really progressed, I had optic neuritis that went from a minor brown  obstruction in vision to just one eye being a tad crossed, or rather a bit off center (as you see in most MSers).

Awkward MS

One thing I have learned to appreciate from reading Blogs or Facebook posts from other MSers is the tendency for some MSers to be self deprecating. I can REALLY identify with that mindset and that type of humor and that  is what attracted me to "Awkward Bitch", it is the tale of fashionista and chanteuse Marlo Donato, her life here in the states and the challenge of moving abroad only to find out that she has "incurable autoimmune disease". There were points in the story that I laughed out loud, points that I could sympathize with Marlo cause I too have had a "dead toe". Without saying too much more I wholeheartedly recommend this book to my fellow MSers and anyone interested in an MS book that isn't just going to throw medical jargon at you.

Having Goals

In light of my previous post about resolutions I thought I'd share some of my GOALS for 2012. The one requisite goal that always escapes me is eating better, (although I have to admit that in light of my MS I have gotten at least a little better) in 2011 I adjusted my diet to exclude red meat. That was done simply to aid in my digestion, it is working somewhat with the aid of fiber supplements.  Another area of my life that I'd like to improve upon is my social-skills, that includes getting out more and not relying solely on the Internet.

I don't believe in "resolutions"

I didn't tread lightly there, calling something a resolution just seems like you're already saying you won't do it. Rather than making a resolution I figured I would make goals, I know it's just semantics but think about it. People usually break resolutions, where as "goals" (or aspirations if you want, although I won't) can be a year long type of mental check list that you can always fall back on. My other suggestion is to not aim for the impossible, considering I have MS (always having to plan certain things out) resolving to slim down takes a bit of planning but I believe it's an attainable goal (although that's a classic one for me.... and everyone). Trying to lose some weight IS attainable I just have to be a little more disciplined about it.  Another area of my life that I would like to fine tune is my online presence, rather than dilly dally when it comes to being on Facebook or blogger I would like to set out a mini-agenda for what I'd like to accomplish that day. As far as blogger is concerned I've been trying to use a recorder app on my smart phone to record blog ideas as I get them. It seems to work for me.