Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Attitude Adjustment

I just got off the phone with my mother in the next state. She told me that I will need time to adjust to my situation: Time to get all the paperwork through. Time to work out all the financial details. Time to adjust to being disabled and home.

And finally, time to learn how to live with the man I married.

Yep. Poor Husband RJ is now sort of an opponent. He's always in the bathroom when I need to go. He takes up too much room in the bed. He hogs the computer. His smoking bothers my asthma. All the gardening, indoors and out, keeps the floors in a constant mess.

The poor guy can no longer manage to mow the yard in one go. The mower messes with the hearing in my MS-damaged hearing. All the time now, since he takes it in little batches.

And this should sound familiar to fellow MSers: every day is a battle over the climate control. He likes it too hot in the winter and too cold in the summer.

For me, that is. The air conditioning kicks up neuralgia spots in my head and neck. Even with the compromise of 73 degrees max and 71 minimum, the blowing is annoying both to my hearing and the neuralgia. It was a tad easier in the winter, because I would bundle up or strip down. I sort of do that in the summer, too.

Now I treasure the times he's at work.

And feel guilty about that, too.

pb
Little Pond

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband has Progressive MS. I've noticed something interesting about climate control. He has to keep the air at a steady 72-73 degrees. Warmer than that, he turns into a noodle, unable to control ANYTHING. Cooler than that, he stiffens into a spastic mess, even though he takes Baclofen. And, the air has to be constantly moving, or he can't breathe.

MS stinks. Fortunately, we've learned to compromise and deal with these weird-isms.

pb said...

Yep. We go no hotter than 75, and even that is too much at times. And we go no cooler than 73. Also, when the air is muggy, as it often is up here in the Finger Lakes ares, we need to run it constantly, even though the temp says 73-74, because the mugginess makes it fell hotter.

That means we use almost as much for utilities in the summer as winter. I'm pleased to report that Husband RJ is smoking outside this summer. See my 8/3/10 post.