Can't go out to the garden alone

I just wiped out a third of all our zucchini plants.


"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up"  just played out in our backyard.


Fortunately, Husband RJ came to help.  Unfortunately, I had no strength in my legs or knees.  I told him to grab my waist or butt and pull.


But I outweigh the old man by about 20 pounds and he couldn't manage it.  I pitched forward from a squat into the zucchinis.


Finally he planted his legs and grabbed my arms and pulled straight up.  My legs were no help.


I bawled out loud for a second or two.  Then we picked up the mess and I went in the house to make supper.


pb

This time it's not MS

After a sonogram, an upper GI endoscopy, and a perfectly lovely colonoscopy, the verdict is in.

• gall bladder is distended (whatever THAT means)
• there are duodenal ulcers
• there are also interior hemorrhoids.  Well, at least they don't stick out.
• I have diverticulosis.

Now believe it or not, I know what diverticulosis is.  And I know what hemorrhoids and duodenal ulcers are.   Furthermore, it is no surprise that my gall bladder was distended.


Gall bladder and diverticulosis and hemorrhoids are all in my family history.  My mother just died after a long battle with intestinal troubles and diverticulosis or even diverticulitis was common for her.  And the other two, well it had to be something, right?


Now what to do?  I will see the doctor again on Thursday. Maybe he can shed a clue.


Because I have none.

After three years of work

TIME HEALS:  The First Nexuses  is finally published.  I gave up trying to find proofers for it, as so few people around me have the time.  It actually took longer to research and write the darned thing, but only since I went on disability have I had some serious time.


As an editor myself, I could have spent another three years revising Time Heals, but since my MIL was widowed, time is scarce.  I wanted to see publication before I died.


Are they still saying that MSers on the average die around 62?  In that case, I can still enjoy the fruits of my work, if any.

As I was going to St. Ives

I met a man who lost his eyes.  When I was first diagnosed, there used to be an MS Society branch in town.  (Thanks for nothing, MS Society.)


There, I met a man who awoke the week before to find he was rapidly losing his sight.  When I say rapidly, I mean that this man could now no longer drive a car, just one week later.  He had learned that he had MS and expected to be completely blind in a few weeks.


So why on earth would I skip the eye doctor for two years?  Yep, two years, during which my sight deteriorated enough that my glasses were no longer any use to me.


I am now the happy owner of new lenses and a much clearer outlook on life.  Even as I write, I can sense the strange numbness/tingling completely ringing my eye socket.  I am tired and can almost feel the muscle drooping.


Lesson learned:  Get thee to an Eye Doctor.


What's more, if you have MS, you need an ophthalmologist and not just an optometrist.


If you don't have one, get one.


pb
Little Pond

Home remedy for MS?

Is it just me, or is everyone losing their hearing and sight?  What I mean is, can we have had such a looooong winter that we are all more than one year older this Spring?


Oh, I know all about the grief thing, but keep in mind that we had a very, very bad year.  I knew Mom and Dad were losing their grip on life.


It seems that the hearing is worse.  I know that the sight is going.  The MS is acting up again;  I will need to lose weight to regain function.


And, I have learned that gray hairs are kinkier than my old brunette ones.  I now use Vitamin E and Cocoanut Oil to condition and mousse.  By the way, cocoanut oil is an excellent  all purpose moisturizer.  On the other hand, it's pretty expensive, but not more than any other conditioner.  For my hair, I just use a couple drops of E and about a half-teaspoon of cocoanut oil and rub them together.  Keeps my skin clearer than any skin cream too.


Now if only I could find a home remedy for the hearing and sight.


pb
Little Pond

Ooops

Okay, so it's been some time since I went on hold.


Frankly, I should have known.  No sooner did I think I was doing well than I began slipping.


I am now depressed over many things, not the least of which are the deaths of my parents and the time and energy suck of checking in with my MIL.


Please don't get me wrong.  My MIL is an ancient dear.  I love her to pieces.


But.


On a day to day basis, it is draining the life and peace out of me.  She is slipping, slipping, slipping, and I am not up to it.  I only check in on her a couple times a week, but then it's damage control.


She's just barely self-sufficient and increasingly lonely without her husband.  She does little things that herald her need for assisted living.  Last week she decided to sweep her porch after dark.  Locked herself out.  A neighbor came to her rescue.


She is content to rely on her neighbors.  She knows that every incident brings her closer to assisted living.  She won't contact us during these crises.


We got her Great Call 5 Star, and are hoping for the best.


In the meantime, I am not really up to dealing with her decline.


My own is giving me enough trouble.


pb


btw:  looks like it's time to redesign