I had been really hopeful for this blog! The reality quickly became obvious though, as vision problems, mobility issues, cognitive difficulties, basically a whole raft of MS issues made writing difficult! But Twitter was kind to me...the small messages were far easier than long blog posts! After all, with the limitations of a text message, how much could I really write?
Actually, quite a lot it would seem! Here I am, several years later, with many a tweet under my belt! Although, there is an argument to say I even let Twitter go for a while there! But that is the harsh reality of MS! You can have the greatest of intentions, but if your body is determined to stop you from doing things, sometimes you have to capitulate, take a deep breath and move forward however you are able.
So here it is, the end of summer, 2016. 2016!!! Is it really possible that the last time I blogged was SIX years ago? It feels like six months ago, not six years! But what a six years it has been! I moved from Toronto, Ontario to Hamilton, Ontario, an hour South of Toronto (and my hometown) so that I could be closer to family. That has been AMAZING! Family can be both a help and a hindrance...but I am happy to say that most of my family are a help! I have one brother determined to make my life more difficult, but another one who has been my saviour on many an occasion! He is not a Saint, but he IS my hero! Some things have been a surprise, like some family members spending less time with me now that I live here, but then others make up for that by spending more time!
My Fiancé and I are no closer to living together, sadly! But despite the challenges of living so far apart (he is in England!), our relationship is incredibly strong and we are very much in love! Life finds many ways to test us, but through it all, we only discover our inner strength!
I am gearing up for my annual tower climb! This year my hero-brother, John, will be assisting me! If you follow me on Twitter, you are likely aware that every year since my diagnosis in 2007, I have climbed the Dorset, Ontario lookout tower. It has been a fairly regular fall event in my life, but an absolute must since my diagnosis! This is my "f@€k you MS" activity! I realize there may become a day when all I can do is go to the park that houses the tower and there may even become a day where travelling there is no longer even possible. But for as long as I am able to, I will go to the tower and make my best effort to climb it! I have been successful every year that I had an assistant in making it to the top! One year, I had to go on my own, so I had to err on the side of caution and only managed to climb the lower portion, but I needed to ensure I had the energy to get myself home again!
I am excited to attempt this climb again! It's always difficult, but it is incredibly rewarding!
This summer has been difficult. There was more heat waves than I have ever seen before and a horrible drought, but it appears the weather is returning to more seasonal normal temperatures and we've finally had some rain, so my fingers are crossed that this was a temporary blip and not a "new normal".
Anyway, enough rambling! I have a tower climb to plan for next week!
Stay safe and don't give up!
Friday, September 2, 2016
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Time passes, life changes, but good news about a wheelchair!
Hi all,
I cannot believe it has been so long since I created this blog! Life has changed a lot in the past months, but I am getting back to "normal" and want to keep this going (or rather get it started!) :o)
When I first created this blog and my Twitter account, I assumed I would be blogging daily, or close to it. A few days after creating the blog though, I had a relapse of my MS. I am doing much better now, hence why I am starting this up again. It has been an interesting few months though!
I have been working on getting my first power wheelchair. I was lucky to have the MS Society of Canada help me out with getting a manual wheelchair when I had my relapse back in October, but I can only use that when I have assisstance, as I do not possess the strength or endurance in my arms to push myself. Getting the power chair means I can go to the mall again and go for "walks" outside. Goodness! What should I be calling them now? Rolls? :o)
I had no idea that getting a power chair was so hard! Complicated by insurance companies and Government offices, therapists and sales people! If I made enough money on Long Term Disability (LTD), then I would definitely hire a personal assistant to do all my paperwork and telephone/email follow up with people! Between cognitive difficulties and vision problems, it takes me ages to do things these days! Sadly, LTD is just barely enough to live on.
But, there is a light in all of this! Once I get my power chair, I will be able to wear high heeled shoes again!I cannot tell you how excited I am at the prospect of wearing my favourite part of my wardrobe again! It's been three years since I could wear heels!
So maybe, just maybe that helps some of the girls out there! Just imagine - being able to wear high heels, but not having to worry about tripping, sore toes, sore ankles, sore calf muscles - just beautiful feet and sexier legs. Long live the wheelchair! :o)
Oh - just so I am not misleading anyone, I am still trying to get by with a rolling walker, but will be using the chair for shopping and trips to the local park and just to get outside a little, or anytime I will need to walk more than the little bit I can these days.
Twitter! As for Twitter, can you believe I have over 200 followers already and I haven't even been posting? I'll be curious to see how that changes as I become active again! My humble thanks to all who read this and to those who follow my Tweets!
I hope everyone is feeling as well as they can be. Keep your head up and be happy!
I cannot believe it has been so long since I created this blog! Life has changed a lot in the past months, but I am getting back to "normal" and want to keep this going (or rather get it started!) :o)
When I first created this blog and my Twitter account, I assumed I would be blogging daily, or close to it. A few days after creating the blog though, I had a relapse of my MS. I am doing much better now, hence why I am starting this up again. It has been an interesting few months though!
I have been working on getting my first power wheelchair. I was lucky to have the MS Society of Canada help me out with getting a manual wheelchair when I had my relapse back in October, but I can only use that when I have assisstance, as I do not possess the strength or endurance in my arms to push myself. Getting the power chair means I can go to the mall again and go for "walks" outside. Goodness! What should I be calling them now? Rolls? :o)
I had no idea that getting a power chair was so hard! Complicated by insurance companies and Government offices, therapists and sales people! If I made enough money on Long Term Disability (LTD), then I would definitely hire a personal assistant to do all my paperwork and telephone/email follow up with people! Between cognitive difficulties and vision problems, it takes me ages to do things these days! Sadly, LTD is just barely enough to live on.
But, there is a light in all of this! Once I get my power chair, I will be able to wear high heeled shoes again!I cannot tell you how excited I am at the prospect of wearing my favourite part of my wardrobe again! It's been three years since I could wear heels!
So maybe, just maybe that helps some of the girls out there! Just imagine - being able to wear high heels, but not having to worry about tripping, sore toes, sore ankles, sore calf muscles - just beautiful feet and sexier legs. Long live the wheelchair! :o)
Oh - just so I am not misleading anyone, I am still trying to get by with a rolling walker, but will be using the chair for shopping and trips to the local park and just to get outside a little, or anytime I will need to walk more than the little bit I can these days.
Twitter! As for Twitter, can you believe I have over 200 followers already and I haven't even been posting? I'll be curious to see how that changes as I become active again! My humble thanks to all who read this and to those who follow my Tweets!
I hope everyone is feeling as well as they can be. Keep your head up and be happy!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What is "Coping With MS" - READ ME FIRST
Coping With MS - October 2009
Welcome to "Coping With MS"! The purpose of my blogging is to reach out to other people with MS as well as thier friends and families. I will share my stories of how I cope with having Multiple Sclerosis, how I overcome my symptoms and live a life full of love, laughter, hope and fun.
I hope you will find my blogs inspiring and I hope with equal fervour that you will feel you can contact me with your own stories of how you overcome your MS symptoms. If you just have a quick tip or trick that you use, please feel free to send just that. I know how hard looking at computer screens and reading can be for people suffering with MS!!
I will be posting a link on Twitter whenever I write a new blog, so that those of you who have problems with vision have a faster way of seeing if the day's topic is of interest to you. My Twitter account is Coping_with_MS so feel free to follow me there!
My blogs will likely vary in how I write them. Some will be stories of things I've accomplished that day (which I hope you will find amusing and inspiring) while others will delve deeper into my symptoms, what they let me do as well as what they prevented me from doing and how I worked to overcome them. In the more in-depth blogs about symptoms I Will be posting links to other websites with good, easy to understand help on coping with MS symptoms.
I have access to amazing programs here in Toronto. I have learned a lot so far and I continue to learn and grow through various programs I attend. I hope that my stories will reach some of you who don't have access to similar programs, so that you might reap some of the benefits of them.
If you have comments or suggestions on any of my blogs, please feel free to post them. I welcome any and all comments and hope that others will feel they can share their own stories of how they cope with their own version of MS.
Please keep in mind that MS is different for everyone and affects everyone differently. What might work for me and my symptoms might not be possible in your life, due to money, location, resources or just because your body reacts differently. I am not going to say I will have all the answers, but I hope to provide some of them!
So you have a bit of background, here is a little about me:
Sending you my warmest regards,
Laura
Welcome to "Coping With MS"! The purpose of my blogging is to reach out to other people with MS as well as thier friends and families. I will share my stories of how I cope with having Multiple Sclerosis, how I overcome my symptoms and live a life full of love, laughter, hope and fun.
I hope you will find my blogs inspiring and I hope with equal fervour that you will feel you can contact me with your own stories of how you overcome your MS symptoms. If you just have a quick tip or trick that you use, please feel free to send just that. I know how hard looking at computer screens and reading can be for people suffering with MS!!
I will be posting a link on Twitter whenever I write a new blog, so that those of you who have problems with vision have a faster way of seeing if the day's topic is of interest to you. My Twitter account is Coping_with_MS so feel free to follow me there!
My blogs will likely vary in how I write them. Some will be stories of things I've accomplished that day (which I hope you will find amusing and inspiring) while others will delve deeper into my symptoms, what they let me do as well as what they prevented me from doing and how I worked to overcome them. In the more in-depth blogs about symptoms I Will be posting links to other websites with good, easy to understand help on coping with MS symptoms.
I have access to amazing programs here in Toronto. I have learned a lot so far and I continue to learn and grow through various programs I attend. I hope that my stories will reach some of you who don't have access to similar programs, so that you might reap some of the benefits of them.
If you have comments or suggestions on any of my blogs, please feel free to post them. I welcome any and all comments and hope that others will feel they can share their own stories of how they cope with their own version of MS.
Please keep in mind that MS is different for everyone and affects everyone differently. What might work for me and my symptoms might not be possible in your life, due to money, location, resources or just because your body reacts differently. I am not going to say I will have all the answers, but I hope to provide some of them!
So you have a bit of background, here is a little about me:
- 38 years old (as of October 2009)
- live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- diagnosed with MS in September 2007
- my constant symptoms are: fatigue, pain, weakness in right leg, dizziness and balance issues, Lhermittes sign and vision problems (double vision when reading or concentrating)
- my transient symptoms are: muscle spasms, inability to control my blood pressure and very intense (and frightening) sensation issues
- I am ambulatory and use a walker to get around, including around my apartment
- I can use a cane for very short distances when I have another means of support such as a wall, furniture or another person beside me as I tend to fall otherwise
- I have two exceptionally furry cats who keep me busy with the vacuum cleaner, but who also add so much to my life
- and my rock, my greatest strength, is my love for my Fiance, Henry, who at this time still lives over 3,000 miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, but is there for me every single day
Sending you my warmest regards,
Laura
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