This weekend I have been feeling sorry for myself. Sorry that I have MS, sorry that my husband is out of work and sorry that we therefore can't even contemplate travelling south to California for my 'liberation' procedure. I received a forwarded email from a lady I know from a friend of hers who has this week returned from California after treatment. By all accounts, it was a wonderful experience for her and she feels well and truly liberated.
The email has inspired me to 'Just DO it' and go ahead and see what I can do for myself to go for the procedure myself. I am therefore making plans to start looking into fundraising. I have always been resistant to the idea because I don't like bothering people to ask for anything but I figure with my legs getting worse in the last few months, I really don't have anything to lose but I do hopefully have a whole lot to gain.
Therefore, I am in the process of figuring out how I am going to do this but I am indeed, going to give it a go!
Stay tuned and please wish me luck :) Thank you
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
It's been a while!
Well, 2011 has arrived and with it, a new attitude to how things are in my life. An ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE is my new approach. 2010 didn't turn out the way we were hoping, infact it was downright miserable so we have changed our attitude and are looking forward to a year of good things.
First off, Ty is going flat out to get the house renovations finished so we can get it on the market. Really, that is our main goal for this year, the end result being a trip to California for me to get LIBERATED from M.S. Chaos ensues all around us and the kids and I can't wait for spring so we can start getting out of the house more. Snow and spasticity in the legs are not a good combination and I have no intention of taking another fall , even though the snow may well cushion me as I tumble!
This week we are looking forward to a trip to the city to watch a film that our youngest is in. Can't wait.
I vow to write more this year to show my attitude of gratitude. Today I am grateful to find that my blog hasn't been deleted ;)
First off, Ty is going flat out to get the house renovations finished so we can get it on the market. Really, that is our main goal for this year, the end result being a trip to California for me to get LIBERATED from M.S. Chaos ensues all around us and the kids and I can't wait for spring so we can start getting out of the house more. Snow and spasticity in the legs are not a good combination and I have no intention of taking another fall , even though the snow may well cushion me as I tumble!
This week we are looking forward to a trip to the city to watch a film that our youngest is in. Can't wait.
I vow to write more this year to show my attitude of gratitude. Today I am grateful to find that my blog hasn't been deleted ;)
Friday, June 4, 2010
The end of grade 6!
Today I talked on the phone with our youngest sons's distance ed teacher so she could complete his report card for term 3. Now that is done, I declare grade 6 to be OVER!!! I can't even express how difficult this year has been in the homeschooling dept of our home due to my own difficulties but we made it through and now it's time for summer to begin. Would someone please let Mother Nature know though as she doesn't seem to have received the memo!
So we start our summer off tomorrow with a callback for a tv commercial then a few days filming a grad film for some students at a local college. The next couple of weeks will also be full of fun days with homeschooling families as we venture out for our end of year parties and fieldtrips. These are things we don't mind doing even after the end of the school year.
All this time I am still slowly getting back to normal from m broken ankle and feel like each day I am a little stronger. Things are looking up in our household :)
So we start our summer off tomorrow with a callback for a tv commercial then a few days filming a grad film for some students at a local college. The next couple of weeks will also be full of fun days with homeschooling families as we venture out for our end of year parties and fieldtrips. These are things we don't mind doing even after the end of the school year.
All this time I am still slowly getting back to normal from m broken ankle and feel like each day I am a little stronger. Things are looking up in our household :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The complete and utter inconvenience of a broken ankle!
Today was the day I got to say goodbye to the wonderful physiotherapist who has been working with me. You see, I broke my ankle in January in the parking area by the beach. I was finally ready to get back on my feet after my October hysterectomy to remove my 4kg fibroid! Yes, the intern told me it was the size of a volleyball!! I was glad to be rid of that unwelcome monster that was filling my abdomen.
So anyway, back to January when I decided to go for a short walk with our two eldest kids. That in itself was unusual because DS (19) rarely spends time with us these days but on this particular day he decided to come out with myself and DD (17) We walked down onto the rocky point sticking out into the ocean and I fell. I got up right away and decided it would be better to just go back to the car. I was still recovering from the surgery and my core strength was weak.
On my way back, I don't know really what exactly happened but on reflection, I feel like my right foot went into a small hole in the ground. That caused my ankle to twist and made me off-balance. I tried to correct myself but ended up falling really hard on my left leg. Right away I could tell what had happened. My leg wasn't turning as it was supposed to.
DS completely took control, had he not been with me, it would have been more difficult as DD doesn't handle these things well due to a communication disorder . SO, he called for an ambulance.
Little did I know that the cuts to ambulance service in BC have resulted in paramedics working outside of their 'home territory' This evidently also includes the dispatchers. He had such a hard time explaining to them where we were. People came and went with their dogs as I sat on the damp ground. Canadians are funny people. Not many of them stopped to inquire as to why this 47 yr old woman was sitting on her rear end on the wet ground in January!! It was really quite comical.
Eventually, the ambulance did arrive at the same time as DH who had been called to come and pick up the car and the dogs. I took a ride to the local hospital where I was sent for an x-ray by one of our local doctors who was on duty. As luck would have it, my own Dr. was just starting her own shift and she took control.
Then the news came. I had broken my ankle in 3 places and would have to be transferred to a hospital in the city to see an orthopedic surgeon and then have surgery!! WHAT???? Excuse me!! I am the queen of NOT liking hospitals. Don't they know how long it took me to get up the courage to have the hysterectomy?? Don't they know that was just 2 months ago? Don't they know I am not going back into a hospital until hell feeezes over?? Well actually my Dr. did know this and she reassured me that this procedure would be over in a flash and I'd be back on my feet in no time.
Fast forward to today (coz the story just goes on and on and involves a 3 day wait in the hospital in the city) and I can assure anyone that a broken ankle is quite simply not even slightly what you imagine it to be. First, you can't put any weight on that leg for 6 weeks! That results in the wasting away of all the muscles in the leg. Secondly, crutches are almost impossible to use unless you are an Olympic athlete and thirdly, even after 3 months of physio, you are still about 9 months away from being completely healed. If you add MS into the equation, you are pretty much screwed for goodness knows how long. I'll get back to you on that one!
So my aforementioned wonderful physiotherapist had to discharge me today. She can only work with me post-operatively until she feels that I have either healed completely or reached a plateau. Well, I am sitting here on this plateau and don't exactly qualify for anymore Govt funded physio. I call her wonderful though because first of all, she is :) and secondly because she went online and pulled up a great book on MS exercises (published by the very MS Clinic I attend) and she printed it off for me before sending me on my way. I now have to work on the home program but am welcome to call with any questions or concerns. Can't ask for more I suppose.
Talking of Olympic athletes. I live at the very heart of Vancouver 2010. For 7 years I waited and anticipated the arrival of the Olympic Games in our little town. It was to be an exciting time. Guess who broke her ankle 3 weeks before the games started and was unable to attend any of the planned events? Yep. One of the other inconvenient things about breaking our ankle.
So anyway, back to January when I decided to go for a short walk with our two eldest kids. That in itself was unusual because DS (19) rarely spends time with us these days but on this particular day he decided to come out with myself and DD (17) We walked down onto the rocky point sticking out into the ocean and I fell. I got up right away and decided it would be better to just go back to the car. I was still recovering from the surgery and my core strength was weak.
On my way back, I don't know really what exactly happened but on reflection, I feel like my right foot went into a small hole in the ground. That caused my ankle to twist and made me off-balance. I tried to correct myself but ended up falling really hard on my left leg. Right away I could tell what had happened. My leg wasn't turning as it was supposed to.
DS completely took control, had he not been with me, it would have been more difficult as DD doesn't handle these things well due to a communication disorder . SO, he called for an ambulance.
Little did I know that the cuts to ambulance service in BC have resulted in paramedics working outside of their 'home territory' This evidently also includes the dispatchers. He had such a hard time explaining to them where we were. People came and went with their dogs as I sat on the damp ground. Canadians are funny people. Not many of them stopped to inquire as to why this 47 yr old woman was sitting on her rear end on the wet ground in January!! It was really quite comical.
Eventually, the ambulance did arrive at the same time as DH who had been called to come and pick up the car and the dogs. I took a ride to the local hospital where I was sent for an x-ray by one of our local doctors who was on duty. As luck would have it, my own Dr. was just starting her own shift and she took control.
Then the news came. I had broken my ankle in 3 places and would have to be transferred to a hospital in the city to see an orthopedic surgeon and then have surgery!! WHAT???? Excuse me!! I am the queen of NOT liking hospitals. Don't they know how long it took me to get up the courage to have the hysterectomy?? Don't they know that was just 2 months ago? Don't they know I am not going back into a hospital until hell feeezes over?? Well actually my Dr. did know this and she reassured me that this procedure would be over in a flash and I'd be back on my feet in no time.
Fast forward to today (coz the story just goes on and on and involves a 3 day wait in the hospital in the city) and I can assure anyone that a broken ankle is quite simply not even slightly what you imagine it to be. First, you can't put any weight on that leg for 6 weeks! That results in the wasting away of all the muscles in the leg. Secondly, crutches are almost impossible to use unless you are an Olympic athlete and thirdly, even after 3 months of physio, you are still about 9 months away from being completely healed. If you add MS into the equation, you are pretty much screwed for goodness knows how long. I'll get back to you on that one!
So my aforementioned wonderful physiotherapist had to discharge me today. She can only work with me post-operatively until she feels that I have either healed completely or reached a plateau. Well, I am sitting here on this plateau and don't exactly qualify for anymore Govt funded physio. I call her wonderful though because first of all, she is :) and secondly because she went online and pulled up a great book on MS exercises (published by the very MS Clinic I attend) and she printed it off for me before sending me on my way. I now have to work on the home program but am welcome to call with any questions or concerns. Can't ask for more I suppose.
Talking of Olympic athletes. I live at the very heart of Vancouver 2010. For 7 years I waited and anticipated the arrival of the Olympic Games in our little town. It was to be an exciting time. Guess who broke her ankle 3 weeks before the games started and was unable to attend any of the planned events? Yep. One of the other inconvenient things about breaking our ankle.
Monday, May 24, 2010
My first post
Here's the funny thing. I started this blog a couple of years ago and then I just forgot to write in it! Today, I decided it was time so here I am.
Why is it called 'I don't know how I do it?' Probably because I simply don't! But that statement could really apply to many parts of my life which I will go into a later date. But here is a list of some of the things that make me ask the question.
1) I have 3 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats and a hubby...enough said.
2) I homeschool one of the kids (which I love doing by the way)
3) I also drive said kid to auditions frequently.
4) I have MS
Victoria Day weekend is over. It now seems official that the summer is upon us. The sun didn't shine a whole lot over the weekend but it will. I'm being positive. Best news of all, I am looking into getting my name on a list for the 'Liberation Treatment'...a breakthrough for the MS-ers of the world. I now have a number 5 for the list, spending many hours a day reading all the info I need to equip myself with all the necessary info. Thank goodness the school year is almost over and some of my time can be freed from text books and science experiments and move to other things like GETTING LIBERATED!!
Why is it called 'I don't know how I do it?' Probably because I simply don't! But that statement could really apply to many parts of my life which I will go into a later date. But here is a list of some of the things that make me ask the question.
1) I have 3 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats and a hubby...enough said.
2) I homeschool one of the kids (which I love doing by the way)
3) I also drive said kid to auditions frequently.
4) I have MS
Victoria Day weekend is over. It now seems official that the summer is upon us. The sun didn't shine a whole lot over the weekend but it will. I'm being positive. Best news of all, I am looking into getting my name on a list for the 'Liberation Treatment'...a breakthrough for the MS-ers of the world. I now have a number 5 for the list, spending many hours a day reading all the info I need to equip myself with all the necessary info. Thank goodness the school year is almost over and some of my time can be freed from text books and science experiments and move to other things like GETTING LIBERATED!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
