Embrace the Journey: Write Your Stories

Me and sister  Penni on fun trip 

Just when I thought I had explored all therapies I might need for managing MS, I found another one. This one is memoir writing.  When I started blogging, I thought the blog would be like doing a memoir. I had no idea there is an entire genre of literature on memoirs! I joined a memoir writing class, got started writing, and love it! I go deeper into my psyche and find stuff I think might be useful to others doing this MS journey.

Embrace Your Destiny: Oh the Places You'll Go

New Year's Eve on the Silhouette

 I love the book by Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places You'll Go! The problem for me is getting the will and courage to take the plunge to go. The fear factor that always gets in the way.

"Places" conjures up destinations. But that's not all the places we can go. Other places we go are personal. These are things like leadership opportunities, relationships, starting a new venture, joining a new group. These personal "places" can be the most challenging of all. The fears, the waiting, the decisions, the setbacks and confusion are still the same.

Recently I've traveled on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean and islands of the West Indies with Donnie. Then just a short time later I traveled to Laguna Beach for a trip with sister Penni. Both trips to delightful, warm, exotic places. Both also full of challenges.

Embrace Your Destiny: Hard Work Pays Off

Working at the big cable machine

I have been working with a trainer at Gold's Gym for fourteen months. Lacey Blanton worked with me thirteen of those months on my goals of strengthening core,  posture and of course, walking. She has passed me on to another trainer who she says can take me to the next level.
Evan Camboy is my new trainer. In my first session, he began by  analyzing what I can do to determine where we needed to begin. Not surprisingly he identified the same issues of abduction, core strength, and leg strength that Lacey had been concentrating on. 

Embrace Your Destiny: Friends Have Your Back!

Sister Penni invites me most years to a Marketing Executives' Conference or MEC. This group includes around 30 members and spouses with many of the same people coming each year. Penni invites me. I returned mid September from Detroit. My first encounter with the group was in Sedona, Arizona, I had only recently been diagnosed with MS. My walking was jerky but I was excited to join her.  Over the years I've met some truly awesome people and look forward to catching up on their lives. Some have retired and no longer come regularly. New members join with spouses.

I've made lots of friends among both members and spouses. When I go, it feels like they envelop me with their welcoming spirit. They do everything possible to make sure I move places safely. One really neat thing to discover is that there are spouses who are interested in doing hot yoga with me. Matt and I have found Bikram studios in Oklahoma City, Portland and now in Detroit.

Having a yoga buddy in strange places is really good for me. New studios are fun but also a bit daunting to figure out. First of all, getting there is an issue. Luckily this one was in Midtown Detroit and fairly close to the meeting site.

Me and Matt

Matt had my back on the first trip over to Bikram Midtown. I was fumbling around with the Uber app I had used all of one time when Matt joined me. We had agreed to meet at 5:30 am to make the early class. Immediately, Matt took charge of the Uber transport. We got to practice yoga two times. That totally exceeded my expectations.

We stayed at the Marriott Rennasiance. It was huge. After we got back and cleaned up, I had planned to go with the other spouse guests for a walking tour. I either missed the connection time or the meet up place. I was just about to strike out alone when John showed up in the same elevator with me. 

John and I at the Detroit Lions Stadium

John, another spouse friend, had my back the rest of our free time. My legs were fatigued from the hot yoga, but willing to walk. He let me hold on to his arm and made sure I didn't fall. We walked over to the sporting stadiums and got selfies. It was farther than I wanted to walk back so John suggested we take the trolly. The walk to the trolly pick up was doable. The trolly ride itself was a nice experience.

During bus rides and other free time, I took advantage of reconnecting with old friends who go way back to Sedona. I asked Erwin Furukawa an Executive member if he remembered anything about me twelve years ago. I was fishing for any observations about changes in movement, speech, or mental acuity. He offered right off that my speech is much improved from what he remembered early on. He noted that I speak more fluently and get thoughts articulated more quickly now. This opportunity to see people over time allows me to validate the things I'm doing as being worthwhile.

Another new friend and spouse shared with me that she has recently been diagnosed with the Relapsing Remitting form of MS. She was doing awesome. I would never have guessed she has MS. She told me the symptoms that got her to the doctor was that the top of her head was numb, for a couple of months. She mentioned another symptom too, but the numbness in the head was different. She told me she is taking the other oral drug and is doing well on that.

It was during the tour of the Ford Museum on the second day that Penni got called back to Boston to handle an emergency situation. She literally left mid tour. With the busy schedule, her absence didn't register. Well, middle of the night it hit me! Penni isn't here to help me get my boarding pass and transportation back to the airport! I'm on my own to get back home. The only way I got any more sleep was to take some deep breaths and convince myself that my MEC friends would have my back. 

Sure enough, the next morning, Irene the Chair of the Conference took care of all my worries. She asked her Assistant Marie to help me. American Airlines had sent my boarding pass to my email. Marie showed me how to take a photo of the boarding pass and save to my Apple Wallet. I was so relieved!

Evening dinner and games

I certainly missed Penni being with me through the whole trip and especially the last night. My enjoyment of all the activities however, was not impacted. I felt included and cared for. My trip home was uneventful too. I must admit that it took about a week to recover. I loved going to Detroit and learning about how it became great. My total experience was awesome. I continue to remind myself that there are wonderful people who want to be helpful. All I have to do is accept graciously.

  

Embrace Your Destiny: You Have the Power

Donnie and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary in August. We enjoy many of the same things and support each other when we have diverging interests. I really think Donnie only started doing hot yoga so he could keep an eye on me. Now, I'm pretty sure he does it as often as he can because he loves it and how good he feels after doing it. 

I was reminded this week that I am responsible for having many more anniversaries. Much as I would like to dish off this responsibility, it can't be done. Nobody else can substitute for me at the gym or at yoga. Nobody else can take on the discomfort from an injury, poor diet, weight gain or anything. Nobody else knows my body like I do. In short, what it boils down to is that if it is to be it's up to me to make my part happen. I have to stay positive, fight off negativity from all directions and just do it. I do have the power and I intend to use it.

Embrace Your Destiny: Just Show Up

Practicing my contest speech 

"Just show up". This was the mantra of my friend Cozy I met at Capital YMCA in Raleigh, NC. Daughter Liz was one of his groupies. She worked out with him late in the afternoons and vouched for his authenticity and integrity. I was a novice to weight training but wanted to learn about it. He became my volunteer physical trainer. He instructed me what to do for each muscle group and monitored how I did it. I learned a lot from Cozy about the technical aspects of physical training, but probably the most important lesson I learned was to just show up. 

Over the past 20 years, I've worked the power of "just show up". For example, by committing to piano practice everyday I actually did a recital this spring. I have concluded that only I can do what I need to do to keep moving. For me, I think daily hot yoga, piano practice, and weight training is working. My efforts with public speaking and blogging are regular but not daily.  I think it is no coincidence that seeing improvement in my MS symptoms is directly linked to showing up - at the yoga studio, the gym, at Toastmasters, at my piano at at my computer.

Embrace Your Destiny: Celebrate Life

My Mother and her new "buggy"

I have been reminded this month that we all need to celebrate life, everyday. My mother, Cathy McLean just got her new buggy in March midway into her 95th year. She lives at Carolina Village in Hendersonville, NC at the Care Center. As she says, she can't see anymore having Macular degeneration, and she can't hear very well either. She does love to walk though. She has friends throughout the Carolina Village Medical and Care Centers that she sees often on her daily walks. Her mind has been pretty good except for short term memory. Dementia is there but on most days, she is fun to take on outings especially going out to eat. Family and friends love to visit her. 

But, on July 2, Mama fell and broke her hip. As the nurse at ER said, she broke it good. On July 3, the orthopedic surgeon operated and put a rod into her femur. Since then she has been living in the Medical Center. Life is not so good now. She willingly does the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy but it is painful and really taxing on her system. I am the point person in the family and Medical POA so her condition daily is my reality of the moment.

Embrace Your Destiny: Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Physical Therapy

My prize has always been walking. When I could no longer walk with ease without falling, that's when I had to find out what was wrong. First thing my neurologist had me doing after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis was to see a physical therapist. That was fourteen years ago. At that time, my right ankle seemed to be frozen. My joints were creaky and out of alignment. My balance was really bad. Walking on grass was out of the question. 

Embrace Your Destiny: Everyday is Different

Everyday I feel a little bit different. Early in the week, I usually have great energy. I feel like cooking, blogging, or picking up trash on our pick up route. Then there are days at the end of the week when my legs feel tired and I'm just a little bit draggy. I will go out walking, but it's usually an effort. Those days, if I get very much done other than the regular yoga, gym, piano practice and meal preparation, it's just an effort. 

Then there are the days when I can tell I'm not right. That happened when I came back from my yoga retreat. I was rested, but then I developed a cough. After going to the doctor, I learned that I had allergies. I was like so many other people this year that were impacted by the strange weather and the tsunami of pollen that hit BAM. It sure locked into my immune system and wouldn't let go. I felt bad for about a month. I believe that the MS compromises the immune system and lingers making total recovery take longer. 

Embrace Your Destiny:Take Charge!

Working the Core

Today has been a typical Wednesday. Toastmasters  at 8:00 am, followed by workout at Gold's gym, followed by lunch, piano practice and left over chores. Everyday, I try to include elements of physical exercise and mental exercise. I practice piano and do puzzles for the mental exercise. Diet is also monitored. Everyday I try to consume a 16 ounce juice and a cup of bone broth. The rest of my diet will be mostly plant based. 

I have found this combination of practices helps improve my MS symptoms. Physically, I have good energy and low pain. That allows me to do more that I want to do. Mentally, I am quicker in decision making and less bothered by stress.   

Everybody is different and all forms of MS are different. However, I do think I'm on the right track with this approach. Brain& Life magazine, the MS research on the MS Society website, and medical magazines from Medicare and AARP all validate that these practices are good for anyone with a neurological issue or is simply dealing with the aging process.  Specifically, I'd like to tell you why I find investing time in Toastmasters and a personal trainer are valuable to my improvement. 

Embrace Your Destiny: Indulge with NO GUILT!

Ingredients for Cacao Treats

One of the sessions I participated in was a cooking class. It wasn't a hard sell for me. This class was going to be about making and eating cacao treats. I was surprised when I got there because half the class were the men! They were really into the treats and the whole business of cacao.  

Julia of New Avatar Healing, informed us about the amazing cacao bean. I had heard it was a superfood, but I had no idea it was so packed with all this good stuff we need. Therefore, I concluded we can indulge with no guilt and even a bit of lust.