About this Flare Up

It is still really hard to type, text, see, read, walk, and do much of anything beyond laying around, but I wanted to record this while the memories are still fresh.

• Friday, November 22, 2013- I felt the slightest tingling in my fingertips and lips.
• Two days later I remember mentioning how this must be a very mild flare up. Boy, was I wrong!
• By Monday, I just felt like laying around. 
• Tuesday, we haphazardly packed for our Thanksgiving travels and we left for Jackson that evening.
• Over the next few days the tingling/numbness increased to the entire right side of my body. 
• Thanksgiving Day, the dizziness kicked in.
• Friday, I called the MS clinic and they prescribed some dizziness medication. I couldn't walk without assistance.
• Saturday, I woke  up and knew something was very wrong. Bryan and I opted to skip the local general hospital and drive the two hours to Vanderbilt. We got there by 11 am. Thankfully, the boys were in great hands.
• I failed a bunch of neurological tests in the ER. The main concern was my reflexes and my eyes not working together. That was the cause of the dizziness. They admitted me that afternoon.
• At 1:20 am, they wheeled me down for a 3-hour MRI. That was not pleasant.
• By Monday, the doctors decided to let me finish a 5 day IV steroid treatment from home. We headed for Jackson instead of home that evening so that we could have more help and we could be with the boys. The medical supplies beat us to my parents' house that night.
• Bryan left for BG on Tuesday (at 4 am!) because he had to return to work. I miss him so much. I can't wait to see him tomorrow. 
• The first home health nurse arrived on Tuesday around noon and I finished my last treatment yesterday.
• It's 3:30 am and I can't sleep. It's a side effect from the steroids and the sleeping pill the doctors prescribed must of worn off early.
• The tingling is a little less intense and I'm hoping that more improvement will happen with my eyes and walking in the coming days. 
• I see my MS doctor on Wednesday and will more than likely start disease modifying drugs.
• We have no regrets about waiting this long to start treatment, beyond what we already do holistically. We wouldn't have learned what we have about food, about community, about our desire to start a homestead and to live off the land. (I hope to share more on this later.)
• We have learned so many lessons through this MS journey and for that we are thankful.