FEBRUARY Chitchat

[agate]

It's that short month again. And so far as I know, it's still mid-winter.

What's going on with you? There are people here who occasionally check in but they haven't been heard from in quite a while. You know who you are.

I'm in for a 2-hour dental appointment this week, and it's probably going to mean more dental appointments after that.

In the past week or so I have actually got rid of two very substantial items here: the microwave and the futon. I'd had the microwave 19 years and the futon 30+ years. I had assembled the futon myself and am amazed that it held together.

I was worried that taking it out of here would involve major damage to lamps, walls, doorframes, or whatever, but the two young men who came to take it as a donation whisked it out of here in seconds. One took the mattress, and the other just folded up the frame and carried it out of here. What a difference strength makes! There is no way I could have lifted that frame.

Since those two items, which were hardly ever used in recent years, have vanished from the scene, I feel ever so much freer. There is SPACE here now, real space.

I no longer feel quite so stressed. There is a T shirt with this on it, and I offer it as a motto for people with neurological disorders. There are times when I get on my own nerves just because I've been dropping and spilling too many things. I get very irritated at myself.

You know you're really stressed when you start getting on your own nerves.

--That is my situation in a general way just now. What about you?

[Virginia]

I like that saying Agate. It is me exactly. Sometimes I wonder why I allow myself to get that stressed but it is partly built into my DNA and it is partly dealing with everyday frustrations of living with MS.

My February has started out slow. I had in my mind the things I was going to do today but I didn't sleep much last night and I have just been sitting with my fireplace on. Usually I don't turn it on until the evening but I felt chilled this morning and all day. But now it has gotten hot in here and I have to turn it off.

I should be smarter than I am. I have been sitting and reading the New York Times and The Washington Post all day. The New York Times updates things all day. So, if a person is inclined to do so they can pretty much read news all day. I don't think that is particularly a good thing to do.

Agate, I am so sorry you are going to have to go through so much dental work. It sounds like it is going to be extensive. I had two two hour appointments not long ago plus a couple of shorter ones. I set through both two hour ones without getting up but I was not in good shape after doing it. I could have taken a break but just didn't. The bathroom was too far away for me to feel comfortable going there and back. They would have been fine with me getting up and asked if I wanted to. I knew it was going to be hard for me to walk and I decided I would have one hard walk rather than two. I hate that you are going to have to ride the para transit there and back. Maybe your appointments will be spaced out so you can rest at home in between.

I wish the people you are seeing come on here would post to us.

Everyone have a nice February. It is still winter but in another month the days will really be longer.

[agate]

It's hard not to be a nervous wreck with MS, really. You never know what's going to go out on you next. I've had my legs go out, my arms go out, my eyesight, my hearing, my voice, my memory, my sense of smell, not to mention bladder/bowels. Anything can go at any time. It's like living in quicksand.

Which rug will be pulled out from under a person today?

As for the 2-hour dental appointment, I'm thinking up a little speech I plan to make when I get there, or maybe I'll even call first with the speech. I plan to tell them I probably won't be able to sit for 2 solid hours in that dental chair, and would it be all right if I need a break occasionally, maybe a bathroom trip?

Snow is in the forecast for that day but that forecast keeps changing. There may be no dental appointment that day after all.
The roads just don't get cleared very well around here. I'm keeping an eye on that forecast. I figure it probably will snow just because we haven't had any all winter, and so we'll probably get it now.

I'm glad your fireplace is working now, Virginia. It might help your recovery along if you can stay warm enough.

[Virginia]

We had snow once this year, so far. It wasn't much, maybe an inch or so but it doesn't leave around my house, especially my deck. It just hangs on and on and I need to cross that deck and go down the steps to empty the trash.

You are probably hoping it will snow on the day of your appointment. If I were you I think I would wait until I got there to talk to them about a break. My dentist has one of the ladies who works with him sit by my chair the whole time. I could always tell her if I needed to. Periodically, when the dentist would walk out she would ask me if I wanted to go to the restroom. She told me she would help me.

If I thought it was going to affect my eating I wouldn't want to let my dental work go.

[agate]

If I thought it was going to affect my eating I wouldn't want to let my dental work go.

That's my feeling too. I've let cataract surgery go for years even though seeing is really important. Eating is even more important.

[Virginia]

I've also put off cataract surgery. Now I don't have anyone to take me.

[agate]

Virginia, I didn't realize that your two brothers were too busy now or too far away to be able to give you a ride to an appointment now and then. I know that with cataract surgery you need to have someone with you--for the two appointments if you're having both eyes done but not for the follow-up appointments. At least that was how it was explained to me.

Most people I know have been glad they had cataract surgery. But there have been some who said it didn't improve their vision, and some who had something go wrong because of it....

[Parsi]

I'm sneeking in here. I see you are still open.
I should catch you up, however I'm too distracted. But I did want to say hi.

[agate]

Parsi! How nice to see you! I'm glad you haven't forgotten this place. People with MS often have very busy lives just trying to keep things on an even keel. But I hope you'll find some time to visit more often.

[Snuggles2]

Hi all,

Virginia, I am so sorry to hear about your fall. I hope you are on the mend and will be back to normal soon. I know how upsetting a fall can be. A few years ago I fell and injured my arm but the worst part of it all was it happened so fast and made me feel unsteady on my feet for a while. It as like I had PTSD! I was OK on my feet but really concentrated n my feet while I walked to try to avoid another fall. That has passed and I am back to normal.

Agate, I hope your dental appointment goes smoothy. Sometimes I worry needlessly about doctor appointment and they turn out to be easier than I was anticipating. Let us know how it goes.

I am doing fine here in my little corner. It seems as if in the winter I tend to hibernate. I read, watch TV and do puzzles on my tablet. I do not go out much. I do worry I will lose all the progress I made walking during the summer. I have walked with hubby several times at the local mall and could tell I got winded more easily.

The other problem with the winter is that we babysit our grandkids one day a week and they bring home every cold/virus that goes around daycare. Reliably several days later I get sick. When I get better my hubby catches it. Then it starts all over again. I am looking forward to spring and summer!

I was so glad to see February come. It means the snow only has about 1 month left. We get snow in March occasionally but it usually doesn't last long. The sun seems to melt it off of the roads once they are plowed and salted.

I sleep poorly in the winter also. I think it is because I am not active during the day. I tend to have trouble falling asleep and then sleep in late in the morning. My sleep schedule turns into a 3-4 AM until !0-11 AM schedule. I am naturally a night owl but I don't like to sleep past 9 AM. In the summer it is bright outside and I get up and walk in the morning. It seems to set a good tone for the rest of my day and I am so much more productive. I am lookig forward to the time change in March as that seems to help.

I have been not cooking to much 'good' food lately. I have been going to Weight Watchers and have lost almost 45 lbs and have met my goal weight. I feel so much better and i am afraid of gaining it back. So far I have maintained my goal weight range for 2 months.

How is everyone's day going? I am going out to dinner to say goodbye to a longtime neighbor who is moving. She has been our next door neighbor for about 40 years. I am looking forward to eating out!

[agate]

Snuggles, that is especially awe-inspiring that you reached your goal weight! I had to lose a lot of weight many years ago and have never regretted it. I've felt ever so much better since dropping those pounds. When I see a couple of pounds creeping back, I try to cut back on the calories, but I do have to get on the scales pretty regularly. It was daily for years but lately it's been about once a week.

No more snow as of the end of March, do you say? I recall a snow on May 9 when I lived in MA but anything can happen in that state.

Visiting grandkids? Anyone visiting, I'm still putting on the N95 mask. I may be one of the few people doing this but in my old age I'm daring to be eccentric, as in that poem that starts with "When I am an old lady I shall wear purple..."

[Virginia]

Hi Parsi, so glad you stopped in to say hi to us. I hope you are doing well. It sounds as though you are staying busy. Stop in again when you can.

Hi Snuggles so good to see you. Congratulations on meeting your goal weight. That is quite a feat.

I understand what you are saying about catching everything your young grandchildren bring home from daycare. My youngest brother and his wife have a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 yr old. They keep them one day a week that is set, but end up keeping them much, much more often because they only live several blocks apart. Consequently they get a lot of different illnesses that the kids bring home. My brother gets sicker than his wife. He is probably more run down. He does a lot for the rest of his family, plus he is having a harder time with the death of their son last May than his wife is. She is very stocic.

My fall was a really bad one. It got dark and no one could see me or hear me yelling for help for a long time. I was laying on the pavement in the parking lot and it was cold here. I am trying to find someone I can call that I can pay for transportation. I do not want anything like uber. I cannot get in an SUV, so it takes a car. I called something called Seniors Helping Seniors today. They want a months notice and they charge $48.75 per hour. Sounds a little expensive to me.

We are all different because I sleep better on standard time rather than Daylight Savings. Also, I can snuggle under blankets in the winter and it seems to help me.

I haven't accomplished much today other than talking to the lady about transportation. So I am going to exercise my legs a little. Yesterday I felt better than today and I was a little more active.

I hope when March comes you will be able to get out more Snuggles. I haven't been out, other than to empty the trash, since I fell 3 weeks ago yesterday. A long time.

[agate]

My fall was a really bad one. It got dark and no one could see me or hear me yelling for help for a long time. I was laying on the pavement in the parking lot and it was cold here. I am trying to find someone I can call that I can pay for transportation.

That sounds like everybody's worst nightmare, Virginia. MS is so tricky that nobody can believe we're at risk because sometimes we don't seem to be, but then--bingo!--we are, and it can happen in a split second. You probably thought you were OK as you were, doing fine, and then down you went.

Does your state have a home helpers plan through any insurance? Home helpers often take people on errands so as to be there for assistance as needed, or they can do errands for you when you can't. Wasn't there someone who was coming to your place to help with housework at times? Could that person be enlisted for taking you on errands too? You haven't mentioned her in a while, and I'm sorry I can't recall if she's no longer with you.

Contacting the local AARP or even the MS Society might lead to some resources for dependable transportation. The MS Society isn't known for being ultra-helpful for practical matters but it's worth a try. A lot depends on what resources the local branch happens to have, I think.

[Virginia]

Agate, I do still have my cleaner 4 hours every other week but she can barely get through with her regular work. Anyway she is not someone I would ask to take me on errands.

I don't think this state has a home helpers plan. I looked one day on the internet and couldn't find one but maybe I didn't look in the right place. I called an organization today called Seniors Helping Seniors. I couldn't believe what she told me. They want a months notice before you need them and they charge $48.75 per hour. That is out of my price range. She did give me the name of one place that is a non profit. I will give them a call as soon as I feel up to it.

My younger brother called tonight and told me he would take me for an eye appointment. He said make the appointment and he would put it on his calendar. My other brother has Parkinson's so I don't want him to try to come. I could drive better than he can probably. He just goes right around where he lives like I do here. His wife does most of their driving and I don't want to ask her. Anyway they drive SUVs and I can't get in them.

[agate]

That's really too bad that your brother has Parkinson's. $48.75/hour sounds really outrageous to me. Around here the going rate is $20/hour.

I looked up the Dept. of Aging and Adult Services for your state and noticed only one home caregiver agency in your town but that list is probably only for those on Medicaid, and I don't think you have Medicaid--? I was thinking that if there were several listed, a few calls might disclose some that also take private-pay clients. But as I say, there was only the one, and that is probably the one you've already inquired about.

I think that the MS Society might be a good place to inquire--and maybe the MS Association of America and the MS Foundation too. I've often been surprised by the resources these organizations offer, but it varies a lot from one geographical area to another. This is such a shame that you're well established in your home and yet no way is being found to help you do the things you need to do.