Greetings! Today is Thursday, February 27, and my wife comes home from her cruise today! Happy Day! The house just feels “Off” when she’s not here and, selfishly, I don’t sleep quite as well. 🙂
On a serious note, the Corona Virus is getting a LOT of attention and Im seriously confused about how concerned I should be. 🙁 As this is a post about someone living with MS, it’s fair to note that many medications used to treat the disease can impact a persons immune system. So, ever hear the statement, “Those with compromised immune systems are at a greater risk”? Well, that applies to an awful lot of folks with various diseases and long term health conditions… and MS is one of them. Im not a guy who worries overly much about getting sick, but Corona is in the news so much.. it can make me wonder! Honestly, Im thinking more about my stomach and whether or not I should go and stock up the proverbial larder “just in case” people really start to panic and decide to hole up in their homes for a few weeks. A forecasted snow flake can cause everyone to rush to the grocery stores in the Southeast… no telling what a Pandemic will do! Guess we’ll just have to see. Wash your hands and cover you moths when you cough! 🙂
Anyway….
My last post left off with me in the MRI room. If you recall, the MRI was supposed to be a quick scan to make sure the seizure Id experienced was nothing more than that. Well, it turned out to NOT be a quick scan. As the scan was winding down, I thought, the nurse came into the room and asked if I was open to receiving a shot, so they, “Could see things better” (Or something like that). I was seriously freaking out and questioned the nurse about it. She responded that she couldn’t say anything as she wasn’t a doctor (Oh joy)! That puts a soul to rest right there I can tell you! Well, she gave me a shot of what I now know is Gadolinium Contrast Media, or more simply, Contrast. Once the shot was done, I zipped back into the MRI and it was back to the pounding, slashing and clicking noises of the MRI (I think I already stated my dislike for MRIs?).
Well, once the contrast was administered the MRI did go fast! Probably less than 15 minutes. Makes me wonder why the MRI without contract took so long? Can I affirm once again my dislike for MRIs? So, the machine stops and the nurse comes in to help me off the table. Again, I questioned her regarding the shot and why it was necessary. She affirmed that she couldn’t say because she wasn’t a doctor. I think she could tell this really upset me because she followed that up with, “I can tell you that it’s not life threatening”. WTH? Seriously? What does that mean? My mind is going a 1000 miles in every direction when she follows up with, “By the way, the Neurologists office are just across the street and he said he can make time to see you right now. If you’d like? Or we can schedule for a later date?”
Again, Im thinking to myself… WHAT??? It took me almost two months just to get an appointment with this guy and now he can see me on a whim? But, at least nothing is “Life threatening”… right? So, of course, I say yes and head across the street to the doctors office. I called Stacey, my wife, on the walk over to let her know something unusual had happened and that I was freaking out a bit. Of course, she hadn’t come to this appointment because we thought there was nothing to worry about. I admit to being a bit emotional as I spoke to her… I think I was a bit overwhelmed with what the nurse had said and was really caught off guard as this was supposed to be just a run-of-the-mill test.
Anyway, I walk into the neurologists office and they immediately took me back to the doctor (Another reason to worry? Must be serious right? There are a bunch of people in the waiting room… and I just walked right past them). 🙁 As I walk into the office, the doctor has a large computer screen up with a brain image on it. Also, I noted, there were a whole bunch of little white spots on the image along with a large one. The doctor turned to me, looked at the computer screen, and said, “I think you have MS”. Just like that. Game over.. right? Not! 🙂
So, I’ll share more about how we handled the news in later posts, but when those words were said … it was like a light turning on in my head! And I was … like… “oh. OH!”. Honestly, right then… everything made sense. The years of feeling weird, the dizziness, trouble walking, the eye movement thing.. along with so many other issues.. like I said… it all just clicked and made sense.
I don’t know if I was relieved or, perhaps, just numb, but I think I took the news fairly well. I called my wife as I left the doctors office (He suggested I schedule an appointment with another neurologist for a second opinion) to share the news. Of course, because we weren’t together and she hadn’t had a chance to see what the doctor showed me, she was in a state of disbelief. We didn’t really know much about MS, but pictures of wheelchairs and feeble people not able to take care of themselves filled our minds (I think that’s a picture that comes into most peoples heads when they think about MS.. at least it was for us).
When I got home there was, of course, an extra long hug… and then the inevitable discussion about WHAT’S NEXT? That’s something I’ll get into over the next couple of posts!
Thanks for taking the time to read this (If anyone is). Any feedback or comments are appreciated! The next couple of posts will still be historical in nature (My history that is!), but we’ll move quick to medications and day-to-day life. As someone with MS, I like the slogan, “I may have MS, but MS doesn’t have me!” It’s that approach to life and living everyday that I think is really where the heart of this blog will be! Hope you stay tuned!
