February 27, 2010 by kim.

I thought this was supposed to be a mild winter …

During the storm:

After the storm:

Okay, Spring. Let’s go!

Posted in Nature | No Comments »

February 26, 2010 by kim.

This flare began almost two weeks before I went into the hospital. I first noticed a little bit of numbness on my left side. No biggie for me – I’ve had that before. It quickly turned into spasticity where it feels like my whole left side and the area around my ribcage are in a body cast, which eventually turned into a lack of coordination on that side. Then, a couple days later … double vision. That one was new, but I thought it might go away quickly. Then, hearing loss. Well, more like hearing intensified combined with hearing loss. Everything was super loud with some deafening tinnitus thrown in. Then, the right side of my face dropped and my right eye became fixated to the left.

Now things were getting serious.

We were concerned, but still wanted to wait it out. Things seemed to be improving on Wednesday the 10th, and then early Thursday morning, a migraine hit.

The migraine kept me awake for four hours. When I finally crawled back to bed, it had somewhat subsided, but I had been shaking uncontrollably the whole time. Shaking so much that I had to bite on a washcloth to keep from biting my cheek and drawing blood like I had done two nights before. I was still shaking at 10:30am and basically throwing up bile, so I had Chris contact my old neurologist for help, who suggested I go to the emergency room. Chris called 911 and we were on our way.

We ended up going to Englewood hospital. Very nice place, as far as hospitals go. The doctors got me stabilized and gave me some anti-anxiety meds to calm me down. Three residents came in and I thought I was in an episode of House, the way they were all discussing my case. There was talk about it being Bell’s palsy (it wasn’t), with my face drooping as it was. It was decided then that I would need to be admitted.

In went the IV and off I went to a room.

I don’t remember much after that. I woke up and it was dark out, and Chris was getting ready to head home. Apparently, I didn’t even wake up when someone came in to siphon off my blood. Chris told me they did, and I said they didn’t, and then he had me look at the bandage on my arm. Yep. They did it.

Wow.

Chris tore himself away to go home and get some sleep, and I spent the first of many nights there in the hospital.

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

February 24, 2010 by kim.

Hello everybody - I’m back! I’m back and here to regale you with my tales of being in the hospital for the beast known as Multiple Sclerosis, or MS (as it prefers to be called because it’s easier).

I don’t want this to become a blog about MS. I’m just here to share my experiences with you like I often do. Please note that I’m going to include some video and pictures of me in the flare in coming posts. Don’t be scared - it’s still me in there. I want you to see it, or I wouldn’t have mentioned it. Remember, too, that I can laugh at myself, and I do. I have a wicked sense of humor.

For the record, MS is a disease not to be taken lightly. I’ve had it for five years and pretended the vertigo, loss of coordination, and numbness were due to stress, anxiety, mold, tree pollen, and chocolate (noooo!). Well, it’s not. Some of those things may contribute to some symptoms sort of sometimes (not chocolate), but it is really many lesions on the brain or spinal cord destroying the protective coating (myelin) of the nerve that is the problem .

Here is a little 2-minute video from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society explaining MS:

Interesting, no?

Okay. I’m still working on more posts on my hospital stay, (slowly - being in the hospital takes a lot out of a person) and will hopefully have more up in the next couple of days!

Posted in Video, Observation | 1 Comment »

February 5, 2010 by kim.

I’m still here, just on a little hiatus while I deal with one of the worst MS flares I’ve ever had.

Oh, yes. Multiple Sclerosis.

I will fill you in on the details once I am able to focus with my eyes (as it is, my husband is typing this - thanks Chris [you’re welcome]).

I’ll see you in a few weeks.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »