Posts

To Meme or not to Meme? That’s the question!

I’ve put together a collection of my most wonderfully random and entertaining images and memes to keep in one convenient place. It’s a work in progress but hopefully it gives you a laugh and something to think about along with something to share with others to raise multiple sclerosis awareness.

I hope to add at least 2 to 3 images a week so makes sure to come back often. You can find the memes easily from the websites by following the link labeled “MS memes” in the top menu bar at positivelivingwithms.com.

When I first started Positive Living with MS I came across people offended by my sarcastic yet pointedly accurate MS images on topics that were a bit hards to talk about. As time passed the narrow-minded, prudish followers went away. I still meet people that don’t like my use of humor to talk about my life with MS. I find that in the humor there are some heavy subjects that will bring you to tears… but it’s all a part of a life with MS that needs to have more awareness.

As I’ve said many times, it’s better to laugh than cry about what we deal with. It makes the days brighter, the load lighter and the pain easier to handle, both emotional and physical. So laugh and don’t feel bad for it. It does a body good.

MS Facts Memes

Humor Memes

Inspirational Memes

MS Symptom Memes

 

Chocolate… is it good for multiple sclerosis?

It’s been known for years that flavonoids in cocoa help fight fatigue. These chemicals possess anti-inflammatory properties that may be especially beneficial for people with multiple sclerosis. I know that may sound strange to you, but cocoa (chocolate) has been studied for just that purpose. Amazingly enough case studies show that eating cocoa does just that.

Let’s face it, no matter how you enjoy it — as a candy bar, in a hot drink, drizzled over ice cream — chocolate brings joy. It’s a wonderful flavorful treat. Now, I’m not talking about melt in your mouth milk chocolate, but dark chocolate is what has most of the health benefit for our bodies. Dark chocolate has between 50% and 90% cocoa solids. The higher percentage the better.

I don’t know if it’s because dark chocolate has a slight bitter taste or because you need to ingest it slowly to actually enjoy it, but I happen to think it’s a great alternative to pharmaceuticals. I have always said that the day after a chocolate filled holiday is my favorite day because chocolate goes on sale. I don’t know if it will be on sale after Valentine’s Day this year as in times past, but any discount would be welcomed due to the high price of food around the world today.

Results showed in the cocoa study that participants experienced a 45 percent improvement in fatigue. In addition, the high-flavonoid group was able to walk farther than those in the low-flavonoid group during a six-minute walking test. They also reported less pain.

MS is a challenging disease, and it requires innovative approaches to find ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. Could chocolate make multiple sclerosis fatigue better? Only time will tell but I welcome the challenge.

MS bizarre happenings

Sometimes I do things so strange that blaming it on multiple sclerosis isn’t even fair. Last year I came close to having a bathroom accident trying to make it to the toilet in time before an explosion wiped me out. When I got to the bathroom I barely had enough time to pull my pants down, quickly lift the toilet seat cover, and transfer to the toilet. I didn’t notice anything odd until I pushed the knob to flush the toilet and I could feel water gushing past my bum.

Well I did it again. I discovered that when I lifted the toilet seat cover I actually lifted the seat along with it so I was sitting on the edge of the toilet bowl itself. I came so close to actually falling in the bowl. After a quick shower and a giggle at the absurdity of the event, I replayed what I had done. Out of everything that had happened I blame my right hand for it all. My right hand is more of a paperweight than something of use so when I had lifted the cover I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. The motion of lifting something was all that mattered in the moment.

Will this happen again? Probably.
How can I avoid it? Keep the cover lifted all the time.
With the cover lifted, will my dog make more of a mess than I did? Probably.
Which mess do I want to deal with? I still haven’t determined the answer to that question.

Sometimes bizarre things happen with MS just because it exists. After all, we live with a strange, unpredictable disease. The strangest symptoms I’ve dealt with include:

  1. Feeling of an internal earthquake taking place inside my body.
  2. Experiencing ringing in my ears that sometimes is louder than a crowd at a ball game.
  3. Feeling as if water is dripping on me when I’m no where near a faucet.
  4. The unrelenting crushing feeling of the MS hug which is more like a tight girdle wrapped around the rib cage.
  5. Feeling as if food is stuck in my throat when I haven’t eaten anything.
  6. Involuntary movements of my body like me accidentally kicking the doctor.
  7. Abnormal sensations on my skin such as burning, pins and needles, and even itching that nothing seems to be able to alleviate.
  8. Feeling an electrical shock sensation through my arms and legs when I tilt my neck downward.
  9. Feelings of dizziness and being off-balance which accompanies nausea.
  10. Experiencing emotional incontinence which brings on uncontrollable laughter or tears.
  11. Dealing with 3-D illusions like when an object is moving straight towards you but it appears to be swerving and shifting in its path.

It’s necessary for a person on a journey with MS to be able to recognize why coping with their illness is difficult. Knowing these things can help ease the burden, even if only for a little while. You got this.

 

Navigating the world of multiple sclerosis

I’m in need of a multiple sclerosis GPS. It’s a device that gives you clear directions on how to navigate the unknown world of MS, if that’s even possible, but it’s so unknown that even the GPS gets lost so I’m not sure how that will end up working out.

Not only will it tell me how to get there when I enter my destination, it will remind me why I went there in the first place. You have no idea how often that happens. I will circle the kitchen looking for something but forget why I even went in there to begin with. So frustrating. It’s an opportunity for me to just go back to bed. I need a nap after everything strenuous I do and thinking is strenuous.

At least I can have it turn on closed captioning to get written words with all the conversations I engage in. I use it while watching TV because many times spoken words don’t make much sense to me and having something to help me understand what’s being said really helps. I noticed that I tend to lip read even in real conversation with others… it helps.

An MS GPS will help me find the nearest bathroom when I need to go. Yeah! The only bad thing is that sometimes it doesn’t get me there fast enough to get my pants down and accidents happen. Just yesterday I pooped in my pants because I could get them down fast enough. At least the shower was right there and I was able to clean up quickly without too much trouble.

In the future, an MS GPS will be able to predict falls which would be so revolutionary. Ex. In 2 paces you will fall… so don’t go there. Rerouting. Don’t go there either. Rerouting, rerouting, rerouting…

Falls are predicted everywhere. The bad thing is that I went there and met the floor first hand. It’s just a lonely and unappreciated surface of the world so we hung out and I showed it some love.

Since my brain sends mixed up signals I think an MS GPS would be whacked-out. Oh, the wacky places we would go. Sometimes I just don’t know what I’m doing and at least we can not-know together.

If and MS GPS systems will make my work more productive, safer, and easier… good luck with that. MS has already robbed my brain of those capabilities.

MS bladder issues, when it rains it pours

I don’t like days filled with constant surprises and uncertainties but living with multiple sclerosis is going to have its share of unpredictability. One day things could be going great, the next it could turn out to be an awful day. And sometimes it doesn’t even happen by days but by moments. Like Forrest Gump says, you never know what you are going to get… with a life of MS.

There are different things people can do for their bladder issues. It’s important to determine the type of urinary issue you have. Some deal with physical therapy learning ways to strengthen the muscles the bladder uses, there are medications to support incontinence, there are support devices that help train the bladder to properly function, but if those treatments aren’t working there are several surgical procedures that can treat the problem.

Ten years ago I had surgery to place a suprapubic catheter in my bladder to help aid in the emptying of my bladder. I no longer had muscle control of my bladder so I was unable to properly manage its usage. It took time to get used to but I was thankful for having it done. My bladder was finally able to be drained to an external bag rather than me peeing all over myself and life was great once again. It was a learning curve but it made life easier for me.

Over time my bladder had created stones causing drainage troubles. I had surgery to remove them but was still having bladder issues. The nurse was having difficulties each month removing the Foley catheter to replace with a new one. My body just seemed to think the catheter was a part of my bladder and would try to seal the opening making the removal each month painful due to it trying to attach itself to my body.

My urologist had suggested I have my bladder removed to alleviate the problems. After taking time to think about it and reading about having it done, I approved the surgery February of this year. It’s been 6 months and I’m so glad I had it done.

I had to learn how to attach my newly needed bladder pouching system which wasn’t too difficult to deal with. A stoma was created to properly drain the urine my body creates I just no longer have an internal bladder for it to empty into. My bladder is now an external pouch / bag. I just have to make sure I wait until early morning to change it out because that’s when I have better usage of my hands.

It can get comical when I try to change my pouching system after having a lot of liquids in my system. My stoma which controls my urine will shoot urine out in a quick stream and without the pouch in place it’s equivalent to me peeing on myself. I usual change it out in the shower so I can have a clean belly to work with. But like most people learn with their pouching system, it’s suggested to replace it while standing up so you can properly place it. But for me, that’s not possible.

My routine is to take a shower to clean myself up, dry myself off, place a dry washcloth over my stoma so if I pee out the cloth will catch it, put my robe on and transfer to my powerchair, make my way to the bed, get comfortable lying down on the bed, prepare my pouch to place on the stoma. Normally by that time I’m thankful I placed the washcloth over my stoma because I will have peed a little in the process of getting ready for the new pouch.

When I get the new pouch on, I’m ready for a nap but also thankful that I got it all done by myself… no nurse needed. Then I get dressed and normally make my way to the living room and rest on my new powerlift recliner. I normally have to change the pouch once every 4 days. Sometimes I can even go as long as 5 days before changing it out. But of course there are also time I have to change it much earlier due to not placing it properly and the pouch pulling loose from my belly much too early.

I know it sounds complicated, but what part of MS isn’t. I’m thankful I don’t have UTI’s anymore or pain like before with a Foley catheter so the pouch change is nothing compared to my issues before. I’m thankful for bladder surgery to remove my bladder. It’s not something for everyone, but it’s doable. As long as I can keep doing things one handed, I will be able manage it for a long time by myself. I’m too stubborn and independent to do it any other way.

Don’t give up hope on ways to manage your bladder issues. There’s always a solution. Maybe not the one you want, but one that will make life easier for your already complicated life. Bladder issues aren’t the end of your life and neither is MS. Talk with your urologist about things that may help you out. You got this.

MS symptoms are more faithful than friends

People thought my life was amazing. That I had it all: talent, creativity, love, a great job, a sense of humor, everything I could wish for, but you know, I realized early on that the fairy tale life wasn’t what I was looking for. I knew it wasn’t what it was cracked up to be and it wasn’t my dream… and that was okay with me.

But then multiple sclerosis showed up to try and put a kink in it all, it tried its best to steal my life, my joy, and any hope I had for my future. At first I have to say it did a pretty good job at it. It sent me into a tailspin and overwhelmed me at every turn I made.

I found out fairly quickly that it’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to cry, to be sad, to fall apart, and to break down. You’re only human. You’re real and facing something realer than real. MS is not something we can just ignore or wish away. We have to face it and look at all our options. Some may be unreachable or too expensive but through a lot of research and reaching out to different people, organizations and foundations, there’s a way to get help if you stay persistent. You just can’t give up hope.

Doctors scared me with all the unknown that was happening in my body and how much was still unclear about a disease that has been around for hundreds of years. Not until recently has any actual new info been discovered and realized about MS. For years many people have suffered and still deal from symptoms that newly diagnosed patients  are able to manage with a simple treatment or supplement. Still no cure… but there’s hope.

You never know when a symptom will show up and decide to hang out with you. Sometimes they are more faithful than your friends. Many people stop coming around when the going gets tough. Friends come and go. It happens all the time. It’s not because of you, you didn’t do anything to warrant that kind of treatment. You deserve so much better, so much more.

You don’t have to try to be strong when you have no strength to hold onto. It may take some time to make sense of all the confusing thoughts you have and all that you have experienced, but don’t ever stop fighting.

Statistics show my life will be shorter because of MS, but there is no knowing what tomorrow may bring or what my life expectancy will actually be. MS hasn’t put a period at the end of anything in my life. I’m believing for a comma. A comma means there’s a pause ahead with more to come, more to tell, and so on, and on, and on.

Enjoy the life you have. There is still beauty in the world. Look really close and you will see it in the most unlikely of places. Wipe away those tears and hold your head high today. You have a future filled with amazing possibilities.

Cracks in the concrete

Hopscotch was a favorite game of mine as a kid. We would draw the board with chalk on the sidewalk and play for hours. There was one area of the sidewalk, though, where we didn’t play the game. A tree had been growing next to the concrete slab in the sidewalk, and as the tree grew bigger and bigger so did the roots which caused cracks and lumps in the sidewalk.

We would skateboard across the cracks and ride our bikes over them, but you had to be careful not to hit them in just the right spot or you would fall to the ground with a thud. I had my fair share of bruises from those kinds of falls.

Cracks in the concrete are reminders to me that you can fall apart no matter how strong you think you are. When I look back at my life, I had great expectations. My career was flourishing and my future plans were laid out. I was strong, achieving great things, moving forward, and then BAM… a crack showed up in my life called multiple sclerosis and changed everything. It knocked me to the ground and left me in a daze wondering “what just happened.”

MS changed everything. At first, I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was a hard thing to come to terms with. Then as the months went by and the progression continued to worsen, I realized that MS wasn’t simply going away. No amount of denial would force my life back to the way it used to be.

Change is hard. We all hate change, but life is constantly changing and it’s important that we learn to shift with those changes. It’s different when we have to shift our meal preference for the day or shift the places we go for vacation, but to shift your entire life due to a chronic illness…that just doesn’t seem fair. But I don’t look at life as fair and unfair. I see it as an opportunity to grow and become a better person or to sit stewing in anger and become bitter.

Am I going to let MS defeat me or am I going to allow something beautiful to grow from my life? Cracks in sidewalks can grow weeds or flowers and I want mine to grow flowers. It’s a choice we all have to make.

Don’t let that crack in the concrete change you to the point that you focus on the wrong things. Now is the time to change with the changes, but in a good way. MS will affect how you do things, but never let it change you into a negatively focused person.

There’s enough negativity in the world already. Find a little ray of sunshine and step into it. You may be cracked, but beauty can still come out of you if you let it. I believe in you. You are not a quitter. You are not defeated.

__________

Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping it’s dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.
― Tupac Shakur

20 things I love about multiple sclerosis

 

  1. Vertigo – I get to pretend that I am on a Trans-Atlantic sea cruise every day… plus I like wearing Hawaiian shirts.
  2. Disabling Fatigue – I get to take naps and snuggle with my pillow.
  3. Insomnia – I get to catch up on all the reruns of the shows I missed while taking my naps… life can stick me with a crippling disease but I won’t miss a thing.
  4. Heat Intolerance – I get to drink all the Chocolate Ice Cream Shakes I want.
  5. Nausea and Vomiting – I can drink all the Chocolate Ice Cream Shakes I want with no weight gain.
  6. Delayed Verbal Processing – Nothing stops me from putting my foot in my mouth faster than being unable to think of what I was just about to say… several times in a row.
  7. Cognitive Dysfunction – When I put my cell phone in the refrigerator, my car keys in the microwave, and the milk in the dishwasher I am always pleasantly surprised when I find them.
  8. Short-term Memory Loss – I get to walk into the same room over and over several times until I remember why I went in there to begin with… it is a great excuse to just go make another Chocolate Ice Cream Shake.
  9. Speech Ataxia – I never know what funky new words I may create when I talk. I believe this is how “jive talk” started.
  10. Paraesthesia – It reminds me of when I was 10 years old at summer camp when I stuffed my socks full of Pop Rocks on a dare.
  11. Footdrop – It makes it really easy to plant even rows of seeds in my garden.
  12. Diplopia – Getting to see my Chocolate Ice Cream Shake twice at the same time is awesome.
  13. Optic Neuritis – The ugly people on my High Def TV are finally blurry! Woo Hoo!!!!
  14. Dysmetria – I get to figure out brand new innovative ways to do simple things like cutting vegetables or frying bacon… or putting on pants while frying bacon.
  15. Muscle Paresis – I will no longer feel obligated to help friends if they ever need to move a couch up a flight of stairs or bury a body in the backyard.
  16. Muscle Spasticity – Gym membership? Ha! Look at these quads!
  17. Bladder Spasticity – I will always know where all the rest rooms are located.
  18. Dystonia – I was never a fan of typing words correctly anyway… just ask Siri on my iPhone.
  19. Clumsiness – I used to just be good to look at but now I am much more fun to watch.
  20. I am stuck in a motorized wheel chair – I have another reason to keep working on designing the first ever “low-rider” turbo charged Rascal Scooter for street racing with death ray for use for the idiots who park in handicapped spots.

All aboard the multiple sclerosis express

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the non-stop flight to a life with multiple sclerosis. On behalf of the Captain and the entire crew, welcome aboard.

In preparation for takeoff, please ensure all negative attitudes are properly stowed in an overhead bin. Please take your seat and fasten your seat belt.

At this time, we request that all stress, fear and worry be turned off for the duration of the flight, as these items might interfere with the central nervous system and communication processes of this aircraft. We request that all canes, braces, walkers and wheelchairs be secured until we have reached a stable altitude free from turbulence, wobbles and unsteady movements. We will notify you when it is safe to use such devices.

We remind you that this is a non-sleeping flight. Sleeping is prohibited, but we do have endless TV shows, movies and documentaries available for your viewing pleasure.

There are several emergency bathrooms on this aircraft. Please take a few moments now to locate your nearest bathroom. In some cases, your nearest bathroom might not be close enough. If you need to go immediately, I suggest you move quickly to ensure no accidents happen.

Blood tests and lesions are always being monitored. In the event of a relapse, an MRI machine will automatically appear in front of you. To start the scans, your head will be secured to a table and you will be inserted into a tight, claustrophobic tube. Although the machine is loud, you will be allowed music of your choosing to help drown out the sounds. Keep perfectly still without sneezing, scratching your nose or coughing until a uniformed attendant advises you it is all over.

In the event of an emergency, IV steroids are available and will be administered as needed. Be cautious of the metallic taste that will occur during this process. Sucking on hard candy helps so be sure to have a few in your baggage.

Meals will be supplied based on your needs. Dietary restrictions are adhered to. If you require texture friendly food we have a selection of soft foods that makes challenging meals easier to manage. Getting pre-portioned meals that you can pick out allows you to tailor your selection as needed.

We will hit turbulence along the way, but rest assured it won’t last. We will eventually pull above the storms and enter sunny skies. I expect good attitudes for our trip.

If you have any questions about our flight today, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our specialists. Thank you for flying the Multiple Sclerosis Express.

I seem to be allergic to multiple sclerosis

The immune system is made up of a complex and vital network of cells and organs that are created to protect the body from infection. Their entire purpose is to defend the body and keep bacteria, viruses and fungi out, and to destroy any infectious microorganisms that try to invade the body.

Growing up I never had an allergic reaction to anything. Food, bug bites, hot or cold weather, animals, dust mites, pollen, or drugs. The only thing I was allergic to was poison oak. It always seemed to spread by me just looking at it. I didn’t have to actually touch it… or in my childs mind I didn’t. Once I had gotten such a bad case that spread all over my face even causing my eyes to swell shut for a few days. After a visit to the doctor, some meds and lots of calamine lotion, all was well.

Since multiple sclerosis has taken up residence in my body, I have discovered that certain foods cause me to have increased symptoms like expanded weakness, spreading of numbness beyond the normal residual symptom from my initial MS troubles years ago, visual disturbances that have a tendency to keep me from being able to properly read emails without double vision, dizziness that meclizine doesn’t seem to help with. For me, over time, I have discovered those foods and know which ones to avoid. Each person has to find their own foods to avoid. It will always be different person to person.

I have also discovered my difficulties in balancing. I fall over trying to sit up. I can no longer do as my mom always said… ‘sit up straight and keep your elbows off the table.’ I simply can’t seem to do it unaided. I have cognitive problems too unlike anything I had before. I used to be able to read an in depth computer manual and be able to code computer programs based on what I had read without difficulty. Now I can’t put a line of code down without constantly looking at every cheatsheet available.

It just seems like every new symptom shows up out of nowhere and has a tendency to hang around for a long, long time… sometimes forever. I have also discovered certain drugs now give me an allergic reaction and I have to be watchful of them. My body just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with my own body.

One thing I told the doctor is that I found I was allergic to ice packs. They always turn my skin red…(grin). I can’t get through a summer without them. They help me survive the heat. I’m also allergic to a lack of humor. There’s not enough smiles, giggles and laughter in the world of the chronically ill. You do know that it’s okay to laugh, don’t you?!

Over the years I have found that I need to take things slow and listen more closely to my body. It always seems to talk louder than I wish it would but thankfully it speaks up. Sometimes it’s the only reason I feel as good as I do. My body isn’t perfect. I fall down too much, pain visits way too often, confusion happens and brain fog seems to have taken up permanent residency. And although I wish life was different, it’s still mine and I refuse to give up.

You can’t give up on your life either. MS makes things complicated but not impossible. Impossible says it all… I’m possible.

Just like you. You’re possible too.

Portfolio Items