Thursday, April 13, 2017

So... why not?

Gift time.

So here I am, basically wheelchair-bound, and spending lots of time in bed.

So where are the gifts of MS, which after all were promised?

Being wheelchair bound, a "big thing" for me to do is to just go outside. It there, I see flowers I've never seem before. I see plants like thyme, artichoke, dandelion, lettuce, all sort of amazing things that just pop up.

A friend of mine visits to be the day's "caregiver" who meanwhile seems in distress and he, needs first, simply to be heard. That is easy to do, bed-ridden even. I listen. I suggest that he "find the funny." We laugh. We talk about rock-and-roll keyboard playing, his knowledge of which is easily PhD level. He finds things to hear on YouTube. I show him Rick and Morty. He tells me that simply knowing that  this show exists blows away his now pretty-grown kids--that he, Dad, knows about the existence of that show? We laugh even more.

Listen and laugh. Good for anyone, MS or not.

I hear about this new amazing MS drug. It is compared by a reputable MS Society against rebif and tysabri, which my at-the-time MD (a very science-y guy, MD or no) ranked in the "you can't be serious" list of things to avoid religiously. Me, I'm sticking to cannabis; a knowledgeable caregiver (doctorate) tells me it's neuror-protective, and as a side effect helps me to enjoy being alive. And calms the spasticity, of which I have plenty. Really plenty, thank you for asking.

My wife constantly makes "kitty mommy" nuzzling of the new cat. Her joy, and this adorable little cat's obvious joy at simply being alive here, is really wonderful. Chair and bed-ridden makes these all even more wonderful.

My world is kinda small, geographically, but living in it is wonderful, and MS has shown me many before-unseen wonders.

Life is good. Thank you, MS?

So, why not. Gratitude and joy are definitely worth living...

MS or not.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

As the saying goes...

Things stay the same, things keep changing.

Someone sent me something about the Absolute Latest Wonderful MS treatment. Works, does it? Well, depends on who you ask. And what you ask them.

Makes one long for the simplicity of the plumbus,

I'n pretty much running on empty, energetically. In the last week or so, I have sent my wife off to a local Japanese meditation garden, here in Pasadena even! Last night, she was off to see Stupid Fucking Bird... quite the show, I hear. Sending her off to have this kinda fun is one of my greatest joys! No, send OFF isn't the fun part... it's the joy she feels and absolutely radiates that is my source of joy. Which, by the way, I can feel her radiating from across town.

There's not a lot of fun here on the MS Highway, but radiant joy is good for everyone. Everyone.

So, there's your prescription for today. Find joy, share joy. Doesn't matter how or why.

As the saying goes...

Just do it!