May 24, 2006

Hello Everyone,
Well, 2 more days of these blasted steroids. I am really hoping it is the Dex that is making me feel like this. If not, I'm going to be really depressed! Seriously, though, I am definitely noticing side effects-- my face is getting puffy!! Not too bad yet, but I definitely notice. And I've broken out into a rash on my face and chest and shoulders. And I'm hungry all the time. I thought I was doing ok on them, I hadn't gained any weight after more than a week, but I bet I've gained weight this past week. Ugh. I haven't exercised in a looooong time. I went to the gym a couple of times last week but only jogged on the treadmill for like a mile and did some weights. I felt pretty bad afterwards, too, so I'm not sure if it is a good thing to try to workout or not. Generally I think it is a good thing, but I'm not sure if exercising is just going to stress my body out even more and make it take even longer to get over this flareup. I guess I'm sort of resigned to the fact that this will have to run it's entire course. It started out with my right leg and side, moved to the left, and now it's affecting my neck and arms. In MS there is this really strange symptom called "L'hermitte's Sign" where you get electrical pulsation feelings that shoot down your whole body when you bend you chin to your neck. It's caused by damage to the cervical spinal cord. This was one of the first truly classic MS symptoms I got, but disappeared after my first flareup. It didn't really come back that strong with this second one, either, until a couple of weeks ago, but it has come back with a vengeance. I have to watch the way I move my neck because it can make me drop things and stuff, that's how strong it comes on. But I figure after this my flareup will have hit every major part of my body and then it will be over, right? And I'll be flareup free for a VERY LONG TIME. I am so, so, so, so, so tired of not feeling like myself. I want my energy back. I want my mental clarity (such as it was) back. I want my body back!!!!
Ok, whine over.
Tomorrow is the boys' last day of school. So sad! This afternoon we walked down to the Embassy Lakes shopping center which is basically across the street from us and picked out a present for their teacher. It is a copper butterfly type thing that she can hang up and hopefully remember Joseph and Brigham by. We went to Tuesday Morning which is a cool little store that sells home-decor stuff at a big discount. It was cute to see the things Brigham and Joseph wanted to pick out for Miss Trudy. Glass sculptures, rhine-stone flipflops, a bug-catcher kit.
I hope the boys won't be totally bored out of their minds this summer. I am really going to have to discipline myself and get a schedule going for activities to do every day. Or I will go out of my mind. Actually, I dont' think the boys will be bored, I think they just might end up making humongous messes and driving me crazy. They're pretty good about not getting bored! Today I was not feeling good and ended up laying on the couch for a couple of hours and the boys kept themselves quite busy making jelly fish out of ziplock baggies of water and taping yarn tentacles on them. And yes, at least one of them did end up exploding on the floor. Joseph also told me that they were having fun with salt, and "wasted all the salt in the container." At least it was only the little salt-shaker and not the entire box of salt I have in the cupboard. And at least it was only salt and not sugar! But still, those are the little things that will drive me crazy this summer if I don't keep the boys more productively busy.
We finally bought plane tickets for our trip this summer and I'm already excited for that. The boys have requested that Grandpa Frandsen get out his telescope when we are there so they can look at the moon. I have a feeling that I'll be getting asked quite frequently when it will be time to go on our trip.
Well, off to bed for me. It's almost midnight and I didn't want to stay up that late. Oh well.