MS Walk

Sunday September 25, 2011 -

It is that time of year again.  We are quickly approaching the MS Walk.  It will be at the Dell Diamond on Saturday October 29^th at 10 a.m.  This is a great fundraising event to help those whose lives have been affected by MS.  What is MS?  Multiple Sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another.

 

How you can help……..

 

·         Register for the walk and come walk with me to show your support.  Registration is free but you can make a donation when you register if you would like.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/TXHWalkEvents?pg=entry&fr_id=17354

 

·         Make a donation on my fundraising page that will go to the National MS Society and help those with MS.  I am one of those people that your money will benefit.  I have used several of the MS Societies programs and will continue to for the rest of my life.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/TXHWalkEvents?px=6864140&pg=personal&fr_id=17354

 

I hope I will see all of you there.  If you have any questions please let me know and I will be glad to help.  Thanks for all of your support.

 

Amanda

The After Photos!!!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - Well I promised pictures of my classroom today so here they are.

I am not sure the pictures do it justice.  Thanks mom for your help!!!!!  Classroom start up is very pricey.

My Classroom

Monday, September 5, 2011 - I have worked many hours the last two weeks getting my classroom ready. It is finished!!!!!!!! Here are the before pictures. I will post the after pictures tomorrow. :) You will not believe it is the same room.

School

Monday, September 5, 2011 - Dylan seems to be enjoying school and likes his teacher.  Emily likes school some of the time.  She does not like the fact that the day is so long.  She is having a hard time adjusting to the 7 hour day.  We also learned this past week that she does not like the fire alarm at school.  They had a drill one day last week and she came home very upset.  Hopefully, next drill they have will not upset her as much.  Overall I think the kids are having a great start to the school year.  We will see what happens in the next few weeks when things really get rolling.

First Day of School

Monday, September 5, 2011 - Happy Labor Day! Well I am very slow at getting these posted but here are pictures from Emily and Dylan's First Day of School.

New Addition

Monday August 22, 2011 - About a month ago we went and got my class pet.  The kids have fallen in love with him and I think they are going to have a hard time with him being away from the house.  We are turning into a zoo.  I think I should start selling tickets.  We have two kids, a cat, dog, fish and now the guinea pig.  I think we are maxed out.

No Meds

Thursday, August 18, 2011 - Wow! It has been a busy couple of weeks and it is only going to get busier. I have been trying to get some stuff done for my classroom along with trying to get the kids ready for school. We have met Dylan and Emily's teachers and seen their classrooms. They are both excited. It is going to be very strange on Tuesday when I drop both kids off at school and not just one. :( I am soooooooooo ready for school to start though.

I had my appointment with my neurologist today. We discussed my medication. I told him I hate taking it. I hate thinking about taking it. So we have decided to stop medication for now. He said that since I am stable at the moment and me taking the medication is making me depressed, angry, etc. that we will stop for now. The pill is not an option because there are just too many BAD side effects. So yes me not taking the medication may end up being a bad decision but there is no way of knowing that for sure. I will go back in 6 months to see him and we will do another MRI in 6 months to a year and make our decisions based on that.

We also talked about my left leg. The one leg that always seems to have an issue. I am still having muscle spasms, of course. The last few days my leg has been stiff to the point that I can barely bend my foot back. He said he could send me for physical therapy to get on a stretching regimen but I told him for now I will try to get back into my yoga and see if that helps. If it doesn't I will be going to PT. Ugh! I know that will cost us another arm and a leg.

So I know some of you may be thinking "is she crazy for stopping her medication?" Maybe so, but for now I have to. It is very hard to explain what I go through in my head on a daily basis thinking about that darn medication.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know we will try to enjoy our last weekend with no homework.

Amanda

Emily's Graduation

Emily and her teacher Ms. Amy.

Yes, these pictures are from Emily's preschool graduation in May, but I thought I would share them. Most of our pictures came out fuzzy, but we got a few.
Garrit (Emily's Boyfriend), Zachary and Emily

Happy it is all over with. Ready to move onto BIG school.

Pain, Pain Go Away!

Monday, August 8, 2011 - So for the last year and half to two years I have despised cold fronts. Every time we have a front I am in pain. My legs hurt so bad to the point that I can not get out of bed at times. I am not sure how many days of work Jerry has missed because I can't get out of bed, can't sleep and am in pain. Well, apparently there was a slight shift in the upper level high last night that has been over us forever and guess what - I felt it. My left leg has hurt all day. I have taken Tylenol and of course it does not help at all. What will the first real cold front bring?

The other issues I have been dealing with for a couple of weeks is my vision in my right eye. It has been very blurry. I can not see far away or up close with it. Everything is blurry. I am sure the heat is the cause of the problem. Nerves effected by MS DO NOT like heat at all. They don't function very well. I am hoping and praying for some rain and cooler temperatures very soon. I am so sick of the heat!

Okay I promise my next post will be more positive. :)

Amanda

Argh!!!!

Monday August 8, 2011 - This is the time of year I curse insurance companies. Oh wait, that is every day. Jerry's office changes insurance plans September 1st every year instead of the beginning of the year. It is a pain for lots of reasons but the main reason is the plans are never the same so all the $$$$ that we have paid since January 1st toward our deductible somehow does not count. So we start over September 1st and then again on January 1st. This is why we had $18,000 in medical expenses last year!!!

So I have not seen the plan details yet but it is with the same company (that covers nothing) and our premiums are going up $1,000 a year and our deductible is going up $2,000 more. Argh!!! We can not get ahead. So needless to say I am trying to cram all the appointments in this month that I have to have. I have to go back for a follow up mammogram, so I will be doing that in two weeks instead of two months. Also, we have spent a ton of $$$ on occupational therapy recently for Dylan and I am sure all the $$$$ we just spent will not count for anything. On top of the fact that our insurance will only cover 6 weeks of therapy after we have shelled out $5,000.

Sorry I am griping but I just have to vent. I get so angry when it comes to this time of year because it never fails that we get screwed.

Amanda

Tea Party

Sunday August 7, 2011 - Here are some pictures of the tea party Emily and I had a few weeks ago. She was so thrilled she could not stop smiling. :) We had another tea party a few days later with some friends and she loved that as well.

Saturday I decided we would have a tea party for our breakfast. So it was Emily, Dad, Dylan and me. Afterwards while I was cleaning up Emily asked when we could have another tea party because that was not a real tea party. She wants one without the boys. ;) She is so full of herself.

The Results Are In......

Friday August 5, 2011 - My brain MRI came back stable. This is good! This means that my MS is stable and not progressing right now. I will meet with my neurologist on the 18th and I will let you know what he has to say after that appointment. He is not going to be happy with me.

I tried starting my medication again and I still can't do it. I know I need to take it and any other medication is going to cost me an arm and a leg but when taking medication makes you depressed every time you think about it is it really worth it? As much as I don't want to take the oral medication due to side effects that may be where I am headed.

I hate that my medication is a constant drain on me. Not just the side effects but also the mental drain is almost unbearable now.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay cool (I know my parents will ;) )I am going to try to post some pictures this weekend of some of our summer activities. I want to start posting more often. We will see if I can get off my rear and do it. :)

Amanda

MRI Done

Monday August 1, 2011 - Well, I made it through my MRI today. Hopefully, I will have the results in the next few days. I will share more info once I know anything. Hope everyone has a great day!

MRI on Monday

Thursday July 28, 2011 - Well, my MRI is scheduled for Monday. I can not wait until it is over. Thankfully we are only doing the brain again this time and not the spine. I am going to have to take a Xanax before. I hope that will help keep me calm. I will once again have an open MRI but it is still not open enough for me. I am so claustrophobic.

Need Sleep

Friday July 15, 2011 - Happy Friday! I am so glad it is Friday. It has been a rough week. I have had reactions to my medication twice this week and hoping to not have them tonight. On top of the shivering violently and feeling like I have been hit by a truck the next day I have insomnia. I have had two nights of about 2 hours of sleep. I lay in bed and I cannot go to sleep. I have also been having some of the same MS symptoms. The one that I can not ignore anymore is the constant muscle spasms in my left leg. It is so often now that I am in pain. I have also had a new symptom this week that I am choosing to ignore, the top of my right foot is numb.

I think the heat and lack of sleep is really starting to get to me. I am so sick of the heat. I cannot tell you the last time I spent anytime outside. The kids have even been complaining that they want to go out and play. It is hard for them to understand that I can't go outside when it is 100 degrees and play.

On a happier note....Emily and I are going to have a tea party tomorrow. She went to a tea party at a friend's house last week and we have been very excited to have our own. I have spent all week looking for a real tea set. I have found tons of children's tea sets and miniature tea sets that are reasonable in price but too small. We want a regular size floral (fancy) tea set. I did find some on eBay but they are way out of our price range. I ended up getting some mismatched pieces at Ross. I would still like to have a full set someday.

Dylan and Jerry are going to see Transformers tomorrow while Emily and I have our tea. I am not sure who is more excited about the movie. I am sure Dylan will come home and have to tell me all about the movie without pausing to catch his breath.

Well I guess that is all I have to report now. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Amanda

Tired!!!

Thursday June 23, 2011 - Well we are all exhausted. Last night was the last night of VBS and we are beat. I am hoping for an early bed tonight. We had a good time but I am sure glad it is over. Now we have a couple of days to try to recoup before camp next week. I am sure the kids will be even more tired after next week. Bring on the crabby kids.

I am not feeling 100% today. My left leg is a little numb. I am hoping after some stretching and rest tonight it will be better tomorrow. The closer I get to my MRI the more nervous I get. I will not have it done until the end of next month but just having to think about it makes me crazy.

Well I think we are off to get snow cones to try to beat the heat. Have I mentioned I am ready for November?


Amanda

Stuff

Saturday June 11, 2011 - Wow it has been a very long time since my last post. I keep telling myself that I will be better about posting and then I am not. :( Well we have started our summer and I am ready for it to be over. The kids keep arguing and just can't seem to get along. I am keeping them busy but it does not seem to be helping. Maybe by the end of the summer I will have it all figured out.

Dylan is now officially a third grader and Emily is a kindergartner. I am not ready for either of them to be so BIG. Dylan is a little worried about third grade because he will now get letter grades. It will definitely be an adjustment for all of us. Emily I am afraid may be bored in Kinder. We have been working on worksheets and she did all the kinder worksheets last summer so I guess we will be moving onto 1st grade worksheets.

I had a great end to the school year and hated to see it end. I am, however, very excited about having my very own class from the beginning of the school year. I will have to post pictures when I start getting it put together.

Onto MS stuff.... I have still not been good about taking my medication so I had a nurse come out yesterday and do a retraining with us. I will basically start from scratch and hope I can stick with it. I am hoping that we learned a few tricks to keep it from hurting so bad. I really want to get better at taking it so I don't have to start taking the oral medication. I know you are thinking why would you rather stick yourself with a needle that take a pill. There are so many side effects with the new oral pills and I would have to spend tons of time under close watch. Some even in the hospital. Ugh! I don't have time for that.

My symptoms have not been any worse. Thankfully! I still have weakness in my left arm and leg, fatigue and muscle spasms in my legs and hands. I tend to ignore all my symptoms and just push through them. I don't have time to slow down!

I did see my ophthalmologist for a recheck recently and he said he was happy with my left eye. He thinks that what he is seeing is just the anatomy of my eye and not a cause for concern.

This summer I will have my annual MRI done and I also have to go in for another mammogram. Crossing my fingers that both come back normal with no changes. I will keep you posted.

I just registered for Walk MS Austin. It is on Saturday October 29, 2011. You can visit my page to make a donation or join me for the walk.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/TXHWalkEvents?px=6864140&pg=personal&fr_id=17354

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying cool.

Amanda

Life has been busy to say the least

Friday March 25, 2011 - Life has been busy to say the least. I just finished my first week of teaching. It went great. I LOVE my job and look forward to going to work. I don't think I have ever had a job that I was excited to go to. It makes me a little sad that the school year will be over soon.

We started Dylan in a soccer academy and he likes it. I like it because he is actually learning skills. I think we will continue the academy until he is more comfortable on the field.

Emily wants to go back to dance class but we can not seem to fit it into our schedule right now. I am hoping that there is a class during the summer that will work for us.

I have been feeling okay. I am tired most days but go to bed early and just keep chugging along. I have been having a little more pain in my leg and arm this week but I am sure some of that is due to lack of sleep and added stress. I have had a lot of muscle spasms in my left leg over the last several weeks but I refuse to let it slow me down.

I found this link and thought I would share it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/UIBbgWabzUw?fs=1&hl=en_US

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Amanda

Monday March 7, 2011 - Well it has been awhile since my last post and I guess a few things have happened since. We had a snow day last month. The kids loved staying home and playing in the snow for about two seconds and then their hands got cold. Jerry and I didn't have much fun. Our outside pipes froze and the kitchen sink kept trying to freeze over. So we spent snow day 2011 trying to thaw pipes. I could never live up north.

I went in for my annual exam with my lady doctor and pointed out a lump I found on my breast several months before. I was then sent for a mammogram and ultrasound. I don't know if I was more nervous about having the mammogram done or the results. Either way everything turned out fine. I was told to come back if it changes.

I went in for my six month follow up with my neurologist a couple of weeks ago. He was happy that I seem to be doing well but not happy that I have not stayed on top of my medication. He was about to switch me to the oral drug but I told him no. There are just too many side affects. So he scared me and told me that I may be doing fine now but when I am 50 we will have big problems. We are still trying to figure out the best way for me to remember and want to take my medication. It is just so painful!

I have been working more than two days a week for awhile because we have had so many teachers out that I have been subbing a lot. Last week I got a call from my boss offering me a teaching position for the remainder of the school year. One of our teachers has to start working full time for her husband so I will be taking her position. This will give me a chance to get used to teaching and working five days a week for next school year. I am sad that this teacher has to leave but very excited for the opportunity.

I am looking forward to spring for the warmer weather but I am not looking forward to the warmer weather because it make me sooooooooo tired. I hope everyone is enjoying the weather! Hopefully it will not be as long until my next post.

Amanda

Monday January 24, 2011 - So I was reminded last night why I should not take a hot shower or bath. I was cold last night so though a bath would feel good. I made the water a little warmer than usual. As soon as I was comfortable my vision started to blur and my left leg started to go numb. So my bath was very short lived. :( I sure miss hot baths on cold nights. Amanda

Waiting Another Month

Thursday January 20, 2011 - Well I am a little bummed because I was supposed to have my 6 month check up with my neurologist next week but they called and rescheduled me for another month out. I was anxious to get in and see what he has to say after my last eye appointment. I guess I will just have to be patient.

I have been feeling pretty good lately. I still have some random numbness is my left leg but it is not severe and does not last for too long. I think working and being out of the house has been a HUGE help. I have definitely noticed a difference in my mood.

I have not been taking my anxiety medication lately because it was giving me a headache everyday. I will see my primary doctor tomorrow to see if there is something else I can try.

I hope everyone is well. I know many of us including me have been suffering with allergies and I am hoping we are almost done with it. I am crossing my fingers that none of us ends up with the stomach bug that seems to be going around right now.

Stay warm and have a great weekend.

Amanda

MS 150

Saturday January 14, 2011 - Hello everyone! I wanted to let everyone know that Jerry's cousin is riding in the MS 150. She has a fundraising page you can visit for more information and to also make a donation. Please visit



http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=7597681&fr_id=15941&pg=personal



Thank you Jeena for raising funds for such an important cause.

5 going on 13

Wednesday January 12, 2011 - My daughter is growing up too fast. This morning as I was brushing her hair she looked at me and asked "Are you wearing that to my school today?" I told her I was wearing the pants and long sleeve t-shirt I had on and she informed me that "It did not look right." I am really afraid of what comes when she is 13. Ugh!


Amanda

Happy New Year!

Friday January 7, 2011 - I am a little behind on my posts but I have not really felt like posting until today. We had a very busy few weeks with the holidays, company, school functions and birthdays. Tomorrow is Emily's birthday party and after that I am hoping things will calm down a little.

Christmas was fun but came and went entirely too fast. The kids had a great Christmas and enjoyed some time off from school. I enjoyed the time off of work but was glad to get back. Emily had a good 5th birthday and got a new bike so her knees are not up to her ears when she is riding.

Right now we are suffering because of the cedar. I am hoping for some rain soon.

I have been feeling fine for the most part. I am still having some of the same leg and arm issues I have had for awhile but I just try to ignore them. I have my 6 month follow up with my neurologist in a couple of weeks and I am very curious to see what he has to say about my last appointment with my ophthalmologist. I will keep you posted.

Some exciting news that I have been waiting to share is that I will be working 5 days a week next school year. I will be teaching three days a week and an aide the other two. I am very excited to have a classroom and my own class. I am already starting to plan. I am so thankful to have this opportunity.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Amanda