My wife's Multiple Sclerosis has thrown a lot of different symptoms at us, and this summer has not been any different. Part of the way through the summer my wife started to have cramps in her feet. It started with the tops of her feet feeling tight, and she was able to stretch them and relieve the pain. After days of walking, the feet tightened more and more and the tops of her feet hurt more and more. At one point, the only way to relieve the pain was to put her feet up and not move. If she moved her feet any direction, the pain would become extreme. She couldn't walk for a few days due to the pain.
We weren't really sure what to do or how long the pain would last, but we knew for sure that she had to rest. She worked through the pain for a few days and then the pain put her in bed. It really worried me since we hadn't dealt with this issue before, but after a few days of rest, the pain started to subside and she could move her feet. We are still not sure what happened and I know my wife hopes that it doesn't happen again, but with MS you just never know how you will feel tomorrow or even later today. Multiple Sclerosis causes pain in so many different ways, and continues to surprise us with where it attacks.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Summer Of Ups and Downs With MS
This summer we traveled for almost 4 straight weeks. It started with my wife going numb on her right side, from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. We were in Albuquerque and were able to see our Chiropractor, so we were able to resolve the issue and she had all the feeling back within a few days. It still amazes me that the Chiropractor can stop an MS attack and reverse it. I would have never believed it if I haven't seen it work so many times now. So, we drove thousands of miles, covering around 12 states and staying in hotels all over to arrive back home a few weeks ago. The trip involved a ton of walking, standing, heat, stress and a host of other issues, but my wife did pretty good for starting out numb.
We are still learning about my wife's MS even after her being diagnosed 20 years ago. This trip showed us once more that it is so important to plan rest time and healthy habits to keep my wife's body working properly. There were times on the trip that she had to skip activities because she just couldn't handle the stress. She sat in the suburban with the A/C on while we fished one day, and chose not to go when I had to run the Children's Home booth during some of the events. Her MS slowed her down, but didn't stop her from enjoying the time on the road and all the great things we were able to do. Even when we arrived back at home, she chose to stay instead of going to Church Camp with my daughter and I. That was probably a smart decision since I barely kept up with the lack of sleep, ton of walking and the heat.
There were times this summer when I wondered if my wife would leave the hotel room, and other times when I couldn't keep up with her stride. It still fascinates me that she can have so many issues one day and wake up the next feeling fine. Multiple Sclerosis is such an odd disease. We are still searching for answers and watching the Liberation Treatment with some hope and excitement. Hopefully this year will be a year of discoveries for MS and we can come one step closer to my wife living a more normal life. For now, we face each day with hope and my wife is even taking some college classes in the Fall. She's nervous, but excited to get back to learning and growing. MS may have beat her up some this summer, but it can't hold her back from living life to the fullest!
We are still learning about my wife's MS even after her being diagnosed 20 years ago. This trip showed us once more that it is so important to plan rest time and healthy habits to keep my wife's body working properly. There were times on the trip that she had to skip activities because she just couldn't handle the stress. She sat in the suburban with the A/C on while we fished one day, and chose not to go when I had to run the Children's Home booth during some of the events. Her MS slowed her down, but didn't stop her from enjoying the time on the road and all the great things we were able to do. Even when we arrived back at home, she chose to stay instead of going to Church Camp with my daughter and I. That was probably a smart decision since I barely kept up with the lack of sleep, ton of walking and the heat.
There were times this summer when I wondered if my wife would leave the hotel room, and other times when I couldn't keep up with her stride. It still fascinates me that she can have so many issues one day and wake up the next feeling fine. Multiple Sclerosis is such an odd disease. We are still searching for answers and watching the Liberation Treatment with some hope and excitement. Hopefully this year will be a year of discoveries for MS and we can come one step closer to my wife living a more normal life. For now, we face each day with hope and my wife is even taking some college classes in the Fall. She's nervous, but excited to get back to learning and growing. MS may have beat her up some this summer, but it can't hold her back from living life to the fullest!
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