Sunday, October 23, 2011

Tripping, Falling and Rolling With MS

Over the last few weeks, my wife has worked tons of hours at our Children's Home, along with keeping up with our 14 yr old daughter. Too many hours and not enough rest turned into my wife dragging her right foot. This is a fairly common issue when she is tired and her body is worn out. Normally she would rest more along with seeing our Chiropractor, but time didn't allow those things and she fell hard last week.

We were heading to get a smoothie for our daughter and my wife caught her foot on the curb while hurrying up to the door. By the time I realized what was happening, she had already fell hard, rolled a few times and hopped up. I could see the look of pain in her eyes as she started heading back to the car. She banged up her knee along with tearing up her hands, and feeling very embarrassed after someone in the store came out and asked her if she needed help.

She was OK, but pretty beat up and we knew that if we didn't have her adjusted by the Chiropractor she would be headed to a lot of issues. Within hours her foot was already numb and her fingertips were numb. She was exhausted and slept for a few days to try to catch up and keep her body from spiraling downward. She went to the Chiropractor on Monday and immediately started getting feeling back into her foot and hands. By the end of the day the feeling was completely back and her body was recovering quickly. She also found a new massage therapist that she was very happy with this week which has also helped in the past.

It still amazes me how the warning signs are always there when her body is starting to get tired and her MS is starting to flair. If we ignore it, we ask for the problems to come and if we will just do what we know to do, we can create the environment for her to stay healthy. My wife commented that tonight she overdid it and that nothing was worth wearing her body out, so I have a feeling that this was a wake up call for her to take better care of herself. This last week she started the Swank MS diet again, and has been very focused on taking back control of her diet and health. The last four months have been very hard with both of us having to work long hours but the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen now. She is already doing better from her fall the other day, and I know she will continue to get stronger and healthier.

5 comments:

Kit Minden said...

I wonder if you would consider writing a post that summarizes what you have both found to be helpful over the years. You have so much experience and have found a way to be so positive! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I stumbled across your blog this evening and couldn’t stop reading your posts. I just wanted to say that think it is really something rare and great that you and your wife have figured out how to deal with this as a team. I am 22 years old and my mother has been fighting MS for 17 years now. I could really relate with some of the things you have experienced. I want to show my mom this but she is much more progressed than your wife and my father divorced her about 6 years ago, so I don’t know if she would find this inspiring or depressing. But I’m going to keep following you, best of luck!

Unknown said...

Kit, let me see if I can put something together that shows everything we have done and what has worked and what has not. It may take a little time, so check back as you can.

Unknown said...

Anonymous, thanks for the comment. We know how tough MS can be on your psyche and how tough it can be on your marriage. We constantly meet individuals that have lost spouses, family and sometimes the will to live. We hope that this blog will be a help to those looking for others that are living life with MS, so please let me know if you have any specific questions.

Kit Minden said...

Take your time, Cory. MS certainly takes its time and takes our time, too. It gnaws away incessantly, and requires that we pay its share first. Later, we find out whether there's anything left in for what we meant to do.

Anon., sounds like you have been though some tough times. My son is also 22, and does half my care now. It limits his life so much. I am fortunate to be able to still interact online, although sometimes, I am rather limited. You have done well!
Best wishes!