Of All The Nerve

My new med

Last Friday was a momentous day for me: at last my first dose of the new oral MS medication with the requisite 6-hour observation period.  I’d been anxiously waiting since December!

Per the recommendation, I packed my backpack with items to stave off the boredom of sitting around that long: two books I am currently reading [one fiction and one non-fiction], a book of Sudoku puzzles [I’m addicted!], lip balm, crystallized lemon to be added to drinking water, 2 CDs [which,  as it turns out, is old-school, replaced by the iPod!], emery boards and cuticle cream [inevitably when bored, my attention drifts to the sad state of my nails].

We also brought a cooler with yogurt, granola bars, and sandwiches.  OH had brought a fingertip pulse oximeter so I could check my pulse regularly on my own.  [It is bright yellow, so I will never misplace it!]

When we got there, we were ushered into a private, back-room.  There was a TV with local channels, and an iPad for watching movies [we were never able to get it working].

I sat in a deluxe high-backed chair with a pull-out footrest that needed to be pulled out and pushed back by the nurse, who came in every half hour or so and took my pulse and blood pressure, both standing and sitting.

There were pillows and blankets but no place for OH to lay down.  In the end, he sat at the counter and hunched over to lay his head down on his arms.

In the end, the whole experience was pretty anti-climactic, which is probably the best-case scenario, really.  I read one book the entire time, and they let us leave before the rush hour started.

It was a record heat in SF, which lent the whole outing a surreal feel, and now that I’m onto Day Five, it is like it never happened, plus it feels no different.  Sigh…

My left hand

A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a hor...er, thumb!

I am still waiting for my first dose of the oral MS med and the requisite 6-hour observation immediately after.  In the meantime, I am wrestling with a splint on my valuable, only-working left hand.

At the beginning of this episode, I started to get pain in my left wrist.  After I complained several times to OH, he finally got me to make an appointment with The Quarterback. (I tend to down-play any health anomaly at first and maintain that doctors are too important to be bothered.  Notice anything about that? Avoidance = Denial!) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Fearing carpal-tunnel, I was relieved to hear her tell me it was tendonitis.  She wrote me out aprescription for 6-weeks of hand-therapy and another for extra-strength ibuprofen.

The next day, we drove up the freeway a few exits and pulled into the parking lot of a local gym.  The hand therapy office was upstairs.

I was still in my wheelchair so I had called ahead to ask about accommodation.  I was assured that I could use the elevator in the gym.

But instead, when we got there, we were confronted with the first of two "lifts" to get to the top floor. This was "the elevator." I wheeled into the first, which was only big enough for me and my chair.

Once OH had made sure that my brakes were locked, I pushed the button to raise the platform while he climbed up the handful of stairs and met me at the lobby level.

I rolled out of the cage and OH wheeled me over to the taller lift, and we repeated the procedure. 

It was sooo slow and shook violently as I reached the top. I was annoyed by that but OH told me later that waiting for me and suddenly seeing that, "took 10 years" off his life.  [Awww, so sweet!]

He pushed me into the therapy suite and we were directed to the small office at the back.  By this point, I was not impressed at all and muttered to OH that in my opinion, I only needed to come this one time, and then could do the exercises or whatever by myself.

He told me to reserve judgment and we entered the office.  And met the two very trained and super friendly therapists.  I will keep the appointments.

I learned that the tendon that runs from the middle of my thumb to my elbow had become swollen and inflamed.  Amazingly, the tip of my thumb, and the rest of my fingers are controlled by other tendons.  The therapy consists of gentle stretching and heated massage. 

Then my hand was traced and the markings were transferred to heavy plastic, cut out and warmed in water until it was pliable. 

Finally, I was instructed to rest my elbow on the table in front of me and hold up my palm, bend my finger to my thumb in an "ok" sign, where the warm plastic was wrapped around my thumb and wrist.

The plastic hardened, straps were affixed, and I've been instructed to not take it off for six weeks, except for temporarily, to gently wash, stretch, and massage.

Ah, life of a socialite

I’ve been so busy with my glamorous, whirlwind lif…

Oh, wait. I'm daydreaming.  Sorry!

I have gotten all my pre-screening tests done before I start the new oral med, so there’s that. 

I’ve been approved by the health insurance and am now just waiting for all the arrangements to get set up for my first dose and then the 6-hour observation period.

Recently, OH and I were treated to a hockey game (with hats and jerseys!). 

The special seating for the wheelchair access and the overhead close-ups of the live action on the ice made it seem like we were in our own sky-box. Aw, look how happy:

Then a small group of us hosted a pirate-themed birthday party for him!  It coincided with the Academy Awards, so we watched the show, ate cake and drank champagne.

OH and The Saint

“And the award goes to…”

Yesterday we went to my neurologist in the city, only to find out that the pre-screening test results I’d had at one hospital hadn’t yet been forwarded to the other.

But I did get my yearly blood-draw there for the JC virus study, which is related to the last M.S. drug that I no longer take. 

I asked them if they still wanted my blood, given that I had developed an allergic reaction to it; they said yes, that did not disqualify me, and oh by the way, the study has been extended a few more years, so I will have my yearly blood draws until 2015.

I get nothing for participating, can withdraw from the study at any time, but can feel good about donating to science.  So there’s that.

My rescheduled neurology appointment is in May and I now need to call around and make sure all the test results are forwarded.

Oh, and I need to make a follow-up appointment for the gamma-knife check…

Busy, busy.  Gotta go.  Love you, kiss-kiss!