multiple sclerosis

I’mma Call ‘Em My Ninja Stix

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Check out my previous Musings From a Geek Dad blogs here! Updated every Monday.

For those of you suffering from MS or any disease that affects mobility, I may have an answer for you. I call them my ninja stix.

I have been dealing with Multiple Sclerosis for over a decade. For those who don’t know, MS is a condition where your immune system thinks the myelin coating of your nerves is particularly yummy, and gradually turns your nervous system into a bundle of frayed wiring. There are numerous types of MS, the most common of which involves attacks of symptoms every year or so with no symptom in between. However, I have Progressive-Relapsing MS, the rarest form of the disease. My symptoms are always present AND I have attacks where my symptoms get cranked up. All of this is just as fun as it sounds.

Along with common symptoms like fatigue and heat sensitivity, I have a constant struggle with mobility. At my best I look drunk when walking. I have used both a cane and a walker to help, though neither help that much and both take a sizable piece of humble pie to use. Yes, even after a decade it’s hard to both admit I need help, and ask for it when I need it.

But in preparation for our trip to France, my wife found sidestix, which has changed my mobility picture.

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Yes, the blur is from the speed at which I’m moving.

Sidestix are customized forearm crutches made in Canada. Each set is individualized based on your height, leg and arm length, forearm circumference and grip size. The are light, adjustable and improve my walking more than any other aid has.

I have ditched both my cane and my walker in favor of these. I don’t have major terrain concerns anymore, nor the risk of falling or fatigue. I originally called them my gimp stix, but my wife thought that was too derogatory. So since I am now going to train to be a handicapable superhero a la Daredevil, I call them instead my ninja stix,

Watch out, criminals of Seattle. I’m coming for you.

A Remodel Ain’t A Remodel Without Pestilence

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You may remember from a previous blog that our house is trying to kill us. We found this out before our remodel. Now, the offending vinyl (shown below… two flavors!) has been removed and we’re down to the sub-floor. The cabinets have been demolished and our kitchen now looks like the photo at the top of the article.

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Who needs new floors with classy 60s asbestos death vinyl like this?

So we are now kitchenless. And furniture-less. We pulled up all the carpet and molding to get to the hardwoods underneath and will be painting while the furniture is in the garage. There are nails, staples, tack strips and dust on every surface except in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Hence the dining on PB&J using boxes in the garage as a table. Today the electricians and plumbers are doing further destruction in the name of making the house less of a forbidden zone. Oh, did I mention the guest bathroom toilet has been plugged for the past few weeks? Good times.

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It’s like camping! In our own garage! Eating on a box!

However, Life decided living in a gutted house wasn’t quite enough of a challenge. During the asbestos removal, the abatement company cut a hot water pipe and we had no hot water for a couple days. Keep in mind everything was dusty during demolition, with now no ability to shower. Then on Thursday, my two year old Sebby came down with pink eye. This quickly moved to a chest cold, which he proceeded to spread to his sister and mother. Then, to top it all off, I had an MS flare up kick in Thursday night. This means that, for a brief period of time, my MS symptoms are cranked up to 11. I could barely get out of bed Friday morning.

So in addition to a house with no furniture, no kitchen, no hot water and no laundry room, four of the five family members were put out of commission due to illness. Remodeling FTW.

The silver lining is that treatment for an MS flare up is a three-day course of steroid infusions. Which means that 1) I feel much better than normal afterward, and 2) I don’t sleep for three days. Saturday night I used our shop vac to clean up the insulation, paint chips and nails in the kitchen and laundry/utility rooms. Last night I swept the living room, dining room and hallway starting at ten, and still had energy to pick up molding and watch the Game of Thrones premiere. So I guess having a day of MS suck was probably worth it in the end, after all.

The grand launch

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Welcome to my new site!

The site will mainly feature chapters for my dark fantasy novel, Hunters. Any feedback is appreciated. I will also post blogs regarding life, being a stay at home parent, coping with MS, and any other thoughts that cross my mind.

Being an editor, I will also post advice on English, writing and storytelling. Occasional book reviews may also wheedle their way in.

Regardless, welcome to the site, and enjoy!

Let’s launch this baby

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I have plans for this site. Ten chapters (currently) of my Hunters novel give me ten weeks of content, as well as weekly blog posts on my published works, parenting tips, writing and editing advice, book reviews, news on my daily Multiple Sclerosis challenges and general Mariners and Seahawks talk. Stay tuned. Big things, people.