Counting my blessings

So, I don't know if I've officially come out on my blog... about my profession! : ] I am a police officer/investigator for a metropolitan police department. I've been doing it for 9 years, and been an investigator for 4. I LOVE MY JOB! I love every part of it - directing traffic in the middle of a thunderstorm and no power, sweating my booty off completing an accident report in the middle of rush-hour traffic on the freeway at 430 pm in a Texas August, and all the good and bad of everything!

I get to help kids now, which I especially love. I am out of uniformed patrol now, and am a plain-clothes officer now... typing reports and taking calls. I miss the action on the street but their equally important and meaningful. Luckily, we have state and department requirements for training and today was the first day of class of a 2 day in-service. I can't really talk about what we're covering because it's "law enforcement sensitive" BUT I can tell you it's role-playing training and we get to use modified paint guns!! WOO HOOO!!! Really, though, it's extremely good training and our unit is taking it together - so we'll really know how to work together when we're involved in a situation where the crappola hits the fan!!

Course, most of today was spent on my feet in an abandoned building where the a/c was not working. So, I had my cooling vest on standby and drank cold water. We were able to wear shorts today, but we're going to be in protective covering (long sleeves and pants and body armor in an abandoned building in August in Texas!) tomorrow. Tonight, I'm taking it easy and resting my tingling, 1/2 numb feet and plan on a longer bath with epson salt tonight... the cooling vest will be used tomorrow - in place of my actual bullet-proof vest! My supervisor and friends in my unit kept a close eye on me and made me sit down when we could... I'll be posting later about my work partner and close friend who did the class today in a boot with a broken ankle that he walked around on for 3 weeks before getting it xrayed and diagnosed - and how much of a wimp I feel like with my MS symptoms compared to that and am desperately JEALOUS of his pain tolerance? Think they could just make a pill that we could take to just do that - and then we'd only have to increase or add those other meds if he hit our max dose in that!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Mondays!

WOO HOO! Don'tcha just love'em? I had a busy one at work - phone rang non-stop and having to meet with the boss a couple of times and then just returning phone calls from missing Thur/Fri. My spasticity decided it had not made enough of a presence over my last flare up... But, I was back at work today and walking a little slow and upright but I was back at work!!!!

By the way, if you've found my blog then you know I'm not as prolific writing on this blog and new to this thing... I have found some very TERRIFIC blogs about MS in the world wide web... Here's links if you're interested. The writers have a great sense of humor and put some good words to the feelings and thoughts I'm sure those of us with a chronic illness experience and then with the uniqueness to those of MS.

http://www.brain-cheese.blogspot.com/
http://blindbeardsmsblog.blogspot.com/
http://myjourneywithms-kimberly.blogspot.com/

Hey, and I only found them after I started mine, which was a good thing because their so awesome!!

Oops I forgot - I stole the MFMS line from Terri Garr... I haven't read her book yet but I plan on picking it up this weekend and devouring it. She's got such a great attitude towards her MS... she's not going to take it laying down!!!!!!!

MFMS

Can I say it enough - how I hate MS! I've always been active. I think I could throw a ball before I could walk.. gotta love older brothers and dad that played MLB. I always played every sport I could and then got into new ones... mountain biking, trail running, flag-football. Seemed I would always go through periods of being more active - work and famly and friends. Seems I was in the best shape of my freakin' life when I was diagnosed... dropped my body fat below 15%, could still pull over a mile under 8, and actually had some arm muscles developing (could never get my biceps to look pretty enough for an arm tattoo band!)...

So, since my Dx I've had the epic battle of trying to balance MS symptoms with trying to stay in shape. Not easy when you're battling spasticity and numbess. Try even walking your dogs when you can't really feel one of your feet. Then, you get put on steroids which make you eat yourself out of house and home and gain an extra 10 lbs. Now, I get my right leg back and start to try and get back into working out. I hop on the bike again (literally) and ride for a very easy 30 mins.. no hills and nothing over 70rpms.. then I spend the next 2 days feeling like I've completed the MS150 with my legs yelling at me the entire time! Making your hips stop working for their full rotation and 24/7 charlie horses in the calves. Either way - I HATE MS! )*@&#%)&@)#*$)@*$)@)(#$)@*)($@)#*@ - that's what I have to say!!!

So, again I repeat MFMS!!!

100 days...

Stop me if you've heard this one... A writer/blogger wrote about he and his wife having sex for 100 continuous days. No excuses, no whining, just do it. Now, he has written a book (to be published sometime this fall) and the movie rights have already been bought. Do you hear an Oprah special coming up?? He swears that it brought their relationship to new heights (excuse the entendre.. but it was meant!) and has saved their marriage. He says it was her idea after hearing about couples that were going to abstain from having sex for 100 days.... Hey, I don't care who came up with the idea - I think it's great. The story on ABC said that couples therapists said that it was more about making a commitment to the relationship that makes it the right thing to do - the sex is the bonus side effect!! Anybody going to go for 150? 200? A year??

Isn't there a rule about the 1st year of a relationship anyways - sex every time you see that person you just have to jump their bones? I think so.. then, you get into the job, the kids (2 legged & 4 legged) and your friends and then you realize you're watching Dateline on a Friday night at 9pm and enjoying the program!!! But, isn't that actually the best part of the relationship... the comfortable way you fall into routines.. the secure warm-fuzzy you get knowing you're going home to your honey... the way you just know that your other half will understand exactly why you found that joke so funny - the one that your boss' 3 yo also found extremely amusing! I love being in love - falling in love is awesome and great and makes your muscles tingle - but staying in love and being in love is what makes your bones hum and your heart pitter-patter. I know - I've fallen off that wagon before. Not this time - this time I know what I have to do and have learned from my mistakes... this time - well, this is the last time.

By the way - in case you're wondering what the joke is...

What do you get when you cross a brown chicken and a brown cow??

(must say the answer out loud...)

Brownchickenbrowncow!!!! AHHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHA : p

Back to the grind

Heylo!

Anybody enjoying the Olympics? I am...at least some of it. I'm glad the track stuff has started - there's only so much badminton one can take. You'll have to excuse me because I'm a more than a little peeved that they're taking away my softball and baseball, but leaving in trampoline and dressage. Not that I have anything against those athletes but, really?!?!?! Seriously?!?! They're going to take away our Finch and Rowe and Osterman's and replace them with what?? Course, I'm old enough to remember it being Smith, Berg, and Doc Richardson.... I had to tell my 7 yo niece who they were but she was respectfully impressed.

I admire all the athletes that dedicate that much of their heart and soul into something and leave it all out there for everyone to see..... even the dressage riders!!! My hero for this Olympics, despite my newfound crush on Phelps after seeing him and his bulldog together, is Dara Torres. 41 years-old and helps the US women swim team earn more medals - I don't care what color it was (silver if you were wondering) - even if she hadn't earned a spot on a podium - SHE ROCKED!! Seems like a definition for "You go girl". Thank you Dara for letting me know that I can still follow my dreams - no matter how old!!! Again, you deserve a 2nd...

YOU GO GIRL!!! You're gold in my eyes!

One of those days...

I go back to work tomorrow - yippee! We all want to be independently wealthy and go cavorting around the world on a whim... but when you have a job you enjoy and take pride in, I think most of us would still want something like that in our lives. If me or my partner were to hit the lottery tomorrow (and we'd have to play to do it!), I'd still want to work my job. I'm lucky enough to have good bosses, some really good co-workers, and I like to think I make my own little difference in the world!

But, thinking about winning the lottery... I'd throw the biggest party - in Greece for all my friends! Everybody would be brought over in a jet plane and we'd eat stuffed grape leaves and baklava til we exploded!!!!

There are times for being a B****, just like there are times for being a charmer. Usually we get to pick/choose those times for ourselves - not saying it's always an easy choice or that we aren't sometimes provoked into one of them. Just saying that it's a right we should choose ourselves. Unlike when you're on so many medications that your body chemistry goes all wacko - then your emotions go out the door as well.

Ever heard of PMS? Try PMS on steroids - literally! Barry Bonds has got nothing on me!!! If emotions could be hit out of the park - I'm batting 1.000!! Hopefully as my body calms down my emotions will too - How many flowers does it take to say you're sorry for being such a lousy patient??? I'm thinking something with balloons - my honey likes those!!!

Backtrackin..

I'm sitting on my couch watching Buffy and enjoying the feeling being back in my right leg and foot. Doesn't sound like too much but when MS is a part of your world order, it's the little things that count. This is only my 2nd flare-up since my diagnosis in Oct 06 - so I'm actually doing very well. Found out about my dx by going blind in my right eye - luckily got almost 100% back. Am still able to do the job I love and am surrounded by a wonderful partner, family, and friends!

I should get back to work next week and will be getting back to the grind of it all - the grind you can only miss when you're away from it by means that are not your own! I'm doing okay with the diagnosis thing. I've got a mild case and so it only affects me on a smaller scale at this time. The hard part is when it sucker-punches you into reminding you that IT'S the boss! Tickets to baseball games, football games, and re-doing the bathroom gets put aside because you walk like Igor.

I'm venting and I know it... Isn't that what this is for??? I don't know how much I'm going to be visiting my blog-ego but I'm sure it'll be full of various morsels from my brain. Scary - I'm a Blonde, Irish-German, Cherokee Indian who carries a gun for a living.

Munchies

If you've ever been on high-dose steroids.... then you know how munchies completely consume your life!! I've eaten almost everything in my pantry and fridge and made more stuff to eat. It's all for good, though, as I'm liking having the use of my right leg/foot back so I'm not dragging it along behind me.

I can't wait to play with the puppies again! And with others!! Thank the goddess for my partner... without L I would never survive any of these setbacks!! I don't feel like getting into it tonight... I'm going to enjoy the remaining cookies and whine about it tomorrow. : p

Jumping in...

After almost 2 years of brooding and needing to vent and watching others go before me... I enter this world of "blog". No reason or rhyme for this venture - other than why not? I sit at home recovering from a flare-up in my MS. Ready for more? LOL I keep thinking I am... and am very thankful for my rising phoenix that keeps me going!