I Have Good News and Bad News

Forgive me Father, it’s been several months since my last post.  

The minutes turn to hours, days, weeks, and before you know it, months have gone by, bringing me to this moment when I decided that it was time to write something.

I just got the results of my last MRI. I was afraid that things had become worse.

My walking is not quite as it used to be. I hug furniture and hold on to walls more than I ever have and my right foot is not as flexible as it used to be. I can only lift it while I am seated for 10 seconds tops and then, it just drops.

I was sure things had become worse and that the MS had begun its progressive course.

However, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when I was told that there were no new lesions as compared to the previous MRI done seven years ago, in 2008 (there were no new lesions then either).

There are a few minor things but nothing major that the Secondary Progressive MS is supposed to bring.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry so, as usual, I did both.

I noticed that somehow, my posture affects the strength in my legs as well as my gait. I no longer use the Lazy Boy Recliner and have changed to an upright chair.

I also discovered that my driving posture somehow affects my gait.

I drive 147km, which takes me around 1 hour 45 minutes, each way, to go to the mosque in Halifax. The day after my drive, my walking is fine. Now this either has to do with my posture or the fact that I use both my right and left foot on the pedals, as well as having to be focused on the road, hands on the steering wheel, spine upright, etc or, the combination of all of these, which makes my walking better the next day - so much so, that I walk without the use of my cane!!!

I have somehow tried to replicate my driving posture when I am sitting watching television or even when reading or writing but, I have not quite got a grasp on it... yet...

Maybe I need to start a cab service!!

I will somehow figure this out. It cannot be a coincidence that every time I drive to Halifax and back, my walking is fine the next day.

I am still gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free and extremely conscious of what I eat – nothing processed, no chemicals, no preservatives, and I consume organic produce as much as I can. If I do not find organic produce, I scrub the produce with soap and warm water and/or peel the skin.

Now I even noticed that recently I developed some skin irritations.

All of the previous times this has happened, it has been caused by foods that I am sensitive to.

I am a creature of habit. Once I eat something, I want to eat it every day, even though I know that I am not supposed to repeat foods within four days.

I used to be sensitive to tomatoes and avoided them for years until my last Food Sensitivity Test determined that I was no longer sensitive to tomatoes.

I went a little crazy because I love tomatoes and ate them almost every single day – either in curry, in salad, a new bruschetta salsa I invented, or in some form or another. I went a little overboard.

The irritation started a few weeks ago, and every day, my skin got worse.

Now, I already know from experience, that any symptom is simply a cause and effect. 

Something told me that I should stop tomatoes.

Miraculously, my irritation stopped. This cannot be a coincidence!

The biggest problem that we as patients have is that we do not take personal responsibility for our own healing. We do not closely monitor to learn from what  brings us to a place of dis-ease  or what brings us relief and what works or doesn’t work.

If I get a headache, I ask myself what  I have done or consumed to get the headache.

Most just take a pain killer and be done with it.

The headache is my body speaking to me, telling me that something is wrong.

We need to take responsibility for our own health, habits and lifestyles by having a dialogues with our bodies and recognizing when our bodies tell us that something is wrong.

Ever since I have been diagnosed with MS, I have tried to do this as much as possible and this last MRI result is proof that my approach is working.

I still have Secondary Progressive MS.

It just has not progressed like the Medicos and their journals say it should!

Rather than be a scapegoat for the Medical Profession and their ‘one size fits all’ treatments, which most of the time do not work, we need to take the reins in our own hands if we want to feel better.

Just listen to what your body is telling you and change your habits accordingly.

I do and hope that you, my readers will do so as well.

 
Happy Listening, and Good Luck!