Been active? (Mar 2013)

[AZgal]

Hi Everyone! Guess what? It's Springtime! I hope everyone had fun and got out and enjoyed life to the fullest this month. Here's what I've been up to:

Went to Spring Training game. I haven't been to one of those in years. Had a blast and our seats were practically right on top of one of the dugouts on the third base line. And yes, hot dogs and icees were on the menu.

Treated myself to a 90 minute massage. Didn't realize how tight my muscles were especially in the hip attached to my lagging leg. The therapist was great and turned off the heat (as I was concerned since I drove myself there). Definitately gonna do that more often.

St. Patrick's Day weekend was packed with a party Saturday night with some friends I hadn't seen in forever and a brunch/house warming party on Sunday. Oh yeah, and I made soda bread from scratch for the first time. I have to admit it was delicious! A great weekend!

Went to a "Moving Forward: Newly Diagnosed" seminar offered by the MS Arizona Chapter -- very informative. It was nice to hear other peoples stories and concerns. There were about a dozen people there.

It appears Phoenix now has a professional soccer team. My brother and I went to their home opener. It was awesome! The crowd was loud, the game moved fast, and we won!! Yeah!

For Easter, went to my brother's house. Lots of people and kids! Had a great time but was a little bummed cuz it was kinda hot out (heat's been bothering me and it's barely 90 degress - yeah, this summer is gonna be interesting) so I had to pass on the trip to the park to fly rockets etc. Instead my brother stayed at the house with me and hid eggs and played a couple games so it was all good.

I hope all of you had a great month! Stay positive, have fun, and enjoy life!

[ActiveMSers]

Here's my wrap.

Adventures

(1) Signed up to be members of the Bio Park here in ABQ. I've already been a couple times, tromping through the zoo, the botanical gardens and the aquarium (ideal for the summer with its AC).

(2) Saw four performance at our local theater including West Side Story, an Indian dance group (from India), Momix: Botanica, and a Scottish group of bagpipers and dancers. For that last performance we had "limited view" front-row seats and discovered it is TRUE what real Scots wear under their kilts.

(3) Got inspired to drink Scotch. Did not put on a kilt, but I did ditch my underwear in spirit.


Exercise

(1) Set a one-week walking record of 25,000+ steps, an average of over 3,500/day.

(2) I did not get one 5,000 step day in during that time, the average number of steps an American takes in a day.


Challenges

(1) Got seriously gassed at the zoo and had to make friends with the ducks until my leg strength came back enough to make it back to the car (I did--barely).

(2) Still working on my healthcare provider to get reimbursed for my treatment. I might be getting closer to a resolution.

[AMFADVENTURES]

Wow AZgal, looks like you’re in full swing there, well done! Had another slow month here, until about 2 weeks ago we were still shoveling snow.

On the adventure side of things:
Helping friends sort out their cycling kit for the upcoming season took up a couple of days.

Went to a dynamite St. Paddy’s day party thrown by one of my cycling buddies who’s every bit as Irish as I am. I consider myself quite lucky that my wife doesn’t drink much, it frees me up to let loose a little.

Easter was pretty standard fare, Easter celebration, plenty of family and WAY too much really good Cajun food.

On the exercise front:
One thing those snow days are good for is whipping up a batch of sourdough baguettes. I put that under exercise because it is!

I only got 6 days of cycling in, due to the snow and an accident I had a couple of weeks ago. The accident still has me pedaling a stationary bike inside and I’ve become familiar with “interesting noises” last month. The weather is so nice right now that I’ll probably have to get back outside sooner rather than later though.

Stay active and stay safe all,

[AZgal]

Thanks Dave and AMF for posting here. You two are a great inspiration to everyone on this forum!

Along with finally getting back in the swing of things, I've also had some challenges this month. I didn't post them as I was trying to stay positive, but here they are:

1. Having a definite issue with the warmer weather and it isn't even hot here yet. Gonna have to get creative.

Speaking of which was really bummed when one of the Masters who is coming out to do a seminar in August decided that he would rather me not tag along on his trip to the petrified forest while he's here as the heat will bother me and he wants to be able to hike around for a few hours. I understand. I'm going to be his eyes on the ground though and get all of the info for him to plan his trip to the forest and then we're gonna find time to catch dinner and a movie while he's here instead.

2. My symptoms have definitely taken a spike (or nose dive). Where the numbness was confined to my lower right leg and a little bit of leg drop, the numbness now affects up to about 80% of my body at any given time and the leg drop is more pronounced. My neuro is not happy about this, and so a second MRI was done last week. Now I wait to meet with my neuro next week to see how to move forward. Thinking positive.

Best of thoughts to both of you - Dave that your continued improvement after your trial treatments continues. AMF that you heal well from your accident and get back outside on your bike soon.

Be well everyone,

[Bree Solis]

You always make me laugh. Ditched your underwear in the spirit.hahaha

[HETA78]

AZgal - sorry to hear about your increasing symptoms. I hope for the best possible news for you!

This is my favorite thread... I'm still pretty boring but here goes:

Adventures
Attended my first live event. It was very informative but I wasn't really prepared for the sales pitch element. Also, the MS Patient Advocate was a let down. I have yet to have conversations in person with another MS patient. She was supposed to be there for that but when I initiated communication after the closing statements, she completely blew me off. Weird not only b/c she was an advocate but because I typically do not have difficulty meeting new people.

St. Paddy's was very mild compared to previous years. I made corned beef and had a Guiness with my husband.

OH, also I hosted Easter dinner, my first ever holiday meal. The in-laws were at our (tiny) house for two days. It was defintely a test of my patience and my fatigue! It took 3 days to get back to "normal".

Excercise
This has been great! I am back to doing Jackie Warner's Power Circuit Training at least two times per week and yoga two-three times per week. I feel really good! Also, I gained a couple lbs this winter with the new dx and depression so I need to get it off like now before shorts season (shorts! LOL. Not going to happen with my copaxone busted thighs).

Challenges
I'm in therapy for my anxiety and depression because I don't want another new med if I can help it. I am being very stubborn with it all though. I love my therapist but I get get mad because I still have a hard time with being mad and scared I think that my fears are perfectly reasonable so it's hard to overcome them.

[Sparky10]

March and April are my shedded deer antler hunting months. The area around my house is steep hills and thick woods. Great for deer; not so great for a person with MS. I can manage about an hour's hike, sometimes longer. Using 2 trekking poles makes it so much easier!

I've only found one, and it was when riding in the car on the way home from the grocery store! But it's a beautiful 6-point.