Conversations with the disease

For those new to my blog, my mom has very severe Multiple Sclerosis. With that, one of the saddest things to lose is the ability to convert your thoughts into words. She knows exactly what she's meaning to say, but just can't get her mind and mouth to coordinate themselves into functioning properly. The result is usually a guessing game between myself and her, trying to figure out what point she was trying to make. The point is there, sometimes you just have to take a little journey with her to find out what it is.

This morning, I had one of those conversations that exactly illustrates this part of the disease. Right after I had it, I scrambled for a pen because I KNEW I had to share it. Word for word, this is what the dialogue (and most conversations with my mother) consisted of.

(Setting the scene, we're watching CNN's report of the tornado destruction in the south.)

Mom: What about that mountain up north?
Me: What mountain? Mount Rainier?
Mom: No.
Me: Mount St. Helens.
Mom: No.
Me: O...kay? There aren't any other mountains around here.
Mom: Where the building you visited was.
Me: The visitor center at Mount St. Helens?
Mom: No. Where you went to Girl Scout Camp.
Me: Um..I don't remember going to Girl Scout Camp.
Mom: No. Your dog. You named him after it.
Me: Okay, I have Vegas now, and then I had Savannah and Daytona.
Mom: Savannah, where she was named after.
Me: Savannah, Georgia? OH! (light bulb comes on) You're talking about the Juliette Gordon Low house, the founder of the Girl Scouts, where I visited when I went to Georgia?
Mom: Yes. Did it get tipped over?
Me: No, mom. I don't think that Savannah was one of the cities hit by the tornadoes.

Monday

Still feeling awful, I haven't the energy to be witty or entertaining.

Here, have a puppy.


see more dog and puppy pictures

Lazy Sunday

I wish.

I put in a full 8 hours today, completely lost my voice, and possess lungs that can breath fire. No, really. That's how it feels inside my chest today. Yay, spring cold and flu season!

But, tonight is all about comfort. Would you like to know what's surrounding me tonight?

Gotta have the syrupy center. Otherwise, what's the point?

Oh, there is nothing so beautiful as a NyQuil induced sleep

It's Ion...that's almost like magic, right? 

And, of course, I'm being carefully watched over by my beautiful canine, Vegas. He's very protective you know.

Goodnight, moon! I hope Sunday finds everyone restful and relaxed.

The Day After

It's the day after April Fool's Day; did everyone survive unscathed?

Luckily, I managed to dodge my friend's wicked senses of humor...possibly because they know that I'm not feeling up to par and am liable to bite the head off of any unsuspecting prankster.

I did, however, enjoy Hootesuite's INTERNAL AND CONFIDENTIAL email about a new game called Happy Owls, which basically involved slingshotting owls around. (Cute play on Angry Birds, huh?) Google also "BETA launched" Google Motion. Which, would have been pretty cool, if it didn't remind me a bit too much of Minority Report; which is only creepy because it was Tom Cruise at the controls.

At work, we had a few April Fool's pranksters messing around in our chat rooms, (which...really?) but nothing major. Though I should ask the night crew - the creepy, pr0nograp7c callers and chatters usually come out after dark...

What about you? Did anyone get you good? Or, did you GET anyone?

Girl down, please send assistance immediately...

I should have known.

It started yesterday morning. I woke up to my alarm, like usual. I was feeling a bit foggy, but chalked it up to the early morning wake up. Stumbled to the bathroom, climbed in the shower. Before getting out, I sat down in the shower to let the conditioner sink into my hair.

The next thing I know, it's 30 minutes later, and my roommate is calling for me from the living room, asking if I slept in.

ACK!

No, I didn't sleep in, I just fell asleep in the shower! I glance at my watch and realize that I have about 10 minutes to get to work....yeah, NOT going to happen. Quickly, I scramble for my phone and call the center, letting them know I messed up and I'm going to be late.

Well, you know how mornings are when you miss your alarm. You feel that constant pressure of go-go-go, I'm late, all day long. That's how I felt when I got in. Just...ugh.

Then the dizziness started. Then the room started spinning. I figured it was dehydration, so I downed two cups of water and a vitamin packet. Just in case my blood sugar was out of whack, I took a fruit packet (strawberry and banana puree, YUM!). Instead of feeling better, I started feeling worse.

Then, it was almost like I was watching myself in a dream. I could see myself swaying in my chair, but couldn't stop it from happening. My head was reeling, my vision got blurry, and I could hear the blood pulsing in my ears.

NOT. GOOD.

I wound up calling my roommate to pick me up, because there was no way I was going to drive. I couldn't even look out the windshield as she drove, I was too dizzy. I got home and crashed into bed, but no matter what position I lay in, one of my limbs fell asleep. Like, PAINFULLY asleep on pins and needles. I got up and tried to curl up in my chair and watch tv...nope. Bad idea. The lights and colors on the screen sent me even further into spins.

I spent most of the day with my head down, trying to keep the room from tilting and dropping me off the edge. I hardly slept at all last night, I kept tossing and turning, trying to keep my arms from falling asleep. I finally got a few hours in, thanks to some sleeping pills.

This morning, I just feel....blah. I'm nowhere near as dizzy, but my head is fuzzy. My hands are tingling. I have no idea what's wrong with me.

It's been suggested that maybe I have vertigo, or maybe my blood levels are out of whack. I've been overloading on vitamins and supplements today, trying to balance things out. I'm just exhausted, and I don't know if it's because of whatever this is, or because I didn't sleep last night. I can't focus on anything.

Honestly, I feel drunk. Except I'm not. That would at least be a reason, and a lot more fun.

I can't go to the doctor because I'm working. I can't miss work, because I'll get written up. So, I'm going to fight this the only way I can - lots of fruits, veggies, vitamins and water. I hope above hope that I'm just deficient in iron or something - THAT I can fix! What I can't handle is getting sick right now.

So, um, needless to say, I'm a Wii Get Fit in 30 failure now. I could barely stand yesterday, let alone work out. I'll see how things go tonight, but the way things are feeling now, there's no chance in heck.

Anyone know what's going on with me or have and fantastic homeopathic cures that I should try?