(The Day After) World MS Day

I failed to post my two cent blog in honor of World MS Day (yesterday). The theme this year was Independence. And that is exactly what I was doing: enjoying what limited independence remains within me.

I walked down the road to visit with an older widow who shared some inspiring conversation; I helped my youngest daughter move furniture; I ate a Ham and Swiss sub at the new Blimpie in town; I grocery shopped; I accompanied my children to the park, then treated them to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream afterward; and I watched a late-night movie with my family. All good things. But, my favorite part of the day was engaging in some physical activity.

What may seem light to most is now a grave challenge for me: playing tennis. Summer recreation programs in my youth taught me the basics. And through the years I have come to appreciate the simplicity of a casual match (I even took a tennis class in college). But the past couple weeks have actually proven how empowering playing tennis can be for my psyche. Who knew?

Each game begins with my undivided attention. My concentration is focused. I backhand, I forehand, I shuffle here, I zip over there, I scurry across the court to make contact; I am in the zone. I win a few, but mostly lose. Scores don't matter. Not anymore.

My oldest son is a true athlete on the baseball field, but he is the super champ maneuvering across the court from me. His skill level increases while mine rapidly decreases. Yet, his patience with me knows no bounds. I am notably the laughing stock, so my success on the court is measured in giggles.

Tennis is downright fun!

By the end of the set, I am stumbling over my own feet, sizzling from every synapse, and slurring my words. The cog-fog is immeasurable. Guaranteed, I will twitch through the night, plus have difficulty walking or breathing the day after. But the time spent with fine company on the court is worth every crippling result.

And that, my friends, is a game, set, match.

Fried Nerves

Quite often, I smell wood burning. Whether I am chilling at home, playing at the park, or riding in my car on a road trip, I smell wood burning as if I'm sitting alongside a blazing campfire. It can get rather bothersome. Oddly, no other person smells it. And since there is no smoke, no fire, no wood burning among my external surroundings to account for it, I can only conclude the explanation to be internal: I am smelling fried nerves.

*sigh*

My Sworn Enemy

Clothing is my sworn enemy. The dreaded thought of slipping my legs inside a pair of denim jeans makes me cringe on buckled knees. The MS itch was something I had only read about, until recently, when I began experiencing first-hand the stinging itch mysteriously creeping along my shins, like a vine crawling up a trellis. It is a neurological reaction with no rhyme, no reason, nor pattern to its flare. No scratch can yet calm it.

An added bonus is the chronic pain throbbing deep within each synovial sac, spanning the stretch of every joint from neck to toe tips, which causes major discomfort when anything touches or brushes against the epidermal layers of my limbs.

Easy-flowing maxi skirts and soft-blend loose shirts tend to rule my wardrobe these days, but I must brainstorm a new line of fashionable apparel which my skin cannot detect. I'll have to brand it MStry Wear...

Sensory Overload

My eyes literally ache and my brain throbs when I see extreme clutter. Things like disheveled placement of items in a cramped thrift shop, walls of shelving bursting with various sizes and textures of bindings in a dusty used book store, aisles of unlimited cereal options in a grocery store, or even tight placement of furniture arrangements decorating a retail showroom cause me immense mental and sensory overload.

My unsound logic for this brutal reaction is simply the electrical chaos constantly brewing in my brain. It can only process so much information. Too many piles stacked, too many colors displayed, too many variations in one tiny space hinder my ability to rapidly comprehend anything.

In that light, emotional clutter produces the same effect. Too much stress or too many dilemmas requiring immediate solutions bring my cognition to a screeching halt.

Just thinking about it makes my brain hurt...

The Post Which Started This Blog

http://inkinexion.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-ms-roller-coaster.html?m=1