It’s been a long, lazy, uneventful summer. I’ve been sleeping a lot, reading too little, not writing at all, and taking way too much comfort in my complacency.
I forgot that MS can pull the rug out from under me at a moment’s notice, which it did a couple weeks ago. I haven’t had an exacerbation in years, so didn’t recognize the symptoms of a flare-up (severe pain in hands, wrists, and arms), until my left hand (my only functional appendage) suddenly stopped working. That got my attention!
Three days in the hospital on IV steroids restored function to my left hand. I can scratch my nose now, give a feeble wave, feed myself finger foods, type o-n-e l-e-t-t-e-r a-t a t-i-m-e with a pointing device, use the TV remote, and even hold a cup of coffee, if I’m lucky enough to get one.
I've also been assigned a series of hand exercises to practice daily. Hopefully, they’ll make me strong enough to erase “complacency” from my vocabulary, and live each day with more purpose and intention.
Take good care of yourselves, everyone!
