I Can't do Without...

MY HANDICAPPED DECAL!!!

i got in my first accident that was my fault some Sundays ago.  In my 24 years of driving, it was the first time that i could blame noone but myself.  The right headlight was completely smashed and there were some scratches on the bumper, so i took the car in on Saturday to be fixed.  As a result, i have a rental right now.  Now, whenever i switch cars like that (get a rental, drive in someone else's car), one of the things that i  always try to remember (ESPECIALLY with the rental) is the handicapped decal!

so on Saturday, G and I cleaned out the car, handicapped decal and all and transferred to the rental.  I drive a Civic Coupe - the smaller the car (within reason), the better for me; we drove off the lot in an Impala - ugh - it just wasn't as comfortable for either of us (she drives my car way more than i do).  Anyway, so we hung the decal on the rearview mirror, but every time we put it up, it fell back down - it just wasn't hooking on as it should have, so we just left it on theground of the car; no need to fight it. 

Well we had to park at some time and i pulled into the handicap spot.  I stayed in the car while G got out to get some stuff.  While i was sitting there waiting, it occured to me that i should put the thing up even tho i  was sitting in the car.  Somehow i managed to hook the decal on properly so that it appeared to be a little more stable than it had been earlier, but the windows were down, so that was not helping the cause.  I turned up the passenger side window, but left mine down.  Everything was good until G got back to the car and opened the door...don't u know that decal went flying out the car!!!  Good thing it was with G because she had to go running behind it to get it.  Can you imagine if it had been me??  somebody else would be reaping my benefits because eh no way, i would have been able to catch it.

I can't imagine being without it - i really can't; it just makes so many things so much more convenient for me.  It's kinda like my cane, i can't imagine how i managed without it.

Let the Games Begin!

so the woes have already started for the year.  Luckily this turned out okay, but they have started nonetheless.  My infusion was scheduled for 1/20.  On 1/19 around 3ish (!), i got a call from an associate at the MSCA (where they are performed) stating that i will need to reschedule because a new thing with my insurance company is that all MS drugs have to be approved and they hadn't received my authorization as yet. 

okay, i guess (i hope they approve and are not tired of spending money on me) - well while we were trying to figure out a good time for me to reschedule, we found out that i was out of compliance as far as timing is concerned!  eh??  how did that happen?  the infusions need to be done every 28 days (give or take 3 days)...i was already into my 10th day out of compliance.  Granted i was out of town on the 28th day, but shouldn't the scheduler have taken that into consideration??  it's not for me to keep up is it?  right at the time that i could have started complaining, i realized that i was supposed to be on a conference call at work, so i told the chick that i would call back to reschedule.

An hour later, i called back and long story short, was told that they'd gotten authorization.  i found that hard to believe and i asked that person if she was ABSOLUTELY sure that the authorization was received for me because if not, u know what that meant?  i would have to pay for the infusion myself because surely the claim would be denied.  She was absolutely sure and i went on 1/20 acc. to plan, but i was still skeptical...

hopefully there is not more to this story

My Birthday

so my birthday plans went off without a hitch.  In fact, it was a great weekend and a good time was had by everyone involved or who was there at some point.  For the past 2 or 3 years, i've had to put my birthday plans on hold because of the weather, so this year I flew out and left the cold behind (for the most part) and celebrated for 5 days straight - it was fantastic.  I am happy to report that the MS understood the need to chill out and i only had 1 mishap.

One night i literally took a nose dive into the ground.  not sure how it happened...1 minute i was walking forward and the next i had "assumed the perfect pike position" (as it was later described) and was headed nose/head first to the ground.  But...all was well.  AC happened to be standing next to me and dove in right behind me, caught me and was able to avert any disaster.   Turns out the situation was quite funny to everyone after the fact - the way it happened, the reactions of everyone around, the aftermath - it was all quite funny.

Anyhoo, so it's back to the grind now.  All good things must come to an end...time to replenish all the money spent within the last 2-3 months :-)

Traveling

so why is it that i cannot walk barefoot???  it's so odd to me!  walking without shoes is 1 of the hardest things that i ever have to do!!  so imagine doing it while going thru the airport security scanner!  ugh!!!
i remember when i first came to this country, i was staying with a few friends of Learls (my mother) and they told me that i should always be on the ready.  If i'm going to order something, know what it is i want, have my money ready and order without dilly dallying, you get the point.  so anytime that i know people are behind me waiting for me to get out of the way, i really try to be on top of my game - except of course when i'm just walking going somewhere; those times i move out of their way and let them pass because eh no "walking faster" happening around here.

traveling alone is not a problem; i have no issues doing it - except when i have to walk thru the security scanner!  where is the one place that EVERYBODY rushes?  thru the airport!  Years ago, i had a job there - i was the one pushing the wheelchairs and driving the carts up and down the concourse and it was always so funny to watch people rushing/pelting down the concourse and banging on the doors for the plane that took off 1/2 hr before.  People are always rushing! and then here i come just barely able to walk and stay upright because i have to take off my shoes AND put my cane under the bag scanner and i can't hold on to it for support either - i ALWAYS feel pressured; say what u want, it is what it is, i can't help it. 

Now i do have the option to be patted down instead while i remain seated in the chair but...i think i have a mental block of sorts against that (i can walk so i will walk thru the scanner sort of thing).  I have done it twice, but I'm not ready to make that decision to do it everytime.  So until then, i guess i will continue to feel pressured to make it thru the scanner without incident, while the person behind me taps his foot and looks at his watch waiting for me to get thru so that he can continue on his journey to catch that plane that has already gone!

Birthdays

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday dear Stacey/Graham/OB

Happy birthday to me!!!

Okay. I had planned on publishing this yesterday, but never got around to it. Bigger than usual plans this year because of the milestone. So as they say, "fete now start!"

:-)

 

2012

has begun and i fell already; happened about 12:45am - great!  just great!!  i'm off to a bang up start of the year.

i'm not big into making resolutions or anything like that.  I always think about what the year might have in store for me "MS wise".  in fact, i normally think about that and wonder..."hmmm, will things be any different by the end of the year than how they are now?  what could potentially happen this year?"  last year, i had 2 nasty/scary falls - 1 in February and the other in April.  will history repeat itself this year?  will i have other things to suffer thru?  of course, with MS, it's possible to suffer thru those thoughts on a day to day basis (will everything be alright when i wake up tomorrow morning) but i tend to mainly focus year to year...only time will tell but i am always hopeful. 

Of course, with the new year comes a new cycle of insurance issues, copays, coinsurance payments etc.  gotta love that happening right?  it's funny, now that i'm "sick" i'm a PRO at all things to do with insurance.  I used to think that insurance was the biggest rip off ever.  now?  not so much!  boy am i glad that i have it and from some stories that i've heard/read, i have pretty good insurance too.  i guess it goes back to the fact that i understand how it works and can REALLY appreciate what it does for me.

Anyhoo, i cyah bother lose too much sleep over it.  what is to be will be - i can't do a whole helluva lot about it.  I'll  continue working out, eating properly and enjoying life to the fullest to keep shit at bay but...
Right now, i'm looking forward to my birthday because "they" say "life begins at ___ ".  I'm celebrating this one in a bigger than usual fashion - should be a BLAST!!!

 

Christmas

was great!  oh what a time we had in Vegas.  I'm back at work as usual, so no big winnings on this trip, i spent way too much money, but that's why i work so hard on a regular basis...but oh what a time!!!

so...a few things...

• i was able to rent a scooter (a good one too, boy was it fast!) for the entire time that i was there.  those who've been to Vegas will tell u, it's a walking city and there was no way that i could survive without one.  it was the 1st time that i've ever been out and about in a scooter and i noticed that people generally didn't talk to me...is that normal?  hell if i know, but for the entire time, there were about 2 people who actually looked at me in the scooter and asked me if i could walk in their establishment/thru the area/wherever i had to go - they would always ask G "if she can walk..." again, is that normally how the disabled are treated?  dunno but it was somewhat insulting.  "HELLO!!  I'm right here"
• You "walkers" - LOL - are amazing.  There were quite a few collisions because people were walking and looking EVERYWHERE but where they were going - they walked right into me!  i am used to lying down on my car horn if necessary, didn't realize that i'd have to do so on a scooter as well - CRAZY!!!
• of course, shit woudn't be normal if i didn't fall.  It only happened once and it was in the hotel room; it really was a "good" fall, but it wouldn't be right if i didn't mention.
• back to the scooter...G sped us thru a few hotel lobbies one nite because she didn't feel like walking back to the room.  we had a long way to go and it was at the end of the nite, so she hopped a ride - that was fun; scary at some parts but fun! :-)

here's a better one of our faces...we look kinda weird in the top picture...

All in all, we had a great time and now back to the grind, business as usual because all good things have to come to an end.