Ten years and two months ago was when I finally got my official diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. People ask me how that felt, was I scared? No, I was relieved... I finally had an answer to why I was freezing in place, falling down, passing out and going numb. It took 4 Neurologists before one would actually say "You have M.S." something I knew in my heart even as I saw the first one. I was tested for everything they could test for and then some. For me the diagnosis was a blessing... I could finally get around to doing something to get the problem under control. I've learned what causes me to have exacerbations and I do everything I can to avoid and prevent them. It seems to be working along with my meds that I take.
Just five months after that diagnosis during an MRI on my spine to check for MS lesions the tech stopped the scan, went and called in a doctor and they proceeded to put me in yet another machine. Usually they won't tell you what they see, you have to wait for the report to go to your doctor and the doctor calls you. Instead they told me that they saw something in my neck and needed to check it out. It was a mass on my Thyroid. I went almost immediately for a biopsy which came back cancerous. Again there was no sense of panic, just a calm acceptance of let's get something done about this so I can go back to living. A week later I had surgery, they took the entire thyroid and two para-thyroids. Supposedly I have two left but they don't work. I did radiation treatments twice. The kind where you swallow a pill and then have to be in total isolation for days. I was in a hospital room where I could have no visitors... they could come to the door but not come in. Not even the nurses were allowed in the room.. they set my food on a table just inside the door and everything went into hazmat bags when I finished. I did wake up one morning to find my bed surrounded by a doctor reading my chart to a group of interns. I just opened my eyes, looked around and said " Did I die or did you not read the DO NOT ENTER patient is RADIOACTIVE sign on the door?" I've never seen a room clear that fast...lmao.. After two rounds of that and about a half dozen or more less radioactive but still radioactive scans I was finally cleared. Other than the fact that I have to take massive amounts of vitamins and minerals to keep my blood a pumping I'm doing good from that.
And of course my last round with the 12 pound 8 ounce tumor and the removal of most of my innards. I'm not going to rehash that at this point, you can go back about a year to read about that if you want to refresh or if you just got here. I've got a pretty humongous scar from that, I just tell people I got it in a drunk monkey knife fight if they ask... not that many people ever see it :)
I had kind of a stressful week but the past couple of days have been better and hopefully it will keep getting even better. Stress is a trigger I try to avoid. God has kept me here for a reason, I think I know what it is... if I'm right it's an amazing gift if I'm wrong, it's an amazing lesson. Either way I'm here for the ride.
Since here lately I've been posting pictures of my friends and things that mean something I guess I need to see what I can find tonight.
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