Tune Up
Hello wonderful readers,
Happy Monday! I hope you are all having a beautiful start to your week.
I want to thank each of you for taking time each week to read this blog and share your feedback with me in person or online. I adore hearing how this blog has become a place for ideas to spark, minimalism journeys to begin, yoga practices to deepen, and health topics to be discussed openly and honestly. I am truly honored to be writing this blog, and traveling through life with each of you.
Something I have not discussed on this blog in quite some time is my progress with Multiple Sclerosis. This has not been a topic I have been avoiding by any means, it's just one that has not needed light shed on, until recently. For the past several weeks, I have been voyaging through my third known flare up in relation to my Multiple Sclerosis.
"An exacerbation of MS (also known as a relapse, attack or flare-up) causes new symptoms or the worsening of old symptoms. It can be very mild, or severe enough to interfere with a person’s ability to function at home and at work. No two exacerbations are alike, and symptoms vary from person to person and from one exacerbation to another."1
This particular flare up has been a mix of old symptoms with a splash of new symptoms. I began to notice loss of sensation along my lower legs, worsened headaches, blurry vision, and intermittent tingling in my right cheek. This flare up has come to us as a very large surprise since my most recent MRI showed significant improvement and reduction of my lesions. But this is the reality of Multiple Sclerosis, and any autoimmune disease or health problem, it can hit or get worse at a time that is not always convenient.
I have been traveling through life with Multiple Sclerosis for almost one calendar year now. When I step back and think about this amount of time, two ideas come to mind:
1. This year has been one of great trials, and 2. It has only been one year.
People can spend many, many years trying to find the perfect mixture to live and cope with their symptoms in relation to this disease. I have heard multiple stories of families spending fifteen plus years trying to find their right balance of medication, diet, exercise, and general lifestyle so they are able to live abundantly with Multiple Sclerosis. When I think of my one year compared to their fifteen plus years, I am just at the beginning of my voyage, and that is okay. I know in my heart and in my soul I will find my perfect balance, and in the meantime, I need to trust this process and the plan.
Writing and truly believing these words is not easy.
Living with Multiple Sclerosis, or any medical condition, is not easy and it is certainly not always positive. This is an experience I would never wish upon another human being, EVER. This disease is a constant physical battle that can also feel like a never ending roller coaster of emotions. Some days are really crummy where physically nothing seems possible, and some days are absolutely amazing where everything feels perfect.
Prior to my most recent flare up, things seemed to be going smoothly and we reached a space of normalcy. That all changed in the blink of an eye, and there is no way to properly plan for events such as this. It's a very humbling experience for me, and everyone else involved.
I wanted to share this with each of you on this platform not only to connect with individuals in the community that might be going through something similar medically, but also to share that this experience and these sensations happen to us all on some level. If you are personally dealing with a medical condition, loss of a loved one, a disaster of some sort, or a low point in your life, please know; you are not alone.
Life can be extremely hard and it can feel almost as though nothing is going our way. We can plan and prepare for every situation possible, but life has a way of throwing things at us that knock us down and it can feel hard or even impossible to get back up. Asking for help and leaning on a support system is a beautiful start to picking yourself up again. Also, please know that the feelings and sensations you are experiencing are not something to be ashamed of. You are entitled to your feelings and it takes time to heal and stand back up again. This is sadly not a process that happens overnight, but it is a process that is worth it.
Be patient with yourself.
You are stronger, wiser, and braver than you will ever realize.
Please know you are never alone, and you will always be supported. You are worth it every tear, every drop of sweat, every ounce of blood, every breath.
You are worth this life.
You are amazing, and you are deeply loved.
These trials challenge and change us for the better. These obstacles are the reason our backbone gets stronger and our hearts expand. We are able to connect with one another on a deeper, more intimate level because of these experiences, so let's experience and go through them together. Know that you are not what happens to you. Things do not happen to you, they happen for you. Maintaining a positive attitude and keeping your head up in times of tragedy will serve as your life preserver.
I have decided to view my most recent flare up as an opportunity to find my triggers (things that could possibly be causing my medical setbacks), and as space for growth: personally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Because of my exacerbation of symptoms, I will be completing five consecutive days of IV treatments in hopes to regain sensation and kick start the healing process.
I have chosen to label this time of treatment as my "tune up", almost like an oil change for your car, or a fresh paint job. I am simply going in and getting a tune up so I am able to live a better, more meaningful, and abundant life.
What areas of your life are you experiencing a tune up in?
I would like to preface I am not sharing this information for anyone to commiserate me or my current situation. I am simply sharing this information and this image with you to expose the reality of this disease and to remain completely transparent with you.
After all, MS is the first part of the title in this blog. 😊
Thank you all so much for reading this week's heartfelt post and for providing me a safe space to share. I hope these words resonate with some of you on a deeper level and offer an area of healing and growth.
It's an honor to be on this journey with each and every one of you.
Thank you for allowing me to partake in it all with you.
Resources:
1. https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Treating-MS/Managing-Relapses
Happy Monday! I hope you are all having a beautiful start to your week.
I want to thank each of you for taking time each week to read this blog and share your feedback with me in person or online. I adore hearing how this blog has become a place for ideas to spark, minimalism journeys to begin, yoga practices to deepen, and health topics to be discussed openly and honestly. I am truly honored to be writing this blog, and traveling through life with each of you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Something I have not discussed on this blog in quite some time is my progress with Multiple Sclerosis. This has not been a topic I have been avoiding by any means, it's just one that has not needed light shed on, until recently. For the past several weeks, I have been voyaging through my third known flare up in relation to my Multiple Sclerosis.
"An exacerbation of MS (also known as a relapse, attack or flare-up) causes new symptoms or the worsening of old symptoms. It can be very mild, or severe enough to interfere with a person’s ability to function at home and at work. No two exacerbations are alike, and symptoms vary from person to person and from one exacerbation to another."1
This particular flare up has been a mix of old symptoms with a splash of new symptoms. I began to notice loss of sensation along my lower legs, worsened headaches, blurry vision, and intermittent tingling in my right cheek. This flare up has come to us as a very large surprise since my most recent MRI showed significant improvement and reduction of my lesions. But this is the reality of Multiple Sclerosis, and any autoimmune disease or health problem, it can hit or get worse at a time that is not always convenient.
I have been traveling through life with Multiple Sclerosis for almost one calendar year now. When I step back and think about this amount of time, two ideas come to mind:
1. This year has been one of great trials, and 2. It has only been one year.
People can spend many, many years trying to find the perfect mixture to live and cope with their symptoms in relation to this disease. I have heard multiple stories of families spending fifteen plus years trying to find their right balance of medication, diet, exercise, and general lifestyle so they are able to live abundantly with Multiple Sclerosis. When I think of my one year compared to their fifteen plus years, I am just at the beginning of my voyage, and that is okay. I know in my heart and in my soul I will find my perfect balance, and in the meantime, I need to trust this process and the plan.
Writing and truly believing these words is not easy.
Living with Multiple Sclerosis, or any medical condition, is not easy and it is certainly not always positive. This is an experience I would never wish upon another human being, EVER. This disease is a constant physical battle that can also feel like a never ending roller coaster of emotions. Some days are really crummy where physically nothing seems possible, and some days are absolutely amazing where everything feels perfect.
Prior to my most recent flare up, things seemed to be going smoothly and we reached a space of normalcy. That all changed in the blink of an eye, and there is no way to properly plan for events such as this. It's a very humbling experience for me, and everyone else involved.
I wanted to share this with each of you on this platform not only to connect with individuals in the community that might be going through something similar medically, but also to share that this experience and these sensations happen to us all on some level. If you are personally dealing with a medical condition, loss of a loved one, a disaster of some sort, or a low point in your life, please know; you are not alone.
Life can be extremely hard and it can feel almost as though nothing is going our way. We can plan and prepare for every situation possible, but life has a way of throwing things at us that knock us down and it can feel hard or even impossible to get back up. Asking for help and leaning on a support system is a beautiful start to picking yourself up again. Also, please know that the feelings and sensations you are experiencing are not something to be ashamed of. You are entitled to your feelings and it takes time to heal and stand back up again. This is sadly not a process that happens overnight, but it is a process that is worth it.
Be patient with yourself.
You are stronger, wiser, and braver than you will ever realize.
Please know you are never alone, and you will always be supported. You are worth it every tear, every drop of sweat, every ounce of blood, every breath.
You are worth this life.
You are amazing, and you are deeply loved.
These trials challenge and change us for the better. These obstacles are the reason our backbone gets stronger and our hearts expand. We are able to connect with one another on a deeper, more intimate level because of these experiences, so let's experience and go through them together. Know that you are not what happens to you. Things do not happen to you, they happen for you. Maintaining a positive attitude and keeping your head up in times of tragedy will serve as your life preserver.
I have decided to view my most recent flare up as an opportunity to find my triggers (things that could possibly be causing my medical setbacks), and as space for growth: personally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Because of my exacerbation of symptoms, I will be completing five consecutive days of IV treatments in hopes to regain sensation and kick start the healing process.
I have chosen to label this time of treatment as my "tune up", almost like an oil change for your car, or a fresh paint job. I am simply going in and getting a tune up so I am able to live a better, more meaningful, and abundant life.
What areas of your life are you experiencing a tune up in?
I would like to preface I am not sharing this information for anyone to commiserate me or my current situation. I am simply sharing this information and this image with you to expose the reality of this disease and to remain completely transparent with you.
After all, MS is the first part of the title in this blog. 😊
Thank you all so much for reading this week's heartfelt post and for providing me a safe space to share. I hope these words resonate with some of you on a deeper level and offer an area of healing and growth.
It's an honor to be on this journey with each and every one of you.
Thank you for allowing me to partake in it all with you.
Subscribe, comment, and share.
Make a different, light the way, and share your story today.
Namasté.
Resources:
1. https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Treating-MS/Managing-Relapses
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