Quiet but productive week

Not a whole lot happening this week. Lots of flowers blooming since Spring has sprung. The magnolia tree is about finished and the Texas Mt. Laurel with its grape bubble gum smelling flowers is in full bloom. Blue Bonnets are blooming as well. Gorgeous. Louisiana Iris are next with the Indian Hawthorn. Am taking a ton of photos. Most of them are posted on my facebook page.

Gardening in the sun is probably my highlight. Planted out my herb garden with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.. hmmm sounds like a song, if you are old enough to remember it. :)

Also planted dill, fennel, basil, Russian tarragon, and a few hot peppers. I grow and dry the hot peppers then grind them into powder and use in Mexican food dishes and as a counter irritant in hot tea for sore throats. Along with a little ginger to cool the heat.

Tomorrow I go in for the third cervical injection series but have to admit its not changed a thing so far. My hands are still numb and hurting. I might have better mobility in my neck though. I sure hope the lumbar stuff is more effective. This is a tough way to live.

Exercise wise I have walked consistently day after day for 30 minutes at a time. Seems that is as long as I can go, but my speed is increasing and I cover a few more tenths of miles each week. This is some kind of pokey progress, but it keeps the blood flowing and fluids moving and attitude good. I sleep pretty well now.

2nd Cervical Injection

It was a bit of a chore to be somewhere at 10 AM without eating breakfast, forgoing coffee, and not drinking a good liter of water since getting up at 7! My poor stomach was rumbling and complaining the whole time!

And I had to wait an hour to be treated as the pain clinic was backed up. I guess an early patient had some issues. I bet it was the lady I saw stagger out with dilated pupils and not talking coherently. I was the last one of the day.

This time the needle stick in the hand went well and doesn't appear to have blown the vein. I hate sticks in the hand. Hands, especially my numb ones, are really sensitive. The nurse did a grand job though. :) Maybe because she let the alcohol dry well first. :0

The procedure only takes about 10 minutes and I didn't feel anything till I got home and my neck where the Doctor went in with the needle, around my T1-T2 vertebra, is sore this time. Last time, I had no issues after. Today I have a bit of pain at the site and have ice on it. That helps.

I came home, ate both my breakfast and my lunch and crashed for 2 hours in my bed. Phew! I got knocked out hard today. Drank my coffee at 3 pm. It has helped the very slight headache lurking in the back of my head.

On a good note, the sun is out and the high reached 78 degrees here! Wow. I want to go for a walk but the post procedure instructions say rest for the rest of the day and today I feel like I should. Dang, well, hopefully tomorrow will be as pretty and nice as today. The weather report says we could have rain in the morning. Please be lying!

Our magnolia is spectacular. I would estimate about 2-3 more days before full bloom, so I better get photos as quickly as I can. I love this tree. Each year it faithfully provides a splash of beauty in the early spring when nothing else is pretty, before the trees leaf out too. Each year it grows bigger regardless of the weather during the year. The saucer magnolia, given good drainage, is a true trooper.

Neck (Cervical) Injections

Well, I did it on Monday and other than a painful needle stick in the hand for the conscious sedation, I didn't feel a thing or feel bad afterward. Now that its been the better part of a week since I got stuck, I do think I have a bit more mobility and less pain in my neck.

I have recovered from last weeks IViG pretty well even while fighting off a cold and sinus issues from very heavy week of tree pollen. I have walked twice this week over thirty minutes... actually 32 each time and have gone farther with less pain and fatigue than in weeks past. Usually, I wonder if I will be able to make it back from my walk for the last 1/4 mile or so but have spent these last few days wondering if I should try for another loop around the block. So progress is being made, step by step, stride by stride. The UPS delivery guy, fondly refered to as James Brown, commented that he would never know I had any walking issue by watching me pole and hoof it around the hood. That was a nice compliment!

The flowers are starting to bloom around the hood so I take my old point and shoot nikon on my walks. The nikon is small and light enough to fit in my pocket so it doesn't have to hang around my neck! So now I carry poles, camera, pedometer, and cell phone. I should wear my motorcycle fanny pack to carry all the stuff! Actually, this photo was taken with the little Canon 20D.

Next week is Cervical injections #2 in series and of course IViG. Ugh. That means I will be down for the count on the weekend. Oh well, not much happens here on weekends since my dear daughter is 18 and off with her friends, not needing Mom for much.

Had a Neurologist appt Tuesday and of course she lambasted me for not taking enough Valium. I did tell her I did up it from 2.5 mg a day to 3.75. She just rolled her eyes. LOL. I don't want to be on 80 mg a day like a lot of folks since I fully intend to get better and get off these drugs.

She had called the company that makes the "bird poison" Ampyra, and they are not marketing it yet to the neuros. But as she has at least one other MS person clamoring for it, she will keep on the company to get a rep out as soon as its available. Interesting. Well maybe next month for that.

Hopefully with that drug and the injections in my neck, lower back and butt (piriformis muscle) I will get back to more normal life and be able to walk better and best of all, handle the heat when it comes this summer. Fingers Crossed!