Today marks the 7-year anniversary of my multiple sclerosis diagnosis. What started out as “not being sooo bad” in 2012 turned into “omg, I have to stop this or it is going to ruin my life” in 2018. Hopefully, the HSCT (chemotherapy with a bone marrow/stem cell transplant) I had in October 2018 has stopped this. I tend to lean toward sharing positive accomplishments but I would be remiss if I did not share how progressive MS has affected my life. Here are the highlights...
*I lost my ability to run and climb down stairs without holding a railing (I climb down them still holding a railing and moving very slowly) in 2012.
*2014 was my last year of having what I would consider a “normal” walking gait.
*August 2016 was the last time I went on a vacation where I didn’t need any assistance walking.
*2017 and beyond walking any distance became an arduous task. I lost my ability to jump like I used to and at least a few other things.
*In April of 2018 on a vacation tour with mostly people in their 70s, I could not walk as well as anyone on our trip. More than one person said they would pray for me and others felt sorry for me (sometimes you cannot tell through social media how bad someone is 😊).
*Throughout all of these years I have tripped more times than I can count (about one third of these episodes resulting in me falling). The tripping is a result of how I walk.
*I have cried out of frustration a handful of times usually after falling and feeling like I do not have any control over my ability to get from point a to b.
*I have acquired anxiety about walking from my car into any building/event.
I am so thankful to have had HSCT and have hopes of celebrating future anniversaries with accomplishments. What I am pursuing now is working on getting my gait/strength better. I am working with a trainer/coach at my gym who has put together workouts that focus on my areas of muscle weakness (hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and then some). Also, I am taking delivery of the Alinker (https://www.thealinker.com/products/the-alinker-r-volution) “walking bike” on Monday, which should help with this endeavor as well. Please keep in mind that I am pretty good compared to most people with progressive MS and am about to hit my five year anniversary of CrossFit, which I believe has helped me more than I will ever know (adapted as I declined and lost ability through the years).
Progressive MS is a very nasty beast!
