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Let’s start with a quick update. I am doing alright. I am finally rid of the lingering side effects from the treatment. I am back to myself, good and bad. I had an appointment with my neurologist a couple of weeks ago and it was informative. The last MRI I had showed an increase in lesions on my spine. This would explain why my walking has gotten worse. At this time his recommendation is to continue on the current medication. And since I like walking, I will. Lol. Thank you everyone for your prayers and concerns. It is always appreciated and welcomed. This post should have been called random thoughts because I am all over the place. These are thoughts I had when I was out watching the sunrise. It is so peaceful and beautiful.

I seem to only write on the weekend which is normal for me but weird. It is the time when my mind is free of most other thoughts. I used to struggle on the weekends as well because I would take work home with me. Not physically but definitely mentally. Now, when I walk out of the door on Friday, my mind is clear. I get annoyed when people ask me about what happened last week. Hell I don’t know and I don’t want to. The rummaging through my brain for that tidbit of information is not on my list of things to do. This is a new week and I want to approach it as such. I digress. I spent the weekend working on one of the books I am writing(seriously). And I even finished my birthday blog. Yes, I know it is a week away, but it was flowing out of me so why not write.

I write notes all the time. I’ll be at work and a thought will come to mind. I will hurry up to write it down before I forget. If I don’t, that thought will be blowing away in the wind. Then I expand on that thought at a later date or time. Most times, it is a much later date 😬. I would love to have a thought and be able to write it out in its entirety when I am having it. I would probably post more often. When I have to pick up on the thought later, it does make it difficult to pull out what I wanted to say. I really think about great writing material when I am driving. Literally the best. Well the problem is I’m driving. Lol. I have tried to do the talk to text, not a fan. When I go back and read it I have a hard time trying to figure out what the hell I was saying. All types of wrong words based on what the phone thought it heard 😂. People recommend setting aside time to write. I get it but I don’t always think about things to write when I am focused on writing. I am easily distracted. Smh.

Some mornings, hell some days I just don’t feel like talking to people. I just want to be in my world, with my thoughts and no interruptions. The energy that it takes to interact with others is just too much. I wear headphones a lot. Not the in-ear ones but the go over your head ones. You would think that if people see this they wouldn’t talk to me right? Yeah, not so much. I like my sunrise location but sometimes I don’t want to talk to the people. They are friendly. So am I. But some mornings I wish I had tinted windows. Lol.

Now this is probably going to offend some people, but I don’t care, I don’t care. Smokers ruin everything. Everytime I’m out just wanting to enjoy the fresh air and nature, somebody has to come into the space I’m occupying smoking their funky ass cigarettes. I am extremely sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke. I hate it!!!! Then the person is usually a damn chain smoker. Which means I have to leave my peaceful environment because I can’t tolerate it. I am saying this because as I am typing there is a lady out here smoking. Oddly, she isn’t that close but the wind is blowing it my way 😠.

Just some thoughts as I sit out here basking in God’s creation. Studying bird behavior and taking way too many pictures. Marveling at every little tick of the sun as it rises up and break through the clouds. It takes between 4 and 1/2 to 5 minutes for the sun to fully became visible. I recorded it. I know I need a life. Lol. These moments are so precious. I am glad that I take this time out for myself. It adds to my happiness.

In exactly one week I will be 42. Wow!!! I haven’t officially decided what I am going to do. I know drinking and eating is going to be involved. And time spent with my closest, dearest friends. All that sounds fabulous to me. I am not doing a road trip this year 🙁. I just moved and that tied up my money. I am not even sure if I will be able to buy my own present. Lol. I want a goPro. I want to record some of my excursions. I guess I can wait until my next birthday. That way I will have my road trip planned out and have something to record. Hope you all have a marvelous day. As always, be well and whole.

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I’ve been writing and not writing. I’ve been experiencing and just existing. I have been sick and sicker. I’ve been living this life which is mine but is truly not the greatest. I always say that I have no known enemies, but I have one. It’s multiple sclerosis(MS). This shit is a true enemy and it is trying to kill, steal and destroy. It is trying to kill my livelihood, steal my peace and destroy my body. And this weekend, it is succeeding just a little. Not a lot. Feeling a little defeated, exhausted and beat up. I know I don’t talk about MS much but today, let’s talk about it. This is not a pity party. This is the realities of living day to day with an autoimmune disease. This is my reality. I don’t expect anyone to understand. Just be with me in this moment, if you can. If not, I get it. I don’t want to be in this moment. Lol.

So pretty much ever since my car was broken into, I have been struggling more than normal. My episodes/relapses/exacerbations are triggered by stress. That incident caused stress on top of stress. I adjust. I don’t think I have a choice, I mean do I? The way I walk, the way I conserve energy, all my movements and actions adjust to make it through the day successfully. I don’t allow the differences of actions to determine what I can and cannot do. Now my coworkers notice every fucking thing. It is like they have a microscope on me. It got to a point that they were going to call the doctor themselves to say that I was in a relapse. Or worse, my mom. Lol. I finally caved in and called my neurologist. He arranged for me to have a three day steroid infusion. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. I dislike them immensely.

To break it down. I have a set appointment at an infusion center. The treatment involves a corticosteroid drip that takes about an hour to complete. I have to get poked each day with an infusion needle because I work in an office and it is more of a pain in the ass to leave it in for the three days. The treatment leaves a metallic taste in your mouth that is suppose to go away after a couple of hours. This treatment, not so much. This treatment literally has been the worse ever!!! Based on this treatment alone, I will not have another one unless I can’t walk, see or function in anyway that resembles my normal.

We tend to think that the medications that we are given is more of a help than a hindrance. Yes they all have their side effects. That is to be expected. But this right here is unexpected for me. I have had severely swollen ankles and legs since Thursday. Limited feeling in my feet since they are so swollen. I am actually walking worse than before the treatment. Brain fog and my food taste weird or no taste. My face is swollen as well but not as obvious as my legs. I feel like the Michelin man. I generally feel like shit. But guess what today is? It’s Sunday. So tomorrow is Monday. And that would be a work day. I am going to be at work bright and early at 8 am. This is my reality of living with MS.

I don’t want sympathy or pity, or any other emotion that is not uplifting. I’m just saying. Selma Blair, who was also diagnosed with MS, chronicles her journey with MS regularly. I know she does it because she has a bigger platform and can bring true awareness to this disease. I respect her willingness to share and enlighten. I, on the hand, just don’t like talking about it. I feel like what is it going to change. I am still going to have MS. I am still going to go through this life the way that I am destined to live it. I don’t know why I am even sharing today. Lol. I guess because it is different. It is a path that I have never been down before. It is kinda throwing me off.

The next few days I am just praying to get back to my normal. My ankles looking like ankles. My body moving in a way that I feel I have a small amount of control over. My brain being able to process all that is coming at it. Me being me. And if you would like to add your prayers, I will gladly accept and appreciate them. I hope that if you have been taking your health for granted and not doing what you are supposed to be doing, that this also gives you a kick in the ass. I have limited choices where my health is concerned. If your choices are your own, make the right ones. I ask sincerely for each and everyone of you to be well and whole. It matters. Love you all ❤!

Ok seriously, it is less than 2 months before I will be even older and yet I still have not completed my birthday posts from last year. Yeah I am totally delinquent. Smh. So since I am aware of this I am hoping to include all the details in this post, maybe.

When last I talked about the trip, I was in Kentucky heading to Louisville. Now I have nothing bad to say about Louisville. Maybe because it was raining and I really didn’t know where to go or what to do, so I don’t have any positive things to say either. I didn’t make any stops. I just rode around. The one thing that I did notice was how many distilleries were in and around Louisville. I mean it is a thing. I looked up the tours and they were not cheap. And I am cheap. Lol. Maybe next time I will take a tour.

Now crossing over into Tennessee. I always like riding through Tennessee. It is so beautiful with the mountains and the trees. Still no actual plans, but I did want to stop in Gatlinburg, so I did 😀. Now onto another misadventure. I grabbed a hotel on the outskirts because it was cheaper. As I walked up to check in, I noticed the step up. It was a little high. You would think that since I made note of it and was fully aware that it would not be a challenge. Yeah…no. Foot did not fully clear the step and down I went. Wallet, phone and me sprawled out on the ground. The pen even came out of my Galaxy Note. Lol. Worst part, the lobby windows were all glass and full of people. Hahaha. Yes they did seem concerned and offered to help. I was okay though. Just a small amount of embarrassed. The best part, the check in person tried to talk to me after all that. My mom said he probably thought I was drunk and willing. Lol. Got to love her.

 

Since I was in Gatlinburg, I had to see the Smoky Mountains. Nothing compares at this point to me. I am going to share a few pictures. They are wack compared to seeing the Smoky Mountains in person.

By the time I left the mountains, Gatlinburg was on and popping. I do not like crowds or crowded areas. I just rode around and checked out the sights. I seen the sky lift. I really wanted to do it because I knew the view from the top would be magnificent. But I didn’t really want to do it by myself. I told my mom this information. She of course, didn’t agree. Talked all types of junk. I didn’t listen. I left that day without riding the lift.

Fast forward through the hotel stay from the night before which was a truly horrible experience to the next morning. Fuck it, I am riding the sky lift. What if I never come back? Then it would be something I wished I had experienced but didn’t. Yep, better in person, but my camera phone did this experience a little justice. Now don’t judge me, but I was really scared of dropping my phone. I seen a bear holding someone’s phone in one of the pictures in the reviews. Right! I didn’t take pictures on the way up. I did however record a couple of videos. I know that doesn’t make sense. Lol. On the way down I recorded my descent. Check it out.

 

Really hope these videos play right. First time uploading videos and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

After Gatlinburg, I realized I was running low on funds. Still had to go back to my regular life and pay bills and shit. Lol. So I wrapped the birthday trip up and headed back to O-H-I-O. I stopped back in Cincinnati and had dinner with my friend again. Then headed on home. I had a great experience and some laughs at my own expense. I viewed God’s miraculous creations with my own eyes and took some beautiful pictures. I seen all the fall colors that makes my heart glad. It was an experience of a lifetime. I did exactly what I wanted to do. I know that it may seem like a lonely trip, but I was never lonely. I like being by myself. I would do it all over again. Planned out a little better, but I wouldn’t change the places I visited. I really want to embark on another solo journey this year as well. Still up in the air.

Thanks for being patience with me ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know how people do it. Work full time jobs, take care of families and still are able to do the things they love or start their own businesses. The only thing I do is work. I would be in trouble if I had a family. Kids starving and shit 😂😂😂. Just kidding. Anyways, be well and whole.