Month: November 2017

My “Checking Pen”

Friday, I had my return appointment with Dr. Moore to discuss my knee.   My Mom came by and when she came in to get me, she told me it was cold outside so she went into my front closet to get my coat. I haven’t left my house much nor have I worn my coat since it’s stopped being cold last school year. I put my coat on (with my Mom’s help) and noticed that there was something in the left breast pocket of my Northface,

I ran my fingers over the pocket and realized what it was. I kind of gasped a little bit as my mom pulled me backward in my chair out of my house. It wasn’t until I was halfway  to Dr. Moore’s office that I unzipped the pocket and pulled out what was in it. Yep!  It was my “checking pen.”

As my disease has progressed,  I have noticed that the type of pen you write with, makes a difference. I really liked using this pen! It glided really well  on the paper and it was purple! I used this pen to check papers from my kids and to write anything! I would use the pen until all of the ink ran out! I constantly would go to Staples to get new pens and I would request these specific pens on my Secret Santa list at work.

I think it was the last time I bought pens last year that I noticed this on the package:

No wonder I like it! I’m a lefty, therefore it’s great! I haven’t written with these pens since just before my surgery. It kind of made me sad because  I always have referred to them as my “checking pans.”   I don’t check papers anymore. This fact makes me sad. I put the pan back into the packet and zipped it up as we pulled into Dr. Moore’s office parking lot which is also Dr. Frush’s office.   I kind of knew what he was going to say because my knee still hurts.  Looks like it probably will be another “small incision” and the “tendon scrape.” My heart kind of hurt at holding my “checking pen” again and I was having a little bit of difficulty shaking that feeling off until it was time to discuss my knee.

Orthopedists = Good Looking

I’ve had three different orthopedists work on my right knee. The first surgeon reconstructed my ACL when I was 17, Dr. Anderson. The second one, Dr. Frush, repaired my meniscus.   Dr. Moore is a non-surgical sports medicine doctor and he is working on my tendinitis. I remember my brother, Jimmy, one time told me when he had his surgeries with his legs that someone told him that orthopedists is the “popular kids” or something like that. This person compared the doctors to football players and the nurses to cheerleaders. Everyone’s good-looking.

I completely concur with this statement. Orthopedists = Good Looking.   At least, my dealings with them. I first met Dr. Anderson when I was 17 when I tore my ACL. I completely had a huge crush on him!

I remember tweeting this picture a while back, before I tore my me meniscus  and posed the question that if Dr. Anderson did my knee surgery and he is touching Matthew Stafford, does that mean by extension, I am touching Matthew Stafford? Because I have a big crush on him too! Dr. Anderson has aged well by the way.

The second  orthopedist I met with was Dr. Frush  and he also goes along with what my brother said about orthopedists being good-looking:

Dr. Moore fits in with this statement as well:

I remember when Sean broke his arm  when he was eight and we had an appointment with an orthopedist, ( I don’t remember his name, otherwise I would completely have put a picture of him in here as well)  because I remember him being shockingly good-looking! I told my friend later that I was glad that I had just got my eyebrows waxed. 😂😂😂 But it IS completely true, all orthopedists are good-looking!

11.10.17 “You’re So Cute with Your MS.”

Yesterday, I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. Moore. This was the first time I got out of my house all week and when my Mom came to get me she told me that it was cold outside so I should put my coat on.  I discovered something in my pocket from last winter that gave me pause and made me a bit sad.  I probably will write about this later.

Anyway, as we waited for Dr. Moore to come back after the nurse took my blood pressure, my mom unsnapped my pants but I kept my compression stocking on  and pulled up. Dr. Moore came in and I asked him how Halloween went because he was going with his kids (3 and 5) and his wife as Star Wars characters. He was going to be Chewbacca because he is so tall compared to his kids, comparative to anyone really!   There was this piece of paper that gave background information about Dr. Moore and I took this picture  because this is what he looks like:

I didn’t see a piece of paper with Dr. Frush’s information and I have never showed you guys what Dr. Frush  looks like and I don’t want to leave him out so here he is:

These are the two doctors working on my knee to make it better.

Dr. Moore left the room to get his phone to show us some pictures which was really cool! When he got back in, he asked me how my knee felt. I told  him that it still hurts and it only felt better for a little while after I got the Cortisone shot at my last appointment. It started hurting again before I got home. He said that  Dearborn from West Bloomfield was not that far for it to start hurting again. He asked me if I used any topical solution to help with the pain.

I looked at my mom and said, “Oh yeah,  I have some of that!”   Dr. Moore asked who prescribed it and I told him that he did. He smiled and was pleased with himself that he already had done that. I looked at my mom and she looked at me and asked, “Why didn’t you remember?!”   My reply was simple, I told her, ” I have MS, I don’t remember anything!”

My mom and I started to laugh and I looked at Dr. Moore as he said to me something that I have never heard before, “You’re  so cute with your MS! I have never seen anyone like this before.” I kind of chuckled and shook my head, I disagreed with him and told him that he doesn’t know what’s going on in my head. It’s a lot of swearing and cursing the disease.

It reminded me of shopping with my mom a few years ago during Christmas time. We were at Target and started to bicker about something  and my mom looked at the lady next to her and said, “Well,  I HAVE to be nice to her, she’s in wheelchair.”  The woman looked mortified as my mom and I laughed hysterically!   I looked at Dr. Moore, smiled, and asked him, “What else am I going to do?”

He said that he thinks the best thing we can do is to have the Tenex procedure.  The old tendon scrape.   I knew this was going to be the next step to try to get rid of this pain in my knee. It’s scheduled for December 7th.   I no longer have ATI so I don’t think I’m going to leave my house until then but it’s colder outside so it will be miserable anyway if I do leave.  I’m having the procedure in Commerce where I had my surgery.

I asked him if I could take video of the procedure and he said I could. I also asked him if I could keep the stuff he scoops off of my tendon but he said there’s not going to be much. I wonder if he’s going to make a sound effect  as he scrapes it?  I’m pretty sure I will in my head regardless if he does or not. I’m trying to figure out if it will be the scary movie stabbing sound or a funny, “Boop” or a,  “SCRRRAAAPE.”  I’m going to have to ask him.

I will find out all the answers to these questions on December 7th.  It’s crazy that it’s been over a year since I was injured and it still hurts so badly! So much so, that they need to scrape my tendon. Gross!  I have a return appointment after the procedure on December 22nd  at his and Dr. Frush’s office in West Bloomfield. Hopefully everything is resolved so then I can get back to Barwis in 2018!

“I Believe In You”

***CLICK THE RED “this commercial” TO VIEW 3 DIFFERENT COMMERCIALS***

(it’s in the second commercial that you will understand why the title of this post is what it is.   I’m going to think of that every time I put this chapstick on now!) 😄😄😄

I saw my first Burt’s bees commercial today.  I was catching up on my shows today (AFTER Good Morning Football OF COURSE!) OnDemand and was not able to skip the commercials so I really wasn’t paying attention until I heard that it was a Burt’s Bees commercial.  I had never seen one before but saw the display at Target or something a few years back and  thought  I’d try it out because it was all-natural. That is the  only kind of chapstick I use now!

I changed from the Peppermint to  Pomegranate for a while and then to Açai Berry when I started working out at Barwis.  I miss Barwis Methods so much that it hurts! Almost as much as my knee.   My açai berry chapstick ran out and because I was not going to Barwis immediately after my knee was injured, I could not bring myself to wear it. The smell reminded me so much of being at Barwis that I changed over  two Pink Grapefruit when I was at ATI. I immediately got on the YouTube app on my phone to find the commercial  after I saw it so I could post it on my blog.   I didn’t find it but I saw this commercial. 

I continued viewing the commercials, then I saw this commercial, its kinda long but I dug it!   I don’t leave my house very much since my surgery and now, I am not going to ATI anymore until my appointment with Dr. Moore. Now that the weather has gotten colder, I put my chapstick in my coat pocket with my gum (Blue 5 OF COURSE! Thanks Adam!) so I don’t lose or forget them. I would always wear chapstick every day and would reapply often, but now I don’t so much.

Watching multiple commercials about Burt’s Bees, made me kind of sad.   I decided to stop watching them so lastly, I saw this commercial  and I thought it was pretty informative! You learn something new every day! I can’t wait until I am able to wear Açai Berry chapstick again  because that would mean that I am back at Barwis FINALLY  and my knee no longer hurts! Wishful thinking!

A Throb and a Pinch

Having had MS for 16 years now, I have  reluctantly started wearing compression stockings all of the time about a year ago.   I couldn’t stand to wear them in the months before my surgery because it was too warm. But without them, I get elephant legs because I do not have sufficient blood flow.   They are extremely difficult to put on but I do not know that first hand because my Mom puts them on for me.

The last pair I had died; they just stretched out over time so when I ordered my second pair, I ordered black ones instead of the beige ones so I didn’t feel like an old lady wearing them.  So currently, I just have one pair of stockings.   I order them from a medical supply store and insurance does not cover them so at $90 a pop, I just have one. Obviously, they need to get washed occasionally.   OK, it’s kind of often.

Last night, before my mom left and before I went to bed, she pulled them off and told me she would wash them and bring them back in the morning. I really didn’t think it would make a difference being without them overnight. I was wrong.  I got into bed a little after midnight and was excited to sleep in because of daylight savings time. But, that was not the case.

I was awakened a little bit after five to a throb and a pinch in my legs. The throb was in both of my legs. From my thighs all the way to my toes. The pinch was in the medial side of my right knee. Exactly where the tendonitis is.   It’s been over a year since my knee has been in pain. Excruciating pain. The pain that wakes me up from sleep. If it wasn’t my meniscus, it’s my medial tendons.

I couldn’t wait for my Mom to come over this morning with my stockings to make my legs feel better!   Putting my stockings on helped with the throb and I hope that  pinch is remedied soon when I see Dr. Moore.  It’s only now, after my injury, that I realize how many parts to the knee there are because so many of them have hurt and still hurt.

11.3.17 Fun Friday OR 21 Pilots

I worked with Greg on Friday and it started with my ultrasound. Emily did my ultrasound and my knee started to feel better! When Greg came over, he told me that it was a “Fun Friday” and danced  around a little bit before he came over to the table. He rubbed my knee and stretch my leg out.

He told me that his wedding was moved up a couple of months and I was excited for him! Emily told me that it was for a reason but he couldn’t tell us but she knew that his fiancé was not pregnant! We all laughed!  21 Pilots came on the radio and Greg told us that he really liked the song and started dancing and singing! It was really fun!

He told me that he recently went to a 21 Pilots concert and it was a bunch of young people like the girl on the table next to me. I told him that I am too old to go to concerts now!  (we are the same age)  I’m not sure if it’s that I’m too old or too disabled, but; either way, I just can’t go. The last concert I went to was probably three years ago? We saw The Script, Gavin DeGraw, and Train. It was outside at DTE Energy Music Theater and we had good seats because we sat in the disabled section.

I went with my cousinnT Shannon, (on the left) and it was so much fun! Greg hooked me up with ice and stim  and I asked him when my next appointment was. Turns out, this was my last appointment at ATI. I have my appointment with Dr. Moore next Friday to discuss the Tenex procedure and my mom reminded me that Brad said we would wait and see what the doctor says.

I am STILL in so much pain but neurologically I  I am not or cannot make any gains.   I was sad that I’m not coming back but I am looking forward to seeing Dr. Moore again because I want my knee to stop hurting!   I guess I will have to wait and see.

ALMOST Forgotten Tune #8

 It was either Kyle Brandt or Peter Schrager who referenced Our Lady Peace on  October 17th on Good Morning Football. I know it was the 17th because I tweeted them and Peter Schrager liked my tweet:

My fame continues! I tweet them pretty much every day!   I completely thought of this song when they said “Our Lady Peace” and just now, one of my Facebook friends was live at their concert and they were playing this song! Well, I still ❤️,❤️,❤️ it  so I had to share!

“Somewhere Out There”  Our Lady Peace

November 2017 Faves

I got a YouTube alert for this song and absolutely loved it! I really love the singer and I haven’t heard anything from her in a while. Her song from the summer of 2013 is my “walking song” but I think this one can be a close second.

“If I Dare”  (From “Battle of the Sexes”) Sara Bareillis

My Read Naturally kids read a story about Billie Jean King as well.

I started watching The Good Doctor 

at the recommendation of someone in my MS Friends group. I really dig it!  I am able to catch up on a lot of TV shows and find that I prefer shows that make me think. It’s good for my brain. I think it was the second or third episode that this song played at the closing and I really dig it.

“Build it Better”   Aron Wright

“What About Us?”  Pink

“Feel It Still”  Portugal. The man

“Perfect”  Ed Sheehan

“Too Good At Goodbyes”  Sam smith

Somewhat of a guilty pleasure now but..

“Look What You Made Me Do”  Taylor Swift