Okay, I think I need to preface this post before I write it that I have had MS for over 20 years. It will be 21 in December. With that being said, for just about all of that time, my body has NOT felt normal! That’s just how it is!
I need to say that because my son stopped by this afternoon and when I told him about what I am going to write about today, he looked extremely concerned! I am not putting a lot of importance on this sensation I am feeling right now and know that it will go away. Sean, however, was very concerned and started asking me questions. Sometimes I forget that he does NOT know me NOT having MS! I got pregnant with him just four months after I was diagnosed!
So, jhere is what I was going to write about. I just want to tell you that I am NOT concerned too much!:
So, yesterday morning I woke up to my left hand being numb and my nose and mouth feeling numb as well. My left hand has felt numb before when I was working and I would have to type with one finger using my right hand to send in my attendance to the office. Back then, it was a little difficult to maneuver my manual wheelchair with a left hand that was completely numb. The sensation eventually would come back. That’s why I’m not concerned about this new sensation!
I told my son this because I wanted him to laugh at what my Mom told me to do. Yesterday morning, I told her that my nose and my mouth, namely my lips, were numb. The space next to my nostrils before my cheekbones and my upper lip was numb. My left hand was also numb. My mom‘s response was priceless! We both laughed!
Her response was simple. She said, “Smack it!” How could I NOT laugh?! We both laughed because we know how absurd that statement was but it was kind of funny! She spent yesterday reminding me of what I needed to do or what she would do! It was variations of, “Do you want me to smack it?“, or, “I will smack it if you want me to!“
But, this has pretty much been the way we have handled my gradual decline over the last 20 years. We laugh! I was concerned at my son‘s reaction and I told him that I thought he would laugh at my Mom offering to smack me! He did say that that was really funny but he was still concerned. As for me and my Mom, we aren’t so much. Over the years, it’s kind of like, “Oh, this is how it is now.” She will walk by me and see me clenching and unclenching my left fist, scrunching my nose, pursing my lips between my teeth or pressing my lips with my fingers and she will offer again to smack me which will make both of us laugh!
I also think that another distraction I use is that this song has been playing in my head since yesterday morning when I awoke with numbness in my face: