Month: November 2021

So, let me explain what happened last night. My right foot has been hurting for the past couple days, specifically, my right heel. My Mom would move my compression sock around but it was still hurting. But last night, I couldn’t even stand on my foot at all to transfer to the restroom. I had my Mom pull my sock off to look at what was hurting me so badly. What we discovered was a extremely reddened and swollen heel. At a doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago, the doctor suggested I take my socks off at night to give my legs to a rest. She could not understand why I had 30-40 pound pressure compression socks.

So, last night, my Mom and I decided that I would NOT sleep with them on and see how things go in the morning. The idea of sleeping WITHOUT compression socks scares me because I have been since 2015. I didn’t want my feet to be purple like they get when my Mom washes my legs. I woke up this morning and my heel still was aching me but my legs felt strange. I felt it last night when I what is falling to sleep. I thought about my days of being a competitive swimmer when I was a kid. Sometimes, we would wear fins to go faster when we swam. They really made us swim faster but I always remember when we would take them off and our feet felt so strange and inept at moving like they did with the fans on.

I was thinking about that because as I was sitting in my wheelchair this morning and trying to wake up, my knee felt completely exposed and somewhat cracked open like it did before I had surgery but after my injury. I sat in my chair and try to remain completely still because any movement made my knee hurt. My heel still was hurting so I had no idea what I was going to do today. My Mom moved my foot as she was going to take my legs down off of the pedals to get into the restroom and I screamed! It hurt so badly!!! She put my foot back on my pedal and thought for a moment.

We still have my size 3 compression socks that I wore during the lockdown when the pandemic first started. I have already shared that I have since moved down to a size 2 compression sock because with all of my speech and chewing problems, I have been drinking both my breakfast and lunch. So, my Mom put my size 3 compression socks on. They don’t hurt my heel because they are kind of loose but they still cradle my knee enough so that doesn’t hurt either!

My Mom told me that I should wear my size 3 socks until my heel feels better. I am not sure how this happened but I hope it gets better soon! I had my meniscus repaired in May 2017 and that was when I started wearing the 30-40 pound compression socks. Dr. Frush prescribed them. He was the surgeon. When the internist told me that I should take them off and they didn’t know why I had such high compression, NOW I know why! This IS why!!! I need the high compression to cradle my knee with having MS for over 20 years now, that is pretty much imperative! It all makes sense now! oh, but having had MS for so long, my body does NOT heal quickly at all! The skin was not broken and it’s just irritated and red so hopefully with my bigger size 3 compression socks, maybe that will get better quickly but I don’t think on it.

I woke up to a notification that my Target order had arrived. I put it on this morning. It kind of tasted like piña colada but I am going to give it a one-day fair trail. I will let you all know how it went…

Yesterday, after the lights were on the tree, my Mom asked Sean to transfer me. It is one of my favorite things and the world to have Sean transfer me. We get to hug each other! At least, that’s how I look at it!

What I realized yesterday is that Sean has grown since the last time he helped me transfer! We stood there and just hugged. My Mom got impatient with us and kind of tried to hurry it’s a long and Sean said, “Hold on, I’m hugging my mom right now. stand up cogs don’t come along very often!” That made me laugh because he has heard me talk about standup hugs with longing for all of his life!

While he was putting up the lights, I told him that I used to just tell guys to, ”Squeeze my head!” I told him that it sounded too needy to ask for a hug but if I told them to squeeze my head, it was the same thing!

Early this morning, I was having difficulty sleeping so I looked at previous posts from my blog and I’ve read and shared this one from last year. I thought it interesting because I was just talking about this with Sean! I really do LOVE hearing his heartbeat when he hugs me.

I was super excited yesterday that today was going to be the day that I could start using my, ”Ginger Spice” Chapstick. I thought about what I was going to write about when writing about it! When my brother, Ray, came over to make the pies, I laughed and reminded him that he and our cousin Alex commented a couple years ago when I originally wrote about it that they thought it was disgusting because it reminds me of the candy she always had in her house.

I showed my Mom this picture on my phone yesterday to tell her about the post I was going to write. She looked at my phone and her eyes softened and she just said in the most tender voice, “My mom.” I enjoyed seeing her reaction to the picture and I told her that it’s her (my Abuela’s) time because it’s ginger spice time.

It wasn’t even Christmas when we took this picture and we were at my aunt Rita’s house but I love it! It makes me think of the jar of candy she had on the entranceway table around Christmas time.

This was the candy she had:

They didn’t especially taste good but if that was the only candy there, with them. So this morning, I was super excited because I was going to put some on for the first time in a year. I carefully peeled the steel off of the chapstick to release the smell of Christmas at my Abuela‘s house! Once I peeled it all the way off, I was surprised to NOT be immediately flooded with smells that remind me of my Abuela’s house was confused! I looked down at the tube this and I saw that it was not Ginger Spice but my LEAST favorite Halloween flavor! It was Salted Caramel.

I talked to Sean today and I told him about the, “Terribleness.” Then I told him that, luckily, I had already placed a Target order for a Shortbread Cookie chapstick that I can use in conjunction with the Cocoa Mint and the Vanilla Bean one. I put the vanilla bean on today. Sean was amused at how much of a big deal I make all of this but what I told him about the order coming from Target, he said, “Oh good, crisis averted.” I replied with, “I know!” and then, he started to laugh because he was just joking but I WAS and AM totally serious

It’s a little bit of a risky move but I hope that I like the shortbread cookie one end it really has gotten me thinking about pitching the idea to them that they should have a BYOC kits! it’s a build your own chapstick grouping!

I woke up this late morning to the smell of my Mom‘s apple pie. Mornings are always difficult for me and as I was trying to wake up I had a big coughing fit. I cough and choke on nothing now. It’s a little bit alarming but I’ve been doing it so long that my Mom knows just to let me, “Choke it out.” Sean would always say, “Hands up” (which is what I always used to tell him when he was young). My Mom told me that today as I choked and Leia got up and out of her warm bed by the heater vent to report for duty see if I was okay!

Seeing this, made both my Mom and me laugh as I finished choking. Choking on nothing takes a lot out of you! I am still sitting in my wheelchair trying to wake up. It seems that MS does not care if it is Thanksgiving! The sides have always been my favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal. But I am a little bit concerned that and during Thanksgiving dinner will be difficult. I’m #ChronicallyIllAndNotSoFestive.

Yesterday, I had a piece of my Mom’s, “Reject” pumpkin pie and I didn’t seem to have a problem with that because I’ve been eating it my whole life! I’m just going to be positive about this and chew very slowly!

🍁Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 🍁