Author: Jen Rios

I reposted yesterday about my doctor telling me that I had a calculus.

That was last year in January. In March, I had urogram (where did she put hot IV fluid in my body to take pictures of my organs) that was insane! After that, it led to me getting a different doctor and I had surgery in August.

Post op told me to make another appointment in six months, hence my February appointment. I have to remember about it because it was so strange and the very first time I ever had an appointment like this! I was a bit scared!

My Mom stayed with me in the entire time and helped the nurses who were not equipped in dealing with such an infirmed person.

Dr. K wanted to see how my calculus was doing. She had blasted it all last August. But my Mom saw a stone. Dr. K was not concerned by it and she told me to make an appointment for six months (which Jason made for me) and based on that one, maybe I will just have to go annually.

I liked the sound of that! I was thinking about it because I know I had shared this song, but I couldn’t find it. I had shared it before after I found out that I had a calculus. I wanted to hear that song so I watched the video. Man, Chris Cornell looks so rough. And it’s kind of haunting that he has committed suicide since this video. Here it is:

Sean told me a while back that he saw a video on TikTok and it had a song playing in the background. He couldn’t understand why that was making. His heart feel funny until he realized that he remembered that song from From sitting in the backseat of my Malibu.

I listened to the Audioslave CD for one summer. Sean was either five or six. I listened to that CD on loop for that entire summer Like a Stone was my favorite song.

Makes me think of that Diet Coke commercial but I don’t drink Diet Coke and I no longer drink pop at all. But I guess its kind of true:

The following blog post is my Case in Point regarding my life:

Tuesday night, I messaged my doctor a few things before my appointment at the end of the month. On Wednesday, I called in my supplements for the month and I made an appointment for June to see a vascular surgeon to talk about my neuropathy and why my feet are so cold.

Thursday, I needed to update my payment plan for the hospital. And today, on Friday, I readied my pill bottles to pillage tomorrow:

Seeing those bottles, completely makes sense for me and it will take me a little over an hour to distribute them into my pillbox. All of these examples prove that my ENTIRE life is MS. I’m STILL currently trying to get used to it in real time.

At least I know what to expect in this regard. I used to tell Sean, “Hashtag HMS.” I was such a potty mouth?! I am working on that! But I guess this is what I do now…

I just realized that my birthday is on Thursday. That’s my favorite day of the week! But, as my birthday falls most of the time, during Lent. I ordered Easter candy that I will have for myself after Easter. That’s when I will celebrate my birthday as well.

I don’t really understand how this happened but it did. My entire life is really MS. There’s no way around it. Yesterday, I had messaged my internist to request bloodwork and a referral for a specialist and lastly, I wanted my shingles shot. Well, my doctor said we will talk about the vaccine when I see her and she ordered the bloodwork and gave me the referral. I made the appointment yesterday. It’s for June.

I woke up this morning to an email stating that my payment plan for Henry Ford needed to be updated. I called today and did that. I will be paying until June 2027.

I just like that I won’t need to update my payment plan until May because I don’t need to pay extra to see my internist (which I do twice a year). In April, I am getting my teeth cleaned, which is 100% covered.

It’s not until May when I see my neural ophthalmologist. That one’s a specialty doctor! I have those now! I have 15 doctors. That’s a lot. I’m not sure how it makes me feel.

When Sean was s in middle school, I would tell him, “HMS.” And what HMS means is, “I handle my sh*t! I guess that’s what I’m doing now… It just feels different, I think…

It REALLY is exactly the same day. But at least I know what to expect. For example, I messaged my doctor’s nurse last night, and I woke today to answers.

I got the referral to vascular surgery and the bloodwork was ordered. My doctor says that I’m too young for a shingles shot. We will discuss it on the 24th.

I almost forgot to call Erin at Dr. Clark’s office to order my supplements for the month. I did so right after I was done stretching my hands. It was still kind of early.

I was able to watch last week‘s episode of The Pitt while my Mom was bathing Leia. She has been a stinky girl and she still scratching a bit… but she has lost weight since being off the prednisone. We changed her pill pockets to see if that is the culprit for itching. #MyGirlL…

Today, as my Mom was putting on my socks, I told her that I feel like Mumble at the zoo:

I don’t tap dance, but in the beginning, as he is staring downward. That’s kind of how it feels:

I am living the exact same day, day in and day out. I realized that I was homebound in December 2023. 2024 was a bit of a blur but not as terrible as 2025 when I went to the doctor 1 million times?! I still need to write about that!!!

I think that I am somewhat falling into a rhythm. I’ve accepted it. It’s an adjustment. I am messaging Dr. Chamas’ nurse tomorrow night and then on Wednesday, I am calling in my supplements for the month.

I changed Chapstick today. I think I’m still cold so I decided to open a Vanilla Bean until I leave the house in March so I’ll see what it’s like then.

Every day, upon waking, I go through my emails as I’m trying to wake up, I will check Facebook or YouTube sometimes.

This morning, I received two emails congratulating me on my birthday month. They were emails from my credit union and my MS team. So, they aren’t really important things. I did not even realize that it was March?!

After I checked my emails, I checked Facebook to address my notifications and I saw this;

This was the first time I saw this meme and sadly, it can’t be more true for me now! I think I have been telling my Mom for a couple years now that ‘I am no longer a social being.’ I also will tell her that ‘I can’t see past my pain to socialize.’

She doesn’t really get those statements but that’s the way it is. I never imagined it being this way but it is.

It’s just like having a ‘Birthday Month,’ that’s really NOT a thing anymore. Unbeknownst to me, I have entered a different realm. I don’t think I like this very much but it’s happening. I am still trying to wrap my head around getting procedures done. I remember when I would go to the neurologist once a year. I have so many doctors now and I’m going to get another one this month.

All of this is really making my head spin but I have to keep moving…