Appointment At The MS Clinic
Last week I had a lot of appointments. Blood work on Monday, MRI on Wednesday, and the MS Clinic on Thursday. The phlebotomist who drew my blood on Monday was fantastic; barely felt the prick of the needle and there was no bruising or sore spot. Same thing with the fella who put my IV in for the MRI; barely felt the needle and still no bruising or sore spot even though it was placed in the same spot as the blood draw. Though this MRI took a bit longer than the one for my brain, probably because this one was for the cervical and thoracic areas. I had to lay still for about an hour and a half and this place isn’t as fancy as Hopkins so no music to listen to over the loud sounds of the MRI machine.
The MS Clinic appointment was a long one, four hours total. First, someone came to evaluate me for physical therapy and for occupational therapy. She determined I didn’t need physical therapy but did recommend and wrote a referral for occupational therapy for my hands. When I’m tired or my symptoms flare up in the heat my hands get weak and I lose some of the fine motor skills. Thankfully I haven’t dropped (and broken) a glass since my first week out of the hospital in 2018, mostly because I’ve learned when to use both of my hands to pick up a cup but I still need to ask someone to help me open things sometimes. I had to get my BFF to open a thing for me just the other week because my fingers couldn’t quite get the purchase they needed to pull open the sealed bag.
Next I spoke with a social worker who wasn’t all that helpful and by the end of my time with her I was feeling really discouraged and just giving one word answers. Then I got to speak with a nutritionist and I really enjoyed talking to her. I was also really thrilled with the information and resources she was able to give me about some adjustments to my diet that would be helpful for me. She got excited when I got excited when she told me I should eat three servings of fermented food, like kimchi (or sauerkraut or yogurt), three times a week. I’ve never had a medical professional advise me that I should eat kimchi and I’ve come to love kimchi over the past few years.
Bringing up the end of the appointment I saw a neuropsychologist. She thinks that the memory problems I was having over the fall and winter were stress related and I don’t think she is wrong. My memory has been better since I left Maryland at the end of January and a lot better over the past month and a half since I’ve been able to keep up with my ADHD and MS fatigue meds. She also didn’t seem quite as concerned as the two social workers (the one that did my intake at Empact and the one I just saw) were about my depression levels. She told me that my self-awareness and the tools in my toolbox would be able to see me through until I moved in the Fall again.
Though I don’t have a detailed plan for my move back to the Pacific Northwest in the Fall there is an outline of a plan and that’s enough for me to not feel super stressed. My friends out there are looking forward to and are excited to have me back in the area, as am I. I miss them and I miss the trees. Thankfully Arizona has some beautiful mountains but I wish the heat didn’t keep me from exploring them.
