My MS Journey – Addendum

I realized last night there were some things that I had left out of my series on MS and its effects I progressed from walking dragging my leg. Next step was using a cane and still dragging my leg. After this I used the power chairs available in stores and then usedin the cane to get back to my vehicle. The next step was using a walker. I didn’t mind the cane but I came to hate the Walker. Getting through doors with the Walker was pretty tough. I tried a manual wheelchair and that was even harder to get through doorways. Using a power chair was doable but still not very easy to get through doors.

A few people look at my use of a power chair and saw disabled person. I never minded my power chair except for getting through doors. I find I can live without my legs and there are many things to assist me in that area. I could still transfer to my seat in the car to drive. So the transition from walking to being in a chair was gradual and I was glad for the aid I got chair.

The next most significant changes to deal with were when I could no longer work due to my hands and about the same time I could no longer drive. Neither of these were is difficult to bear as I had imagined. I did find I missed the camaraderie of going to work and the routine. I did not really miss work, some of the people I worked with were very difficult. I didn’t realize how hard they were to get along with till I got away from them. The sad part was that I missed my friends. Some of my coworkers were outstanding and somewhere my work Angel’s. You would think I miss driving but I didn’t. I miss to some of the freedom that came with driving. I miss going to the coffee shop every morning and seeing my “little coffee girls”. I adapted very pretty easily to losing both work and driving.

The most difficult thing I have had to deal with physically and emotionally was when I could no longer get out of bed and into my chair on my own. A few months after I could no longer work I found I could no longer get out of bed on my own. This introduced I difficulty I really hadn’t expected. Fortunately my wife works about a mile from our house and they allow her to come home around 9:30 AM and get me out of bed. She also gets me set up at my computer stand and feed me breakfast. It is a very helpless feeling to want out of bed and be stuck. My caregiver, my wife, is outstanding in helping me. After be put back in bed also at night. Emotionally this has been my most difficult transition to deal with. I’m glad for my caregivers but do not think I have fully accepted this limitation.

Of course the important thing is that I can brush the cat in the morning now. That does make me feel useful. Of course the cat thinks we are here to serve her. LOL