MS Walk

Dad and I just finished the MS Walk. Actually we walked yesterday but we went to a different site today. Yesterday we walked at Legoland. It is an amusement park with everything made of legos. It was pretty neat to see how creative they were. There was a very large dragon that was so colorful and realistic but made of legos. Fantastic! The walk by the way had about 3,000 people.

Today it was onto San Diego. This is their largest walk. There was over 5,000 people and many dogs, and kids, and babies in strollers, and the different teams with the different shirts or makeup or hats. It was amazing how many people turned out. I don't know how much was raised yet. Last year the walks brought in about 2 million. I know they wanted to do more.

Dad and I did not walk today but stayed at a booth for the Champions Against MS. This booth is set up for people who do not have a connection to anyone with MS and would like to know who they can walk for. A team came to the booth and asked for someone and I was chosen. Someone else placed my name on the Wall of Hope. Usually the Society will send out stories of the Champions to the teams or others who want to walk for someone but do not know anyone. The story gives the person or persons a little background on the person, when they were diagnosed, etc. I have been a Champion for about 3 years now.

Thank you Jon for doing the bike ride. Someday there will be a cure.

New Haircut

I went and got my hair cut yesterday. I needed to do something different with my hair as it seemed to be out of control. The hairdresser cut the sides shorter and took the weight off the back. The length was kept but it doesn't look it was. I am happy with it but the true test will happen when I actually work with it. I bought the moose and the hair spray. Now if I can manage to use these things. : )

Physical Therapy Part 2

i had another session today. It went pretty well. They do things a little different than the other places I have been at and I like it. They have a machine that can record your movements and tell the therapist what areas need to worked on by the person looking at the print out.

It was decided, and I knew this all along, that I do have problems with both my right and left sides. The doctor keeps telling me that my left side is weaker but I also have problems with my right leg. This just means I need to really work on both sides. I am hard on myself when I am slow at doing something but everything will take time. I have to stay patient and continue to work at the excersises.

Easier said than done! Frustration, feeling sorry for myself, wanting to give up before I give it a chance, just wanting a cheering squad when I do something right. I know I have done somethings that others have not but I just want that "pat on the back".

I will get through it. I just miss not being able to be "normal" and doing things that I want to do when I want to do them.

It just takes time.....remember that....it takes time!

No Beard!

Dad decided to shave his beard while we were in Florida. He came to this decision when he was receiving comments from family about how old he was looking. Dad had received the opposite when he was in California. People here told him he looked destinquised. He looked good. They like it the beard. So it was a complete surprise to hear the comments that it made him look old. This is not something you tell Dad -- you look old.

So after we saw his mom, Dad made the decision to shave. He still asked if I was OK with it but I just told him it was up to him. As we didn't have shave cream, he used hair conditioner. I read this in a magazine that you can use this for any kind of shaving. Anyway, he shaved and he did look different.

Now that he has been "beard free" for almost a week now, I like him better this way.

CHESTER

We just got back from the vet this morning. We took Chester in because he has been throwing up quite a bit lately. He does have a problem with his kidneys and that is why he is on special diet cat food for his kidneys. Its a little expensive when you can buy a bag of cat food for cheaper but he is only one cat so the bag lasts for a while.

The vet needed to do some blood work and check his blood pressure. He has high blood pressure so we have to give him some medicine everyday for that. He needs to take Pepsid AC, 1/2 tab everyday for his stomach to help with his throwing up. This visit costs us almost $300.

As much as we love Chester, the vet bills are becoming quite high. We just paid out a little over $500 in October for this same problem. It may be getting to be his time. There is nothing the vet can do except maintain him. He isn't going to get well from this problem. He is in renal failure.

Chester could live for some time being maintained but I am not sure we can continue paying out the huge vet bills to do it. We will have to see what happens with him. Just be prepared if we have to put him down. I guess that is for me too.

Physical Therapy

I have started on physical therapy to get some strength in my legs and hopefully to lose some weight too. I have a problem with doing the regular exercises because I can't get overheated as it will affect my legs. My legs will get "heavy" feeling and it becomes difficult to walk. The foot catches on things as I walk and makes one feel that you will fall. I haven't but the feeling is there and it is scary.

So I am going to a new place and so far it seems very nice. I was just evaluated today and given some exercises to do at home. I will go twice a week.

I have been doing so well for so long that when my legs started to act up on me again, it came as a big surprise. I did have a cold a few weeks ago and usually that will bring on a problem. I guess my body wanted to stay to form. : )

The problem isn't real bad so I am hoping that I have caught it before it did progress. If it does progress, then I will contact the doctor and ask for a dosage of steroid to stop things. I am hoping it doesn't come to that.

It is a rainy day today. Our winter just came late - rain is like your snow on the east coast. Crazy weather!

The Wedding

It was a long day but a sunny one for the wedding. It was an evening wedding so Uncle Phil, Aunt Linda, Dad and I had time to kill before we had to be at the country club that evening. Aunt Karen was able to get Aunt Linda and I hair appointments just to have our hair done (washed and blown out). The brides and bridesmaids were to get their hair done at a hairdresser in West Palm Beach. When someone called about the appointment, they were informed that the hairdresser was out of the country. WHAT! The hairdresser that the wedding party did a trial run with and had everything worked out was not even in the country now to do anyone's hair. Aunt Karen had to call her hairdresser and ask if she could bring the bride and the b-maids down to have their hair done because of this problem. It was worked out and the first person to get started was at 9:00. One person worked on the bride and the matron of honor. One worked on another bridesmaid and the mother of the bride (Aunt Karen) and still another worked on the other two bridesmaids.

Aunt Linda and I had our appointments at 12 and 12:30 but we didn't get started until 1 and 1:30. Everything still turned out well. While all the hair appointments were taking place, the dresses were in our rooms at the hotel so they didn't wrinkle staying in the car.

The wedding was not to take place until 6:30 but Uncle Phil, Aunt Linda, Dad and I had left the hotel early because we did not know how far away the country club was going to be. It turned out to only be about 15-20 minutes away. We were VERY early. Linda and I went back to the brides room and saw the bride and maids getting dressed (which most were). We didn't stay there too long and left to meet up with the guys. We went in the room that was set up for the ceremony and took a seat.

The wedding was delayed by about a half hour. Aunt Karen's make-up was the last to be finished (yes, they had a make-up artist) and it was delayed because the photographers were in taking pictures of everything. Karen finally had to tell them to leave so they could finish getting ready. The groom and best man came out to the sounds of the Star Wars Theme. Jeff, the groom, is very much into Star Wars. The traditional wedding march was not played but another selection when the bride came down the aisle.

The ceremony was quick. Because Jeff is Jewish, he broke a glass at the end to signify the beginning of the marriage.

We then moved next door to have some appitizers and drinks while the room was transferred into dining tables and the band set up. Once they were finished, we were asked back. When we arrived at the wedding and signed the guest book, we were asked to pick up our sitting place name tags. They were a small photo frame which we could keep and use as a small gift to the people attending. This was different and a nice touch.

The reception was handled in a different way. The meal was eaten all through out the evening. In between courses was dancing. We didn't eat the main course until 10:00 p.m. We finally left for the hotel around 11:30-45. The bride and groom were still there!

As rice or flower petals could not be thrown, bubbles were used. The bubbles were made up of alcohol and water. It was done this way so the floor would not get slippery when the bubbles hit the floor. Normally bubbles are made of soap and water. We never thought of that but it worked out great.

Jessica and Jeff flew to California for their honeymoon. They were going to Disneyland and the Chinese Theatre. They had also planned to fly to Las Vegas to see the hotels and a couple of shows. They would fly back to Los Angles and then back to Florida on Friday.

The pictures will be posted soon. What a busy few days!

We Are Home

Well, we made it back home. It took a little while because there was a delay in Dallas. It was raining and the flights were backed up on the runway. We sat on the runway for about 20 minutes after waiting to board for about 45 minutes. We initially were told that we were going back to the terminal because someone wanted to get off the plane. If that had happened, it would be another 45 minutes before we could get on our way. Well, John Wayne Airport has an ordinance that flights have to stop after 10:00 pm. This is because of the neighborhoods around the airport and the noise. So we had to really leave or we would not have had a chance to reach the airport that day. We started back to the terminal or so we thought. The next thing we hear from the pilot is that everyone needed to get ready for take-off. We were on our way! We made it home about 30 minutes late. Not to bad. If anyone is going to fly American Airlines, just know that they charge for their snacks - $3.00 a piece. They have a large container of chips, M&M's (not the largest bag), a large snickerdoodle cookie, and a trail mix. You can get your own bottled water for $2. If the flight is over 3 hours, then you will have the ability to buy a sandwich for $5. You still get soft drinks for free - the whole can. You can take food on the plane.

Also take your own headphones. They charge $2 for theirs. You can watch some TV but you don't have an option to see anything but what they show you. We did get to see a movie, "The Holiday", on the way back. It was good - chick flick of course but still good. Dad didn't watch but was engrossed in Sudoko.

I was so happy to land without my ears hurting or clogged up for awhile. They were great - no problems and I didn't have to drink a bunch of water. Jenn you know the feeling.

We are home and trying to get back into routine and to catch up on things.

Travel Day

We are all packed and about ready to leave for the airport. It didn't take us long to get things organized I guess because we have traveled so many times that we have it down. I bought a new camera for the trip - a Casio Exilim EX-Z850. It is a small camera which is what we were looking for and it also has the motion stabilization.

Hey, hey, I received a copy of the show that I was interviewed for here for the MS Walk. We have it as a DVD/CD type so everyone should be able to see it (if we remember to bring it - : ) ). We will when we see you in May.

Everyone can reach us on my cell phone. I will have it on, honest! It sounds like it will be a busy time when we are there as I talked to Aunt Karen tonight. She had to get a different hair dresser to do the brides and brides maids hair because the one she had set up, the person left the country. So the hair dresser she found is Karen's. So starting at 9:00 on Saturday, the bride and bridesmaids will have their hair done. Karen will get her hair done by 11:30. I will have mine done at 12:00 and then Aunt Linda at 12:30. The wedding is not until 6:30 but Karen and the group has to be at the country club by 2:00 for a rehersal and then make-up and photos. Busy time. Thank goodness we are not involved in all that.

I will let everyone know what happens when we get back.

New Beginning

This is a new thing for me. I usually write in a journal. The day started off foggy but the sun is appearing and it is to be a wonderful day. We will be finishing up some last minute things today so we can leave for a wedding tomorrow. I have to stay organized or I will not get everything done. Where is my list?

I have joined the "blog brigade".