Today was a good day.

[WilliamPitt]

Greetings.

Usually when I post down here...oh Hell, pretty much every time I throw some feeble thread against the Lounge walls...it will dependably involve some/most/all/more of the following: lots of swearing, lots of toilet humor riddled with swearing, more swearing, three or four type-written attempts to be as funny as my cat says I am, no seriously he says so...

...shit...I said the loud part quiet and the quiet part loud...let's move on...

But anyway, this post is going to be a little sideways, slightly different, because today was a good day, so what I'm going to try to do is tell the story of my good day while incorporating into this post as much of my usual idiotic asshattery as possible, just to keep things as close to the normal, safely stupid and generally vapid tenor that pretty much keeps me from thinking about stuff like my talking cat who thinks I'm funny.

Fuck. Ass.

OK. Good start.

So my last birthday was early November, and it was also a good day, until roundabout sunset.

Wait. Little background info required.

My girlfriend (together now for 18 months) were a year into the relationship, she was working retail and going to school for her Marketing/Management degree...but back somewhere in the previous May, her right arm started to go numb. Then tingly. Then weak. Then shaky. And since she's a righty and a student who needed to take notes and type out papers, this phenomenon became more and more distressing and disruptive.

We went from thinking it was carpal tunnel (tried a wrist brace, didn't help) to thinking it was a pinched nerve (tried massage therapy, equally fruitless) to wondering what the fucking fuckety fuck is going on here, and meanwhile it was getting worse. She couldn't tie her shoes, button her coat, lift a glass to her lips, or do anything at all with that right arm. It was fucked, and the doctors had no answers, and she was scared and pissed and frustrated and thwarted.

Try to go through a day with your good arm tied behind you. After 25 minutes, you'll want to stab a puppy or club baby seals with dead spotted owls, you'll want to do something horrendous simply out of sheer fury, abject terror, and helpless despair.

Maybe that's just me. Anyway...shut up cat. Shit. Balls.

Back to my birthday, which found us in the emergency room at Brigham & Women's hospital because my girlfriend had gotten an MRI the day before, and her doctor had the results, and her doctor told us to run-not-walk to the emergency room so we could meet with the on-call neurologist in the main hallway and one curtain away from a guy who'd been shot three times and was screaming his last breaths at the ceiling tiles, we met the neurologist who told my girlfriend she had Multiple Sclerosis.

That was almost six months ago. Since then, there have been a few changes around here. She had to withdraw from school, not because she couldn't hack it (she had been adjusting to scholarship with a fucked-up arm quite well, and the diagnosis didn't change that), but because that first post-diagnosis month was all about doctors and clinics and appointments and PT, so she couldn't be missing neurologist phone-calls because she was in class...and yes, she fully intends to go back at some point.

She had been living a few miles away, but she moved in with me a few days after The Most Fucked Up Birthday In History, because fuck leaving her alone in the middle of this terrorpalooza. It has worked out magnificently. I give her a shot of MS medicine every day, we're eating (mostly) healthy foods, drinking smoothies like they're made of Humboldt Kind, and she got promoted to manager of her store last month, which came with (get this) an $11,000 pay bump.

She's. My. Fucking. Hero.

So. Last Monday. Marathon Day in Boston + Sox game at noon + Bruins playoff game that night + Celtics playoff game also that night. I'm out early to enjoy the day with some old friends, she's at work...and my phone rings. She feels symptoms. THOSE symptoms. The same shit she felt when her right arm went to the zoo (tightness that comes and goes, like rubber bands cinced around her arm).

HER LEFT ARM.

She's terrified. I'm terrified. Are the MS lesions blowing up in her brain again? Is she going to lose both arms now? Worse? Paralyzed? One leg, no arms, God damn fuck ass shit piss fucking fuck this fucking shit, let her be OK.

That kind of talk was all and only in my head. I stayed cool, steady, shitting my soul out my ass from fear but the poker face stayed put. She, by the way, was a friggin' oak tree filled with steel and iron and granite and whatever else is hard and steady and prepared to hear what needed to be heard.

We handled it, stayed cool, stayed together, did what we had to do, got her to her MS doctor (who I suspect actually might be God), where she got a prescription for low doses of this anti-seizure medication to bat down the rubber-band shit...and scheduled an MRI exam to see if the MS was blooming in her cerebellum again.

The MRI was yesterday. An hour in the tube. She told me afterwards that she now knows what it is to be a suppository...and, for the record, being a suppository sucks ass, according to her (sorry, had to do it).

The call came a couple of hours ago. The doc. The MRI results. The word. The future. The news.

All quiet on the western front.

No new lesions, no new problems, the sensations she felt Monday were made by some lightning bolts that didn't get the November memo, and were still trying to fly down the axons that got savaged during her last MS attack, and that's apparently very normal, it's gonna happen, so keep an eye on it, but don't be afraid anymore, because the big be-like-a-suppository tube took a zillion pictures, and all of them came back HEALTHY and NORMAL and FINE AS FUCKING PAINT.

Fuck you, MS. The left arm stays. Along with the rest of her, and damn you to Hell anyway.

She's zonked out on the couch in the other room, the TV is still on, and the cat is curled up in a ball next to her. I'm in here. Breathing. Just fucking breathing.

Today was a good day.

Fuck.

Ass.

Someone shut this goddam cat up, please.

:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Will...

I would say, sweetie, that today was not a good day...

It was a fucking GREAT day...

Good for you, for standing by her...

For loving her...

And good for her, for staying steady in the face of such terrifying prospects...

I hope that the future will bring you steadily along, with each other to love and care for the other...

Because, as I recently read: Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

Spoken by Franklin P. Jones, whoever he was...

:grouphug:

[WilliamPitt]

3. I've never had a real hero to look up to before.

She's astonishing. Carved out of live oak.

...and presently fast asleep on the couch with her glasses still on and her mouth open and her hand buried inside a half-devoured box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal that's sitting on her lap.

Yeah. She's pretty much setting the new All-World Gold Standard for "That Which Is Cute." :)

I'm not gonna wake her yet. She doesn't have to be at work until noon...and our couch is ridiculously comfy.

:hug:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Good for y'all...

That's all I will say, so as not to darken the mood.

Rock on. :toast:

[GenDem]

4. I hate that disease

It is very common around my parts and I always wonder why. I have an aunt with it and a very good friend. My friend is doing remarkably well. Has been giving herself the shots for about 8 years now. She has been able to keep working and has little to no symptoms. They say it's not hereditary, yet her brother and sister both have it. My Aunt's disease progressed quickly and she is not so fortunate.

I wish only good things for your girlfriend and hope and pray for a positive outlook. She's lucky to have you.

Hang in there.

:hug:

[WilliamPitt]

5. It has a taste for cold climates and Celtic/Scottish blood. Don't ask me why.

Brain diseases are just so magnificently mysterious. :grr: You'll never see doctors shrug so often as they do when MS patients have questions about diet, treatments, exercise, potential cures.

I hate MS, too. With the fire of a thousand suns.

But it hates me right back because I'm kicking it's cowardly weasel ass up the block and back down again, so that's cool.

:hug:

Gonna log off for a while. Be back later. Need to take a walk.

:toast:

[Ellipsis]

6. Cool Beans!

[emilyg]

7. I love you for loving her so much.

[DS1]

8. deleted. weak attempt at humor before I read the whole thing

glad for you both, stay strong

[fishnfla]

9. Today was a great day for me too, I got to see Mr Baker. He has MS

I'm in health care and I could tell you a million stories of courage. But my point is this: the power of positive attitude is more potent than any medicine...

Mr Baker has MS and has more problems than George Bush has stupid.But you'd never know it by talking to him. Always has a smile on his face, never a word of complaint where there should be a books worth. In our field where people for some reason will complain because the pound of gold you gave them is too heavy to carry, he is an absolute joy. And you know what, this may sound wrong, but because he is such a pleasent individual, people go the extra inch or mile to do the lil' things he needs. He is never left alone in our office, probably because he is funny and the staff enjoys hanging with him. His chart is flagged "TLC" and he gets it whether there is a problem with the pharmacy or transportation or whatever. He soldiers on heroically and I firmly believe it is his positive mental attitude which is its own pallatiative therapy. I have seen this in other patients with chronic diseases too.

I'm sure having you about helps your GF, it shows obvious-like. One lil' word of friendly advice: squelch the talk of that day as your birthday, even though it was. Its over and in the past and its time to move forward and it does no good in the postive attitude sphere as your birthday comes around next.

Peace

[shaniqua6392]

10. You are both lucky to have found each other at just the right time.

You are both warriors in the battle and MS does not have a chance. My thoughts and prayers are with you both. :hug:

[Forkboy]

11. Not sure which of you is luckier to have the other.

My guess is you'll both say the other one is. Always a good sign. :thumbsup:

[KSinTX]

12. Helpful post

My next door neighbor just informed us she's had this for a while. She still works, does things with the family and appears generally perky. I don't know what pain she feels in the privacy of her home but I suspect it exists and your story gives me a tiny peek behind the curtain. Thanks and glad you had a good day!

[ThomCat]

13. Will, yet again I am convinced that you are a friggin awesome person.

:hug:

I am so very glad that you are there with her. So many people just walk away...

I'm glad it's not spreading to her other arm. I'm glad she's doing well and managing the changes.

As someone else who has been losing the use of limbs I can absolutely understand what she's dealing with. It really is terrifying and traumatic. I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that she isn't alone.

I wish her the best, and I wish her a very, very, very slow progression with the MS. :hug:

[matcom]

14. keep kicking its ass my friend

:hug: to you both

[WilliamPitt]

16. Right back.

:hug:

Nice bike, asshole. You get a free bowl of soup with that?

;)

[matcom]

17. chicken noodle

:D

[undeterred]

15. I'm glad it turned out well.

MS Sucks.

[alarimer]

18. My sister has MS also.

So she is on a medication that she injects herself three times a week. And so far has not had another episode. In her case it was her leg that went numb. Imagine not being able to get around or to drive. She lives alone and is so far doing really, really well. She also got a promotion at work and happens to work for a company that kicks ass as far as how she is being treated by them. He new job involves flying around the country quite a bit. She even came here (Texas) and rented a car to drive to Austin so we could meet up. I would say that MS has not held her back much except that she tires rather easily.

I wish I knew the name of the medication she is on because it appears to be working.

[WilliamPitt]

19. The stuff we use is Copaxone

and we inject it daily. It's harder that way, but she wasn't comfortable with the side-effects of the less-often-injected medications.

P.S. Our MS clinic is at Brigham & Women's hospital here in Boston, and they're the varsity in this field. Word has it they'll have an oral medication in 24 months, give or take. No more needles. Woo hoo!

:hug: to you and your sister.

[alarimer]

24. That would be much better.

She doesn't like the side effects either buy she takes it at night and sleeps through most of it.

[applegrove]

20. Sorry to hear that about your gf. Sucks.

[leftofthedial]

21. good for both of you!

What you're going through is not easy. I know. You are an exceptional person. Sounds like she is too. My best to both of you.

[XemaSab]

22. I'm glad you had a good day

:)

[yvr girl]

23. Your cat doesn't think you're funny

It amuses him to keep you on your toes - curled up fluff ball sleeping next to you one day - vicious attack cat the next.

I'm glad your news was good.

[WilliamPitt]

25. My cat hates you

Thanks. ;)

[Shine]

26. I'm glad for you both.

at least she's in the lucky percentage of people who actually have decent health coverage. :thumbsup:

[Shakespeare]

27. A big smoothie toast to good days.

Dunno how I missed this when you first posted it (probably because I spend way too much time on the Monterey-LA hotline).

Cheers to your good (no, GREAT) day, and may you have many more. Better yet, may your good days outnumber the bad ones exponentially.

:hi: :loveya:

At least YOUR cat didn't barf in your sneakers. Yet.

[LiberalEsto]

28. My sister-in-law has MS

She was diagnosed many years ago, and is still walking and getting around pretty well. You would never be able to tell she had it, just from looking at her. One thing she says helped her was going on an anti-yeast diet. Giving up bread was hard, but she found that she got worse whenever she ate a piece of bread.

Will, I hope your g-f gets better and that she finds ways to keep the symptoms under control. Good luck and many blessings!

LibE