My Grandson is 5 Years Old

Can you believe my grandson is 5 already?   I so enjoy the kind intelligent young man he is....As he pointed a water bottle at me....

We loved his visit for the Thanksgiving last week.

His aunt Leah bought him a T-ball set.

My son took me to see my doctor in Atlanta 

Parker and Gracie 

We also got to celebrate his 5th birthday a few times.  I took him at our local bouncy house with his cousin’s  Nate and Gracie.

He liked driving this robot

I cannot express the joy of being a grandparent!  And I happily look forward to having a granddaughter by the end of the year!!!  What a gift! ❤️

My Cognitive Woes

My sister Jill's photography
Feeling Foggy

I cannot believe how forgetful I am getting!  When I worry about my brain lapses to others, they say they have the same problems.

Is it an age thing?? Or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) related??

I have recovered really great from my baclofen pump surgery so that’s not the culprit

I will keep playing my Word games, taking krill oil and just keep living my wonderful life that I truly have!  And be thankful for that.....

My New Baclofen Pump

I had my baclofen pump, as seen in net image above, replaced this week.  The battery expires every seven years. It helps my leg spasms tremendously so I needed it done..

This surgery was more simple than the original one since there was no need to replace the tubing that connects to my spine.  My neurosurgeon did a 2 inch incision to replace the pump only....

Please say a prayer for my continued healing from an incision .....here’s to another seven years with an updated pump!

Ice Helps Calm Spasms

I have been dealing with leg spasms forever it seems..  The baclofen pump I have helps me tremendously .....until I get hot.

Spascitisty is very painful but when I cool off they go away??.   I dress as cool as I can.  I turn the  air down til I freeze hubs to death!

I was surprised but happy that an ice necklace helps my leg cramps.  I feel I can breathe again when I cool down!

I cannot believe it’s September and I am sharing tips to survive the heat! 

My Painting Despite MS Damage

I painted the above picture during my acrylic class at our local Senior Citizen Center.

I am right proud of it!  I didn't think I could paint anymore since high school.  I have aged and with MS damage (feels like I have a glove on) in my right hand.


My instructor said I should take it to our local courthouse since they were showing art by local artists in August.

my aunt Sue and friend Marilyn looking at my painting.
It was displayed very nicely in the courthouse

I encourage others to try something you didn't think you could do anymore.....

My Daughter Has Improved

Leah had the procedure done to repair her spontaneous spinal fluid leak,  almost a week ago.

The doctor was optimistic that her blood that they placed in her spine will do the repair as a blood patch.

She has shown me how much we need “normal “ .

Thank you for your prayers.....it can require more procedures so please keep her in your prayers!

Pray For My Daughter

My daughter has went to the ER three times this week because of head and neck pain.

They now think it’s a spontaneous spinal fluid leak??  Which would require a shunt....

Please keep her in your prayers.....she is still my baby!

My Wheelchair Broke My Dishwasher

Occasionally I hit my dishwashers door open with one of my 6 wheels on my power chair as in the photo above.....

I never thought it would actually brake the door and cause the dishwasher to start leaking. 

But in my defense I was always doing the dishes.

My wonderful Hubs installed a new one with a steel interior, hoping that it will be tougher.

Oh well, I am sweating the small stuff!  Thankfully I have a Dishwasher!

My Asheville Vacation

my daughter and I
at the Biltmore

I will share my vacation pictures from Asheville, NC.  My husband and I went with my daughter and my mother-in-law on vacation there last month.

We spent a whole day touring the Biltmore Estate.  The Chuhly (glass artist) exhibit was there to our thrill.

my daughter, Leah

I loved the details of the rooms

the rear of the Biltmore house

Grove Park Inn

beautiful views in Asheville, NC

My MIL looking at the creek beside the house

we rented.

I hope you enjoyed my vacation pictures .....  

Then I got to 

spend time with my grandson whom visited us for 2 weeks!

I will close with a smile!

My Painting

I painted the picture above.  It is the road where I grew up at in North Georgia.  It is home to me.

My painting skills improved since I started going to a class at our local senior citizen center.

The other students noticed I am “ambidextrous“ when painting.  It is because my right hand was damaged by MS.   One good thing out of MS?

I am so happy to be making progress in my hobby of my older years!

My MS Damaged Foot

My foot that was damaged by MS swells mostly in the evenings.  Since only one foot was swelling it did concerned me.

I went to a vascular surgeon. He did a scan of my veins and fortunately they were clear.

The doctor said neurological damage from strokes, MS etc. can cause the feet to swell.

He said I could try compression socks.  However they would be too hot for me.....the heat causes my legs to cramp.  At least elevating it does help.

Oh my! the aging body....have you ever heard of such?

My Furbabies

Donny my horse dog wanting
inside as Dotty sits  patiently

As Mother's Day is here....I thought it was a good time to share my love for my dogs and cat. We spend lots of quality time together.

Bandit is my feral garage cat.  He has been here over a year now.  I feed him inside the house twice a day as the dogs are on the deck.

Bandit wants to go outside after scratching and playing with me.

I wish yall a Happy Mothers Day!

My Sisters Photos are Honored

Both these photos, that my sister Jill took were selected to be hung in Erlanger's Behavior Health Hospital in Chattanooga, TN.

I am so proud of her.  After she battled breast cancer she began her photography hobby.

Therefore I get to enjoy great photos of their travels!  then I share some with you....

Spring Beauty and Pollen

a dogwood tree blooming near
a dead tree

Our pollen count in Atlanta was 5354 a few days ago!   I had a runny nose, sore throat, coughing.....fortunately I have allergy meds.

my driveway

Even if I have a few allergy problems....it does not taint my love for the flowers blooming, birds chirping, trees budding, and warmth!

I wish Springtime for those who are still dealing with snow.....

Our Family’s New Baby

Keegan

My niece had this beautiful baby last week.  Needless to say we are thrilled over such a cutie.

It reminds me of when I had my babies.  The doctors would not give me an epidural since they were concerned it might effect the MS!  At least they gave me some pain meds though.

Me holding Leah 1987

Since I had muscle weakness, I consider my 9 pound baby births as miraculous!

I would do it again, some pains are worth the glorious outcome.

Progressive MS Day

On March 28, 2018, the MS community will come together to observe the first-ever Progressive MS Day!  We want to demonstrate support, offer education, and call for more research to advance care, reduce disability for those living with the most debilitating forms of the disease.

We hope the MS community will join us in establishing Progressive MS Day as an annual event.

As Progressive MS Day grows each year, we also hope it will spur new research that advances care and can eventually lead to medicines that will reduce disability for this community.

I do not have progressive MS however MS can become progressive.

Show your support on Facebook by following the instructions in this Link to change your profile.

My Handicap Smart Cars

We now have two Smart cars.  Hubs drives the older one to work as I drive the newer fancier white one around town.

We hired B Mobile to switch the hand controls over to my newer car.

Hubs installed the rear carrier,
which I appreciate!

I love my Smart cars I have been driving since 2011!  They are much easier to drive than my previous handicap vans....

Picking Up My Painting Hobby

I thought I would try painting again since I haven't painted in 30 years.  My aunt Sue started dabbling in the hobby so I got the artistic bug.....we have fun attempting to paint like Youtube videos do.

I didn't think I could paint anymore because of my damaged by MS right hand.

It feels good to accomplish something you thought you couldn’t do anymore!

Our 33rd Wedding Anniversary

I am happy to say today is our 33rd wedding anniversary!

below are a few photos of us growing older together...

Dating in 1983
As you can see we went to a Journey concert:)
holding our first baby, a guinea pig

1985

2003 Hubs always holding me
 securely

as much as I dislike the manual wheelchair
hubs doesn't mind pushing me

Christmas 2017

We are enjoying this stage of marriage.   I Hope and Pray for many more!