Friday Blog: Feeling More Positive

Happy Friday everyone!  Hope that you’ve all had a great week so far.

I was having a read over some of my recent blogs and I’m pleased to say that I have started to feel a bit more positive on the whole.  I still have my down days, but  I feel like I’ve turned a bit of a corner and have come out the other side.  So this blog post will be a quick one, focusing on all the positive things that are happening at the moment rather than the negative symptoms and stresses that have bogged me down recently.

Firstly, we have a new coffee shop in town!  This sounds like a tiny, insignificant thing, but where I live there are loads of little coffee shops that are completely inaccessible for anyone using a scooter or wheelchair and they all seem to close at 4pm.  Not that I always want to go in the late afternoon, of course, but it will be nice to have the option to go somewhere after picking the kids up from school or late Saturday afternoon after doing a few jobs in town.  The new coffee shop is a chain (the first for our little town) and, although I usually prefer to use local businesses, this one offers ramp access, non-dairy alternatives and vegan food, as well as the usual stuff.  Having a place to go, even just to get out of the house for a short while, is a big deal – unless I’m at work, I sometimes feel like I rarely leave the house.

Another positive is that I had my yearly check-up with my usual neurologist last Friday.  Rather than him telling me off for coming off the Tecfidera (as I went for a second opinion with another neurologist), he spent his time chatting to me, talking about my concerns and putting forward a plan for the future.  He accepted the fact that I have come off my medication, but also put the case forward for restarting it in the future, if it appears to be clinically indicated.  The reason why he was reluctant for me to come off the Tecfidera, despite the fact that I am likely to be SPMS, was because the MRI that I had three years ago had shown an active lesion.  My neurologist agreed that we could find out the results of my most recent MRI (carried out in October) and then discuss it again; he feels that if there’s any evidence of active disease (even if I’m not having relapses) than taking a disease modifying drug – DMD – could help to reduce the inflammation that can contribute to the progression of the disease.  It’s all a bit confusing, but in terms of ‘bedside manner’, I get on really well with this neurologist and trust him to want the best for me. So watch this space!

I actually have very little planned this weekend, which I love.  That sounds a bit sad but, to be honest, weekends without plans are usually my favourite because it means that I can factor in time to see to me.  My family will be home, of course, and I love spending time with them when there is no pressure to be anywhere or to do anything in particular except just relax.  Instead of our usual Friday night pizza night we have started doing ‘around the world’ nights and tonight was Mexican. We made the ‘Oh She Glows ‘ enchiladas, which were amazing, so healthy and full of flavour.  The kids and my husband had some chicken enchiladas too, but my daughter said the plant-based version was her favourite, surprising me by giving them an 8/10.

Having no particular plans means I’m hoping I may be able to finish off a crochet scarf  that I have started, ready to have it to wear as it becomes even colder.  I also hope to maybe sort out my nails because they are currently looking all ragged and horrid.  I should be thinking of making my usual Christmas pudding (I usually get this done the month before Christmas to give it time for the flavours to mingle) however the upcoming work on our kitchen is putting me off doing too much buying of ingredients or cooking before we it all sorted.  The joiner’s booked in for the beginning of December, so fingers crossed the time flies by.

Finally, I’m really pleased to be having a quiet weekend because of the fact that next weekend I’m going to be helping out my friend at her and her mum’s annual fundraising event for Pancreatic Cancer.  I usually go to the coffee morning to enjoy the tea and cake but last year, when I realised that I could help out by sitting down and selling something, I offered my services.  As a result, I’ll be there next weekend selling jars of jams and chutneys for a really good cause.

There is nothing like thinking about someone else instead of yourself to make you feel very grateful for what you do have and not sad for what you don’t.

I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend.