So in about 10 hours my little sister will be flying in for her wedding week!! And in 1 week she will be getting married!
Our house has become a wedding planning station, with projects scattered throughout. My mom is quite the creative lady and has taken ideas and pinterest pins and made them into a wedding reality.
To honor this occasion I will be spending the next week and so sharing all the wedding details. The DIY's, the flowers, the fashion, the families, the friends, the love, how to survive a wedding MS style...no details will be spared.
But before the wedding weekend begins I thought I'd do a quick Sparkle Life Check. And, lastly, to share a big life changing update.
So, how am I doing?
It depends on the day. (: I have noticed people become frustrated by this answer but it is true...every day is so different from the one prior. Wednesday was an awful, pathetic, fall down and cry in your closet day. Thursday I was able to do my hair, put on cute clothes and go run errands for the afternoon.
My speech has been the disability that has improved the most. Im starting to sound more like myself which is just lovely. I have moments to a slight stutter (oh so sexy) and pauses but overall the biggest improvement.
Im walking with 1 arm crutch again and doing a mighty fine job at it. Why do I use the arm crutch? Mostly because of my balance issues. Any moment I can topple over; to make life a little safer, having the third support system helps balance the ground out.
I have no feeling in my feet. Weirdest thing. This can be dangerous (ie I cant feel pain) but overall I'm getting the hang of it. Walking without being able to feel your feet is quite an adventure. Since I cant feel the ground, I have to tell my feet what to do and really pay attention to where I'm stepping. So far this MS journey I've had to relearn how to walk twice. Yes, Im super woman.
Fatigue and Insomnia...I have them both. I fight to stay awake during the day and I lay in bed at night wide awake. It's not fun.
I still have the Parkinson like tremors but they are mildly tuned down...when I remember to take my medicine. I still am extremely cautious when reaching for things and holding things. The muscle strength is there...its getting the signals from my brain to my arms that is the hard part.
Two things that I have found extremely useful in my life: massage and exercise. I've found a great masseuse who incorporates stretching into the routine. Due to the tremors my body tenses quite a lot, meaning it stresses my body in certain areas (shoulders and neck mostly). Stretching helps with the tension.
So does yoga (highly recommend) and exercising. Ive been cycling on the indoor recumbent for about an hour a day at a low resistance. What a tremendous improvement I have seen in my leg muscles! Bike MS, here I come!
(For more information, http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/PAEBikeEvents?team_id=349549&pg=team&fr_id=20331).
I could list more areas of annoyance or troubles but I'm pretty bored at this point. Let it be a reminder that MS affects the whole body, not just one area. It's so awesome like that.
And last, as promised, my big life changing update.
The Sparkled Life is saying goodbye to gluten.
I will be posting more about this in the future but am putting it out there now in hopes that it will return some tips and encouragements.
A few weeks ago I had a blood test for gluten intolerance and I received the results yesterday. It was a Cyrex Gluten Test, which is considered one of the best (if you ever consider testing for gluten intolerance, I would highly suggest this test. Though expensive, it is one of the most intensive and thorough tests). The results showed that I have a severe level of gluten intolerance. Yay!!
To celebrate this news I had some pizza and oreos and started my gluten free journey today.
So there you have it...this month's sparkle life check. Stay tuned for wedding bells!!!
Love,
PS: For those Starbucks lovers out there, I discovered a fabulous new drink today:
Iced Caramel Macchiato, 1 pump vanilla, 1 pump raspberry, Soy, upside down. Delicious!