I am not one to typically watch W5. I barely have time to catch a few minutes of the news here and there. However, on the weekend while catching my few minutes they briefly talked about a doctor in Italy that has found out new information about MS. They mentioned that W5 would follow with the full story.
My dad has MS. He was diagnosed the year before I was born which means he has been suffering for 27 years now. He has been on disability for more than 10 years and suffers from a lot of pain and demobilization. Granted there are people with MS far worse off than my dad it still pains me to see him live this way.
A close family friend also suffers from MS. Bonnie was one of my dad's friends growing up and ended up being the best female role model in my life. I spent many of my teenage years with her and am a better person for it. Bonnie has been in a wheelchair since before I met her 15 years ago. When I first met her she could walk at night, cook, clean, dress herself. Now all she can do is move a couple fingers on her right hand. She lives in a home and cannot take care of herself at all. She is a wonderful loving, outgoing, intelligent person who cannot do anything but lay in bed unless someone helps her.
Any new information about MS is interesting to me as it may mean a better life for my dad and Bonnie. I tried to watch as much of the show as I could. This proved to be hard as it was bath time and getting ready for bed time. During this time of the day with Rawley it is hard to sit down for more than 10 minutes at a time. I did see enough to know that this sounds promising. I was also able to read up on it here: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091120/W5_liberation_091121/20091121?s_name=W5
and here:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091123/ms_folo_091123/20091123?s_name=W5
Turns out MS could actually be a vascular disease that can be treated with simple surgical procedures to open up blocked veins. This procedure is called the 'Liberation Treatment'. Dr. Zamboni has conducted research and found that most MS patients have narrowing, twisting or complete blockage of the veins that drain blood from the brain.
The vain disorder that he calls 'Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) is what sets in motion the neurological symptoms of MS. The blood of MS patients is flowing back upwards to the brain, which Dr. Zamboni says sets off a number of reactions, including MS symptoms. The blood that is forced to stay in the brain is high in Iron which can eventually kill brain cells.
After watching the show I called my dad (who also watched it) to talk about what they have found. He thinks it makes a lot of sense. One symptom of MS that doctors have not been able to give reason for is immense pressure in the brain. My dad as well as a few of his close childhood friend have MS and they have the same complaint. They say that there is so much pressure in their brain some days that they don't want to go on. Doctor have never been able to tell my dad why this happens. He says that knowing that the blood is not properly draining from his head make sense.
With the Liberation Treatment they insert a tiny balloon into these blocked veins to open them up and allow the blood to flow out of the brain. A small study was done where 65 patients had the Liberation procedure.
50% of those patients were relapse-free for 18 months
while only 27% of those who did not have the surgery went relapse-free
Only 12% of those who had the surgery had brain lesions (sign of active disease)
but 50% of those who did not had brain lesions.
This to me is something we should be looking into.
There are already 6 approved drug therapies in Canada that help reduce the burden of MS symptoms. This is great but imagine having a simple surgery once in your life and be cured. The thing that scares me is that the drug companies have so much power. I feel they would rather have sick people on drugs than people that are healthy. It means money to them. I hope that Canada will use their funds wisely to do research on this and hopefully someday my dad, Bonnie and all the other MS sufferers will be cured or at least more comfortable.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pregnancy So Far
We are at 9 weeks and 1 day along. I feel so blessed to be pregnant and (what professionals call) 'Healhty'. Since no one can stop me though I am going to write about how I really feel.
My body used my first pregnancy to trick me into doing it again I swear. This time has already been completely different from my first. Last time I had pretty much no symptoms at all. I was happy, healthy, thin and able to do anything. I wore my own jeans until I was 5 and a half months pregnant. I never once got sick I never had any pain. The one and only symptom I had was later in pregnancy I got a lot of leg cramps.
I read the books; I knew that every pragnancy was different... yet I still somehow thought that I would be just as lucky this time. I dunno like I thought I was a pro at this or something.
Let me tell you what. I am not. I feel aweful....like everyday....what is up with that?
I have the wost gastritis in the world.
My pants are already too tight.
My bra size has increased to some stupid size you can't even find in a regular store.
I am so tired.
I have headaches all the time.
I have already had a cold.
I can't sleep at night nor can I lie on my tummy. (did I mention I was only 9 weeks along)
Everything I eat upsets my tummy.
I actually have static butt pain, which I read about but was like.. 'Pfft Yeah Right.'
I am constently too hot or cold.
and at age 26 Fiber has become my best friend.
The worst part is that I have to get up every morning and act like I am fine because I have not told my boss yet. (I am so not looking forward to that converstaion) Oh yeah that and coming home from work, tired , exhausted, frustrated and stressed and watching Ryan enjoy a few beers. Waahhhh. I want one too.
Now, I do fully realize that in the end it as all going to be worth it. I love the idea of carrying around my little babe for the next 31 weeks and then finally meeting him/her. I am over the moon about being pregnant. But seriously pregnancy give me a break.
Thanks for listening. In the daily routine of walking around acting happy and healthy and normal it is nice to vent to my few blog peeps.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sick Days
Tuesday night before bed Rawley complained he had a tummy ache. We are never sure how serious it is because it is often used as an excuse to not eat dinner, stay up later, get attention.... You know, Same as any other 7 year old I think. So, we kindly gave him a bucket and told him to go to bed and sleep it off.
11:49 came and the puking began. It continued every 25 minutes to an hour until 5:20 AM. Of course being the total unprepared parents that we are there was no Gravol in the house at all. So at 5:25 I went to Shoppers Drug Mart (24 Hour store) to get some meds for the poor child.
Thinking I would run into no one at this hour I left the house in my pjs and a coat. Of course I would have to call the elevator when someone else is in it. How embarrassing. I mean my hair was a mess, I had not even washed my face. I had not slept much all night. You can imagine how bad I actually looked. It was rough. I said good morning and then retreated into the corner of elevator and refused to look anywhere but at my feet.
After having some medicine Rawley seemed much better. I stayed home with him and we spent the day catching up on sleep and watching cartoons. He was feeling better! Yay.
Rawley gets the stomach flu a lot!! He always has. This one was different though. There was no temperature what so ever and the puking was so violent and harsh. At this point I ruled out the flu and tried to figure out what else would have made him sick. Pizza! We had an all meat pizza for dinner the night before and the pizza was burning so it was taken out of the oven early. It never had a chance to reach its recommended internal temperature. Rawley got sick from eating raw meat.
Thinking he was fine we did not give him anymore Gravol that night but that proved to be the wrong choice as he got sick twice more. At this point I was slightly concerned and wondering if he needed medical attention. But by 3:30 the puking had stopped and we were all able to get some sleep.
Rawley was more than fine yesterday, full of energy, eating tons of food and not feeling the slightest bit ill. That meant today he was allowed to go back to school and Ryan and I could both go to work.
After:
2 nights with little sleep
15 trips to the bathroom to wash out the bucket
6 loads of laundry
1 days each missed of work
2 days of school missed (1 popcorn day, 1 hot lunch day)
2 packages of Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup.
our life is back to normal.....or what we consider normal anyway.
11:49 came and the puking began. It continued every 25 minutes to an hour until 5:20 AM. Of course being the total unprepared parents that we are there was no Gravol in the house at all. So at 5:25 I went to Shoppers Drug Mart (24 Hour store) to get some meds for the poor child.
Thinking I would run into no one at this hour I left the house in my pjs and a coat. Of course I would have to call the elevator when someone else is in it. How embarrassing. I mean my hair was a mess, I had not even washed my face. I had not slept much all night. You can imagine how bad I actually looked. It was rough. I said good morning and then retreated into the corner of elevator and refused to look anywhere but at my feet.
After having some medicine Rawley seemed much better. I stayed home with him and we spent the day catching up on sleep and watching cartoons. He was feeling better! Yay.
Rawley gets the stomach flu a lot!! He always has. This one was different though. There was no temperature what so ever and the puking was so violent and harsh. At this point I ruled out the flu and tried to figure out what else would have made him sick. Pizza! We had an all meat pizza for dinner the night before and the pizza was burning so it was taken out of the oven early. It never had a chance to reach its recommended internal temperature. Rawley got sick from eating raw meat.
Thinking he was fine we did not give him anymore Gravol that night but that proved to be the wrong choice as he got sick twice more. At this point I was slightly concerned and wondering if he needed medical attention. But by 3:30 the puking had stopped and we were all able to get some sleep.
Rawley was more than fine yesterday, full of energy, eating tons of food and not feeling the slightest bit ill. That meant today he was allowed to go back to school and Ryan and I could both go to work.
After:
2 nights with little sleep
15 trips to the bathroom to wash out the bucket
6 loads of laundry
1 days each missed of work
2 days of school missed (1 popcorn day, 1 hot lunch day)
2 packages of Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup.
our life is back to normal.....or what we consider normal anyway.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Pictures of Christmas Past
During our very boring non-eventful weekend at home I pulled out all the Christmas decorations. I was in search for all my left over cards and envelopes from last year when I came across all Rawley's photos with Santa. Seriously who is this cute kid?
{ Rawley at 5 months }
{ Rawley at 1 Year }
{ Rawley at age 2, it is hard to see but he has his hand wrapped in bandages and a sock from when he put his little hand on the hot stove. }
{ Rawley age 3 }
{ Rawley age 4 }
Monday, November 16, 2009
A weekend of Nothingness.
We had a quiet weekend for a couple of reasons. First and foremost it was a weekend of discipline for Rawley. I am not sure if it is the amount of Halloween candy he has eaten in the last two weeks, the ADHD acting up, or the change in the weather that has messed him up. He has become a loud, obnoxious, rude, sassy, unpleasant little boy over the last few weeks. He is always loud and obnoxious, so we are used to that but the mouthy rudeness is so not cool.
So, he was told that he would be grounded to his room all day Saturday. I did however let him to go soccer in the morning because if he did not show up he would be letting his team down. So as soon as soccer was over off to his room he went. By the end of the day though we were realizing that our discipline was not working.
I went in to check on him and his room was a mess. He was told he would have to clean it or he would be grounded to his room again tomorrow. To this he replied, "That's okay, I just want to stay in my room tomorrow anyway". Uh Oh! So he did not finish cleaning his room.
He did however decide Sunday morning that he no longer wanted to stay in his room so he cleaned up pretty good, but because his attitude had not changed much he was grounded still but allowed to leave his room. He was not allowed any Wii or computer though.
I think we are going to have to find another form of discipline as it turns out Rawley likes a quiet - stay at home - weekend every once in a while.
The second reason we stayed home was because I have been sick and I needed to rest and stay warm in hopes of getting better. Good news: I am over my cold. Bad News: I think I have a sinus infection. You know when your eyes are watery and gooey and itchy? And your nose is kinda stuffed but more just sore. Then there is the pressure behind your nose and eyes. Then the pain that works its way to your ears? Yup that! That's what I have.
Rawley did play with his Globe a lot this weekend. He does the quizzes on it. He has a certain amount of time to locate each ocean or continent it says. He has a lot of fun and is learning too.
So, he was told that he would be grounded to his room all day Saturday. I did however let him to go soccer in the morning because if he did not show up he would be letting his team down. So as soon as soccer was over off to his room he went. By the end of the day though we were realizing that our discipline was not working.
I went in to check on him and his room was a mess. He was told he would have to clean it or he would be grounded to his room again tomorrow. To this he replied, "That's okay, I just want to stay in my room tomorrow anyway". Uh Oh! So he did not finish cleaning his room.
He did however decide Sunday morning that he no longer wanted to stay in his room so he cleaned up pretty good, but because his attitude had not changed much he was grounded still but allowed to leave his room. He was not allowed any Wii or computer though.
I think we are going to have to find another form of discipline as it turns out Rawley likes a quiet - stay at home - weekend every once in a while.
The second reason we stayed home was because I have been sick and I needed to rest and stay warm in hopes of getting better. Good news: I am over my cold. Bad News: I think I have a sinus infection. You know when your eyes are watery and gooey and itchy? And your nose is kinda stuffed but more just sore. Then there is the pressure behind your nose and eyes. Then the pain that works its way to your ears? Yup that! That's what I have.
Rawley did play with his Globe a lot this weekend. He does the quizzes on it. He has a certain amount of time to locate each ocean or continent it says. He has a lot of fun and is learning too.
Friday, November 13, 2009
What, No NeoCitron?
Obviously it has been a long time since I have been pregnant. I know I read all the books the first time yet I find myself not knowing anything about this whole process. I constantly have to look stuff up. Stuff I should know.
I woke up Wednesday with a terrible head cold. It is awful. I couldn't remember what I am and am not allowed to take during pregnancy so I went to search my books. Turns out I can't take much of anything. Vicks Vapour rub and 8 oz. of water every hour. Yeah that's right 8 oz. every hour!!! If I am awake for 16 hours that's 16 cups of water. A gallon of water a day. That is a lot of water. So I no longer pee frequently, instead I just live in the bathroom.
I think the hardest thing for me to accept is that I cannot have NeoCitron. It is always my crutch when I get really sick. It tastes good, and makes me feel so good and is sleep inducing.
On a good note a cold is all I am going to come down with for now. No H1N1 for me. Yesterday I went to the Vaccination Clinic and got my shot. I was happy to arrive on my lunch and see no line up at all. But wondered if people maybe just did not know it was happening. The nurses that were there were very nice but they were reading off last week's information notice and thought I was not eligible to be vaccinated yet. I caused quite a stir after I told them they were wrong. After much searching they found the correct sheet for this week and agreed that I was eligible. They were also grateful for the info because they could have been turning away people that should have been getting it.
I am so happy it is a slow time of year at work. I didn't want to call in sick and waste my sick days but I don't really want to have to do much either. So, I will half-ass my way through today and then have the weekend to rest and get over this cold. Thank you to crappy weather that prohibits outdoor painting and to Fridays. Ahhh.
I woke up Wednesday with a terrible head cold. It is awful. I couldn't remember what I am and am not allowed to take during pregnancy so I went to search my books. Turns out I can't take much of anything. Vicks Vapour rub and 8 oz. of water every hour. Yeah that's right 8 oz. every hour!!! If I am awake for 16 hours that's 16 cups of water. A gallon of water a day. That is a lot of water. So I no longer pee frequently, instead I just live in the bathroom.
I think the hardest thing for me to accept is that I cannot have NeoCitron. It is always my crutch when I get really sick. It tastes good, and makes me feel so good and is sleep inducing.
On a good note a cold is all I am going to come down with for now. No H1N1 for me. Yesterday I went to the Vaccination Clinic and got my shot. I was happy to arrive on my lunch and see no line up at all. But wondered if people maybe just did not know it was happening. The nurses that were there were very nice but they were reading off last week's information notice and thought I was not eligible to be vaccinated yet. I caused quite a stir after I told them they were wrong. After much searching they found the correct sheet for this week and agreed that I was eligible. They were also grateful for the info because they could have been turning away people that should have been getting it.
I am so happy it is a slow time of year at work. I didn't want to call in sick and waste my sick days but I don't really want to have to do much either. So, I will half-ass my way through today and then have the weekend to rest and get over this cold. Thank you to crappy weather that prohibits outdoor painting and to Fridays. Ahhh.
Monday, November 9, 2009
I Love Soccer
Soccer life certainly has it's ups and downs. Overall all the ups outweigh the downs. Rawley is loving soccer so much and he is really good. He made friends instantly on his team and enjoys spending time with them. We have some pictures but have not had great weather to take the video camera yet. It has been pouring rain and cold most days so far. I do intend to get some video though even if it is just from practice because Rawley cracks me up. Every time he is touching the ball, near the ball or near another player he is giggling. He enjoys himself so much that the experience actually makes him giggle. It is the cutest thing ever.
We don't get to be involved in Rawley's school life much which makes it hard to meet other families and talk with other parents. I think because of this Rawley has never been to a friend's house or had anyone over. I wish I had time to go pick Rawley up from school and hang out with the other moms or dads to chat. Soccer has been a great way to do this. I feel that already after a few weeks we have formed friendships with the other moms & dads. We all sit or stand together at games and cheer each others kids on. We also have time to just chat and relate stories. I really enjoy this.
I never thought it was possible but Rawley has found someone his size on his team. I am sure they are the shortest players in the whole league but they sure are cute. I don't how his mom would feel about me using his name so we will call him 'Tom'.
Last week after practice Rawley was invited to Tom's birthday party at Castle Fun Park so he spent a week and a half excited. Yesterday was the big day and it was a tons of fun for all involved. I even had fun, which is hard to believe because Castle Fun Park usually stresses me out big time.
It was fun to socialize with people outside of soccer. We got to watch all the kids have a great time while we talked among ourselves. Raweley has asked Tom's mom if he could go over there one day and the boys both seemed really excited about this. Now it is time to do my part and set something up so that Rawley can start enjoying friends the way all kids should.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
H1N1
I have changed my mind 100 times about what I think of the flu. I suspected the media was blowing things way out of proportion. Now that I personally know a dozen or so people very sick with the H1N1 flu, I am not sure if they are blowing it out of proportion or if I should run and hide.
Given the fact that I am 6.5 weeks pregnant should I be more concerned than I would normally be? I don't know. I feel that I overloaded my brain with information from Fraser Health, Public Health Agency, The Vancouver Sun, the radio station, my own doctor and friends.
I have an easily influenced personality. I know this is dangerous, but it can also be really confusing. What do I really think? I don't know, because my brain is so full of what everyone else thinks.
I know that I trust my doctor very much. He has been my doctor for more than 8 years and he is kind and caring and always has time for me. He has advised that I get the H1N1 vaccine. So I will. Whenever it may be available to me. Because I am not in the second half of my pregnancy I will have to wait until it is available to the general public.
Normally I am against flu vaccination. For healthy people anyway. I am also against using all anti-bacterial cleaners. I think that having a completely sterile environment is not healthy because we need a certain level of bad bacteria to make our immune systems stronger. This is also why I am a believer of the 5 second rule for most food. I don't expect you all to agree with me, I am just saying....
Anyway, I have gotten off track. Because I would normally not get a flu shot, I really was not sure what to do about this H1N1. But having heard from and seen those of you that have it I really don't want it. I feel crappy enough with morning (all day) sickness and gastritis I could stand to skip this ugly flu.
So, until the H1N1 vaccine is available to me I will continue to wash my hands a ridiculous amount of times, I will not share drinks or food, I will not kiss or hug those with flu-like or cold symptoms Including my own family. Sorry Boys!
Cheers to Craptacular Flu Season!!!!
Given the fact that I am 6.5 weeks pregnant should I be more concerned than I would normally be? I don't know. I feel that I overloaded my brain with information from Fraser Health, Public Health Agency, The Vancouver Sun, the radio station, my own doctor and friends.
I have an easily influenced personality. I know this is dangerous, but it can also be really confusing. What do I really think? I don't know, because my brain is so full of what everyone else thinks.
I know that I trust my doctor very much. He has been my doctor for more than 8 years and he is kind and caring and always has time for me. He has advised that I get the H1N1 vaccine. So I will. Whenever it may be available to me. Because I am not in the second half of my pregnancy I will have to wait until it is available to the general public.
Normally I am against flu vaccination. For healthy people anyway. I am also against using all anti-bacterial cleaners. I think that having a completely sterile environment is not healthy because we need a certain level of bad bacteria to make our immune systems stronger. This is also why I am a believer of the 5 second rule for most food. I don't expect you all to agree with me, I am just saying....
Anyway, I have gotten off track. Because I would normally not get a flu shot, I really was not sure what to do about this H1N1. But having heard from and seen those of you that have it I really don't want it. I feel crappy enough with morning (all day) sickness and gastritis I could stand to skip this ugly flu.
So, until the H1N1 vaccine is available to me I will continue to wash my hands a ridiculous amount of times, I will not share drinks or food, I will not kiss or hug those with flu-like or cold symptoms Including my own family. Sorry Boys!
Cheers to Craptacular Flu Season!!!!
