Today

Isn't MS wonderful?

From the Air.

Hudson River

New York City

Today

No voice, the "Northern Lights".

Today

Still no voice, typing. Will just show a picture until the PC gets repaired. Here comes the picture. Guess where the picture is, send your comment.

Today

Still no voice, typing. Will just show a picture until the PC gets repaired. Here comes the picture.

Today:

The computer should get fixed tomorrow, enjoy the picture.

Yoga in Worcester, Ma. again

This is worthwile!

I understand that many of you participated in Melanie's yoga class and may be looking for a new class now that she is no longer teaching. I am certified with the MS Society as a yoga instructor and am offering a gentle, restorative yoga class good for those with MS on Saturday mornings starting September 12. Time is 9:00 - 10:00 AM; cost is $85 for eight sessions and I do have the forms available for a partial refund through MS Society.
I am located at 57 Old Common Road in Auburn, MA. I do have three small steps into my location and I know that can be a deterrent to some of you so please keep that in mind. If you are interested or have questions please call me at 508-832-0607. You will have to leave a message and I will get back to you.
Or you can email me at oldcommonyoga@charter.net.

My web site is www.oldcommonyoga.com


Loretta Tharp

Yoga in Worcester, Ma.

I understand that many of you participated in Melanie's yoga class and may be looking for a new class now that she is no longer teaching. I am certified with the MS Society as a yoga instructor and am offering a gentle, restorative yoga class good for those with MS on Saturday mornings starting September 12. Time is 9:00 - 10:00 AM; cost is $85 for eight sessions and I do have the forms available for a partial refund through MS Society.
I am located at 57 Old Common Road in Auburn, MA. I do have three small steps into my location and I know that can be a deterrent to some of you so please keep that in mind. If you are interested or have questions please call me at 508-832-0607. You will have to leave a message and I will get back to you.
Or you can email me at oldcommonyoga@charter.net.

My web site is www.oldcommonyoga.com


Loretta Tharp

Today:

Still screwing around with the voice software and VISTA. enjoy a picture.

1985-Hawaii

Today:

Still screwing around with the voice software and VISTA. enjoy a picture.

Me 1985-Hawaii

Today:

Waiting for the voice software,later.

Enjoy the picture.

Today:

Voice software shipped, post tommorow.

Picturure: My Dog Schubert

Today:

I think I will write about some new therapies that are now being used to assist people. This particular therapy has been developed from spinal cord injury research but has been found to be effective for people who have MS. This new therapy is called the walk aid and was shown on the "Today" show. Evidently the walk aid stimulates nerves in the lower leg and will cause them to work eliminating foot drop allowing someone mobility where there was none before. Here is the link;
Take a Look


Here is a picture:

Today:

I am getting a little more punctual. Today is the anniversary of Woodstock. Thinking back, that was an extremely turbulent time. That is not what this site is about.

Think I will talk about how the heat bothers us and why. Certainly I am not a doctor, but it is not hard to understand why the humidity and heat affect the nerves. These two factors cause inflammation,normally this would not be a big problem. When myelin, the insulation, has been damaged this causes a problem. Therefore it is necessary to stay cool.

Today, the above is difficult, because the air conditioner broke; great timing. It could be worse. Today is not terrible, the next few days are going to be worse. By then we should have another. Time for a picture:

Today:

This is my first writing since Monday, sorry. I still would love to see some other people use this. To me this is very helpful, because you can share with people some of your thoughts. The last few days I have spent much time learning how to put videos on these sites. Success. Because I am using a Windows, Vista, operating system, I can use Windows Movie Maker to make videos. This gives me the opportunity to get pictures from the web pertaining to times in the past and match them to some music that seems somewhat appropriate, at least to me. Once these are published on my computer, they can then be downloaded to YouTube's and shown on the blog. This keeps me busy.

The other thing I would like to share is that yesterday was the 10th anniversary of being diagnosed with MS. Long road! Yesterday was also the MS support groups, annual ice cream sundae party, I missed it. Time for today's picture:

Today:

The subject today,will be "What Does MS Take Away". There are many things that you may have done the past that you can no longer do because of the effects of MS. In my case, there is definitely a decline that can be seen on a daily basis. This decline is more evident to the person who has the illness.

Again, this is an illness that is felt by everyone not just the person that is afflicted. I am a very independent person, and it bothers me when people in my family need to do things such as getting dressed, sitting in a chair or even simple tasks such as signing checks. Many things that we have taken for granted can no longer be done. If anyone can add to this please comment.

Time for a Picture:

Today:

Good morning all! Today, I think I would write about how MS has been compared to the idea of having a slow stroke. This idea actually makes sense. When a stroke occurs, there is generally nerve damage in the brain or more specifically, the central nervous system. This occurs quickly, and the damage is quite apparent. Depending on where the damage occurs the function that is impaired, is quite obvious but can generally be repaired to some extent through medication and physical therapy. While both of these valuable tools in the treatment of MS, the nerve damage that occurs happens over a long period of time, hence the idea of a slow stroke. As I am writing this I can use editorial privilege and relates some of this to me. Next Wednesday will be the 10th anniversary of my diagnosis. Since then, I have slowly declined in my functions. Three months before I was diagnosed I was still able to ice skate, mow the lawn and walk; pretty much get around as one normally would. There were definitely problems emotionally such as depression, however, outwardly I appeared fairly normal.

Time for today's picture:

Input For Today:

This is something that I wrote quite a while ago. Hopefully this information is pertinent. YouBecause the illness is so weird and there is no way to tell when the onset occurs you do things just as you would normally and don’t think twice about participating because these are the normal things to do. In my mind, the only way to tell that the illness was affecting you is to look back, hindsight is 20/20. As I look back I see that certain things that occurred such as doubled vision and balance problems did occur in the past. When I was mowing the lawn I could not tell where the wheels made marks so I could mow the next area. If I were to run upstairs there were times when I would catch my right foot and trip. When skating there were times when I would catch my right foot and trip. Generally these things happened when I became exerted. These occurrences were signs that I may have something wrong, but even though you complained about these things to doctors, it was not found. For many years I felt that there was something in the background that was not good. Of all things that occurred, the worst was depression. It is very difficult to tell whether this is a symptom of multiple sclerosis or just something that is a stand-alone illness, anyway, it’s a very difficult thing to deal with, especially when you don’t know what you’re dealing with. When you’re dealing with a life-changing event there are different stages of emotional changes that you must go through. These would be acknowledgment ,acceptance, and adjustment. Of these the most difficult would be acceptance. I will go back in time and see if stress played a role in my demise. There are a few incidents I can think of that would be stressful in nature.

When sharing the above information it is always important to note that these events are shared by everyone around you. It becomes very difficult for them also. Tomorrow I think I will write about being self-conscious. Now it is time to find a picture:

Good Morning:

The steroids are still working. I was reading, and came across this statement;Recent findings suggest that oral steroid pills are just as effective at treating MS symptoms as intravenous treatment; the primary factor in the effectiveness of the treatment appears to be the high dosage over a short period of time, regardless of how the steroid is administered.Today, I will call my neurologist and ask him if this is an option that might help out. If anyone were to know something about these send along information that might help out.

Here is today's picture;

Results: Solu-Medrol Infusion

Yesterday I had the monthly infusion of Solu-Medrol. Already you can feel a difference as far as strength goes and coordination. Unfortunately, this feeling does not last the full month. In the past it has lasted for a few weeks then I go downhill. It is amazing what the heavy-duty, steroids can do. Is my understanding that they reduce swelling of the nerves in that way your body works better. It would certainly be nice if there was a drug available to all. On this site I have addressed some of the drugs that are available, as we all know they work a little, they are not a cure. Personally, I have taken them at this point. The only thing I take is the Solu-Medrol infusion. I would love to try Tysabri. It seems strange to me that the drugs that are approved for Relapse Remitting MS are available to you, no matter what type you have been diagnosed with yet. The one drug that has been approved by the FDA for relapsing forms is not available to you. Even though this category is broader than the others. Confusing?

Here is today's picture from another country:

Today:

Hello, I am back have had my Solu-Medrol infusion, do not expect to feel any difference for about 24 hours. Hope it works again, the effect is minimal for me, but any port in a storm. As everyone who might go here would know this illness is insidious. It affects everyone around you, no question. I am now one week away from having been diagnosed 10 years, maybe I should have an anniversary party with a cake and everything. My dog has been out to the groomers, he should be home any minute now. Here comes today's picture;

Today:

Good Morning! Tomorrow I get to have an infusion of Solu-Medrol. At this point, I am getting Solu-Medrol once a month, it seems to be working, at least for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of my father's passing. This is significant as this occurred one week before I was diagnosed with MS. During that year, from August of 1998 until 1999. My father was diagnosed with lung cancer, I was going downhill with something, the bank I worked for was being sold; not a good year. On June 29, 1999 I went on short-term disability wondering what was wrong with me. The positive thing about this time was that gave me the opportunity to spend time with my father. Time that I otherwise could not have spent. The infusion tomorrow is scheduled for 9 AM, I should be back at the computer in the afternoon.

I am only posting this, because it does show that there are positive outcomes from having an illness such as MS. Yes, sometimes you need to really look for them, but they are there.

Here is a picture for today from another country;

Today:

Here it is 11:30 AM and I am just getting around to doing this. I have been on the telephone trying to change the times when my personal care assistant can get here. Seems I need to have someone here to take care of the dog. These are things that were never a problem when you were not affected by MS. Life changes and you need to change with it. Here I am giving advice. One reason I am doing this is not only to stay busy and learn but this is much better than having a pity party.

Here is a picture from Greece:

Today:

I am writing the post for today. I think that again, I will write about one of the earlier symptoms that occur with MS mainly because this particular symptom can occur in people who do not have MS. The symptom again is Depression. To me, this is actually the worst of any of the earlier symptoms that occur, because it creates fear. Yesterday I heard that a person I know, who was probably suffering from depression hung himself. This was a person that I have known since he was about 13 years old. He was an extremely good hockey player, fight for Boston College, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks. I refereed a group of players at St. Mark's school in Southboro, Ma. that he played in. This group was made up of ex-division one and two players who were very good, he was one of the best. What a waste. Especially because it probably could have been avoided. Enough negative, here is today's picture from another country:

Today:

It is August 1 already. Of course most people know that. I am just sitting here in my powered recliner, with my laptop computer, trying to make the blog looks fairly good. It looks like the basic design will work. Most of what I am doing is by using voice software and editing the HTML that makes up the site. The content will be made up of things that come to mind. One thing that does not seem to be brought up a lot is the earliest symptom that happens to many people, depression. In my mind, this is probably the worst thing that happens with the illness, because it is very hard to diagnose or see but it is very scary when it happens to you. For all intents you seem to be successful and able to do many things. But inwardly, you always know that there is something wrong, and you do not know what. Would love to you from someone who has had the same experience.