Category Archives: Daily Life

Mar 20 2015
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Daily Life

On A Roll …

baconFantabulous news: my latest MRI scan shows no new lesions.

The new neuro I saw said I was experiencing ‘paroxysms’ of MS. Not heard before, so I did what most of us do and googled it when I got home.

In other news, life continues as normal:

  • My once semi-eloquent speech is still garbled and unintentionally hilarious.
  • My brand new suede boots are scuffed beyond repair after stumbling all over the place and now join the graveyard of other similarly-afflicted boots.
  • I have an ever-expanding collection of spectacular bruises from arguing with walls/bannisters/the shower.
  • I brighten up the boss’s day, every day, with my slapstick moves. Who needs a banana skin when I’m around?
  • I’m still single, and after a terrifying, tentative foray into online dating, I will probably remain so until at least 2073 (if I live to be 100).
  • I refuse am reluctant to squeeze myself into a tubi-dress and have hair extensions just to take ten years off my age. I wish.
  • I still love bacon butties in work. A habit I am attempting to break with the purchase of a Nutri-Bullet.

Anyway, apart from the usual MS gaffes, The Teenager is in the midst of GCSE Angst. Being a dutiful parent, I’ve ordered him his entire Amazon wish-list. An expensive mistake.

Along with the study notes, the revision books and the pens, he had to absolutely, totally, definitely have a Breaking Bad notebook which would of course ensure top marks in all subjects. They were all delivered yesterday and remain in a pristine package on the IKEA desk I painstakingly put together.

‘How’s your notes going?’

‘S’fine.’

‘Oh, um, lovely. Anything I can help with?’

‘Fed up wiv ‘elfy cereal, can I have Coco-Pops?’

‘Oh. Too much sugar?’

‘Never enough.’

‘Ha, that’s funny!’

‘Seriously. D’urrrr. And close the door behind you and take the kitten with you, ta?’

Oh, ok. I retreated and gathered up the laundry. And the kitten and her bizarre collection of hair bands.

So. My scan says I’m fine. I don’t feel fine. What should I do? How long do paroxysms last? Can I take a chance and buy a new pair of boots that I won’t scuff? And most importantly, will I stop speaking English with a German/Yoda-esque syntax?

‘Study, you will. Much learning achieve, aspire you can. Dark forces, encounter, you could. Succeed!’

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Mar 08 2015
6 Comments
Daily Life

Never Go To An All-You-Can-Eat When You’re Starving

all you can eatI took The Teenager out for a meal today to celebrate some recent exam success.

They don’t do GCSEs like they used to (in my day, we just had one huge exam in each subject; nowadays they seem to do them in dribs and drabs, tsk), so I imagine we’ll be having quite a few of these meals over the coming months.

Anyway, it could have been bread and water for him earlier this week after I got his report card from school. Two weeks late.

I was only made aware of this by default after speaking with another parent and when confronted, The Teenager fake-smacked his forehead and said, ‘oh yeah, knew I’d forgotten something, must be, like, all that studying filling up my brain, like, totally.’

To cut a long story short, when he’s good, he’s pretty impressive but when he can’t be bothered, he’s awful. A snippet from two of his subjects – ‘… it appears that he has deemed this subject entirely irrelevant to his educational needs’ and ‘his mock exam was disappointing because he answered the wrong question.’

Anyway, lunch. A warehouse-type all-you-can eat soulless place, with tables crammed so close to each other I was able to read the Twitter timeline of the diner next to me as he scrolled through his phone, ignoring his friend and stuffing his face with noodles.

I was starving. So was The Teenager, but that’s nothing new. So we grabbed our plates and checked out what was on offer. The usual suspects (vague impressions of Thai, Chinese and Indian food with some salad thrown in) and we piled our plates high. Lovely.

Unfortunately, being British I felt a bit awkward going up a second time, and a third. As I passed the gaggle of waitresses, I felt compelled to say something stupid like, ‘oh, haven’t eaten in days‘  (one glance at me would confirm this is simply untrue) or ‘thyroid, eh?’. Why? I cringed as the plates piled high on our table, but I was determined to get my money’s worth.

We eventually moved like locusts towards the desserts section. Mini cheesecake? Yes please. Mini chocolate roulade? Don’t mind if I do. The Teenager made impressive inroads into the ice-cream bar.

Finally, we staggered to the door and as we headed back to the car, The Teenager said, ‘Aw, thanks mum, what’s for dinner?

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Mar 01 2015
18 Comments
Daily Life

Our New Addition …

Bronte2I couldn’t help myself. I was (and still am) deep in mourning after my beloved cat Dora was knocked down and killed recently.

I shouldn’t have looked at the cats seeking their ‘forever home’. Their big, pleading eyes, their sad stories, their heart-wrenching starts in life.

So we now have a new addition to our little family – Brontë. Quick explanation about the somewhat pretentious name: she arrived with the name ‘Bronwen’, and, much as I love Welsh names, it seemed a bit of an odd choice for a tiny kitten, not even six months old.

She wouldn’t answer to my new choice of name, ‘Flump’ nor The Teenager’s, ‘Pancake’ or ‘Dog’. We tried out ‘Batwoman’ and ‘Kerpow’ (check out her Bat Mask), to no avail. So she became ‘Bronnie’ until one evening I called her ‘Bronty’ by mistake and she came trotting over. Result. Being of a literary persuasion (lol), she is now named after one of my favourite authors.

Anyway, she has settled in remarkably well, so well that she enjoys nothing more than scampering up my curtains and sitting on the wooden pole, grinning down at me. She also tears around the house in an endless loop and can make a toy out of anything – she’s smitten with my hair bands and has fished out seventeen of them from a bowl in my bedrooom (I counted) and laid them all on one of my rugs in an impressive pattern and every so often she returns to rearrange them.

In short, she fits in well. She’s also great to snuggle up with when the dreaded mid-afternoon MS crash happens. We mute the telly and radio, choose our blanket and flop onto the sofa.

Plus, she adores The Teenager and he’s in awe of her acrobatics (and her fondness for squatting in my larger plants before I can chase her off), although she is now banned from his bedroom after she stole his expensive headphones.

She may be hard work right now, but I wouldn’t be without her. A bit like The Teenager …

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Feb 28 2015
6 Comments
Daily Life

Stumbling In Glasses

glassesI’ve just been for my annual check up with the optician and bought a chocolate bar on the way home to help ease me in gently to a new stage in my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very fortunate in that I’ve had no real MS eye-related problems, apart from one inexplicable period when I used to wake up half blind, but thankfully it was short-lived.

Anyway, a small, dark room. Just me and the optician and my head in a strange contraption where he blew puffs of air into my eyes.

When he eventually turned the lights back on and I blinked a lot, he asked if I wore glasses.

‘Yup, they’re somewhere around, the cat used to play with them.’

‘I think you should find them.’

Well, all sorts of things went through my mind and I braced myself for bad news. I gulped hard and asked, ‘erm, why?’

He sighed. Oh dear.

‘Well, you see, you’re 41. You’re getting old.’

Gah.

I protested feebly that I wasn’t that old, but he patiently explained (possibly in a special voice reserved for the older clientele) that at my age, my eyesight would naturally deteriorate and it had already begun. Lovely.

Back at home, I eventually found the glasses in  a dusty corner. After cleaning them off I gave them a test run and sat in front of the computer. Ok. So maybe I could see the screen a bit better. I looked in the mirror. Ok, so maybe I could see my pores in a little more clinical definition. Hmm. Hair up or down? Messy ponytail or severe scraped-back-semi-facelift bun? At this point, The Teenager came crashing through the door unexpectedly early (he knows no other entry mode) and sniggered when he saw me.

‘Bit early for Hallowe’en? What’s for dinner? Starving.’

‘The optician says I’m getting old so I have to wear them. So there.’

‘Like, dur, I could have told you that for free, saved you some time (more sniggers). I’m gonna faint, so hungry.’

I was about to launch into a speech about respecting elderly people but he’d scarpered.

I made a cup of tea and had a little ponder, trying to look on the bright side. My glasses might make me look more intelligent. I could look even more like an anguished writer when I haunt cafes with my battered notebook. I could own this look.

I vowed to start growing old disgracefully. But first I had to sort out the MS cog fog as I had no idea where I’d left them.

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Feb 06 2015
6 Comments
Daily Life

I Love You, No Really, I Do

nhsValentine’s Day (aka Smugged Up Day) is drawing ever closer.

Confronted by oceans of red roses, snuggly-wuggly teddy bears and soppy cards, I am sending a different sort of Valentine’s card this year.

Gone are the painfully awkward days when I had nothing – nothing – to display on my desk at school/work. The shame. Despite firing off 3 for £1 cards to all and sundry, in particular the guy who wore Grolsch bottle tops on his shoes at the height of Bros-fame (younger readers, you may have to google this).

Nope, this year, especially after today, my heart most definitely lies with the NHS. I am in love.

To cut a long love story short, I had an appointment with an endocrinologist this afternoon. I was, of course, the 1 in 3 who got thyroid problems after Alemtuzumab. To my delight, my weight dropped two stone in six weeks, nothing short of miraculous. I sent The Teenager up into the attic to ferret out boxes of clothes I had consigned to the Skinny Era. However, my ever-vigilant GP spotted the trend in my blood results and put an end to my fun.

Anyway, I had the most wonderful consultant today, and, buoyed up by his kindness, I waxed lyrical about the NHS. We’re so lucky in this country and it’s something I try not to forget. I have a great neurologist, a fab team of MS nurses and the knowledge that any problem I have will be swiftly addressed.

In short, I am counting my blessings. Despite the horror of this week, when I lost my beloved cat and companion, I know that I am in good hands.

So, this year, despite being a Sad Singleton the Wrong Right Side of Forty (with a Teenager and Compost Heap), I will be celebrating. I may even treat myself to a romantic dinner for one. But in the back of my mind, I will always remember just how fortunate I am.

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