Tag Archives: MS

Dec 23 2018
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Emotions

Christmas, Present

I’ve finally finished work for the Christmas break.

Me and The Teenager have our schedules worked out.

His consists of an ironic Christmas jumper, pints with the lads and a catch up with old school friends.

Mine is a stack of books to read, chatting to the cat and not moving far from the sofa.

The Teenager asked me once why we don’t have a Christmas, ‘like you see on the telly, you know, the long wooden table , thousands of people around it all smiling, with snow falling outside the window.’

I’m sure, somewhere, those kind of Christmases exist, but for most of us, we muddle through and make the best of things.

It’s the one day of the year we know exactly where we were and what we were doing in years/decades gone by, which can certainly add a bitter-sweet twist to the day.

On the plus side, we celebrate the achievements of our children (The Teenager survived a nasty attack, he’s studying hard and appears to have an astonishing amount of emotional intelligence) and on the downside we remember family members who were so vibrant last year and who are now struggling.

And of course, the family and friends who are no longer with us. It’s hard to juggle all the emotions and still stay, well, present.

It’s been a tough year for me, in so many ways; fights with the Department of Work and Pensions, fights with Student Finance Wales. Dredging up thousands of words about how my life is difficult now I have MS (surprise!).

I’m a tough cookie, until I’m not, and this year has pushed me to the absolute limit. I’ve won battles and lost others. I’ve struggled to explain just how awful things have been. I’ve wished that people could ask how they might help rather than judging, however well intentioned.

Mental health is much more in the open arena now and I’m thankful for that. However, sometimes I feel I have more support during a physical relapse than an emotional crisis.

This Christmas, I would like to think that we could reach out to our friends and family, ask if they need support, and give it. It often doesn’t take much – a kindly word, a quiet conversation, the feeling that you can be in someone’s corner.

My Christmas, this year, is tinged with sadness; I’ve had to give up two activities which kept me grounded and in touch with the wider world.

However, Me and The Teenager are both looking forward to a brighter 2019, and for good reason. Opportunities are opening up for us and hopefully, with some support, we can catch hold of them and turn them in to reality.

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Dec 09 2018
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Daily Life

So This Is Christmas …

We are recovering – The Teenager from being attacked, my much lesser incident of a twisted ankle.

Damned foot-drop.

I remember lying at the back of the works van, having fallen and thumped to the ground, thinking, ‘this is just not happening’. But it did.

Do you remember those falls you had as a kid? That sickening thud of the pavement rushing to meet your head? That’s what foot-drop is like. Of course, it’s ‘curable’, if you concentrate on every single step you take and will your feet to rise to the occasion.

But who has time for that? So I fall. I trip. I can trip over dust, cables, pavements.

And it brings me up short, and maybe not in the way you might think.

Our dad died forty years ago this year from complications arising from his MS; I am one of four siblings he left behind.

When he died in 1978, nothing was available to alleviate his condition; he was sent home after brutal tests, with only a walking stick and a diagnosis of ‘crippling paralysis’, now known as Primary Progressive MS.

After eight years, he died at the age of 35, a husk of the brilliant man and scholar he once was.

I am lucky. I was born into an age of MRI’s, MS nurses, disease-modifying therapies, which is why I didn’t hesitate to accept the one that would allow me to be well enough to be around long enough to see The Teenager in to University.

So when I come up against seemingly impossible situations, such as The Teenager calling me in work saying, ‘Don’t worry, but …’, I am perhaps more sanguine than most parents.

He is alive, well, and healthy. It is him who called me, not a consultant, a police officer or an anonymous University staff member. I was only grateful that I could speak directly to him, despite his trauma.

Christmas is always a tough time for families. The Teenager will be home in a week, and the washing machine will be pushed to its limit. The cat will be giddy with delight and I will be over the moon to have him back in our little cottage.

However, gratitude is the most important emotion; gratitude that I can greet him at the door, welcome him in and be the same person (plus limp) he last saw at University. His bed is ready with fresh linen, the fridge will be stocked and we’ll have a great catch up.

It’s precious. I’ll never lose sight of what we could have lost.

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Nov 30 2018
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Emotions

Never Rains But It Pours

It started innocently enough – my bargain Gumtree washing machine juddered and jumped around the kitchen floor with a full load and then died.

With one last gasp, it dropped its drum, then coughed some water out on to the floor.

My PhD student loan faced obstacle after obstacle and I was in danger of having my email access revoked for non-payment of fees.

The Cat decided she no longer liked Whiskas and a bumper pack of tender chunks lay dormant in the cupboard.

So far, so annoying.

Then that awful phone-call from The Teenager. I should have known; it was around 8.30 am, when few Uni students are awake.

He had been assaulted by a group of men after a night out.

What can you say?

I was numb. He had been to hospital, where they put his dislocated shoulder back into place. Two female students helped him and a homeless man bought him a bottle of water. He was bruised, upset and angry. The police interviewed him.

So far, so soul-destroying.

I went to see him last night. My overriding feeling is one of thankfulness that I am not in that group of parents who, instead of hearing from their child, have an anonymous police officer or surgeon on the phone.

He’s shaken up, bruised and shocked, as am I.

Driving back home in the vicious rain, my anger shook me to the core. It’s taken me 19 years to raise a fabulous child, through all the trials and tribulations, and yet a random group of people can flip that on its head, in an instant.

I collapsed into bed and got up for work four hours later.

As a random aside, foot-drop has been haunting me for a while and I thought I had the better of it, concentrating so hard on placing my feet where they should be. I had a narrow escape last week, tripping over a bit of dust and twisting my usually-weak right ankle.

This afternoon, at the end of a very long day in work, when I was at the back of the van, I saw it happen in slow motion. My left foot dropped, I regained my balance  (congratulated myself) and then foot-dropped a second time in a pile of mud.

I thudded to the ground, smashing my ankle and hands. Embarrassed, furious and scared.

I think/hope we have now had our run of bad luck. The Teenager will recover, older and wiser, sadly. We have new washing machine, ready for his Christmas break washing. My ankle will heal.

I’m hobbling around making our cottage Christmas-ready.

I’m still furious.

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Nov 02 2018
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The Teenager

Back Then, And Now …

In 2012, my only wish was to see The Teenager through High School.

Forward six years and we made it – it wasn’t easy, far from it. At times, it was soul-destroying and took us both to the edge of what we could reasonably cope with.

Yet no child can go through this hideous process without scars, and The Teenager has them in abundance. The support he could have received was patchy at best, mostly non-existent.

He wasn’t a ‘Child Carer’, at risk or falling behind at school, yet I could see the difference in him, and we navigated our way through the years bit by bit.

He is now at University, but struggling in his own way.

It would be great if you guys could send him messages of encouragement through this difficult time.

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Oct 16 2018
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Daily Life

The Journey of a PhD Began With 1,000 Words – And YOUR Help

I’ve read a lot about ‘Imposter Syndrome’ recently and I totally identify.

In the Summer, I applied for a teaching job at a University – a ten-week short course focusing on blogging.

I duly went for the interview and after taking my seat, the first thing I announced was ‘Oh, I’m not academic’.

Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.

I also said, ‘Oh, I don’t write, not really.’

I guess I’ve grown up believing ‘writing’ belongs in inaccessible ivory towers, to which I have no access. In my mind, ‘writers’ gad about London, passing through Private Member’s Clubs, tapping into the Old Boy’s Network.

It took one of my interviewers, the wonderful Michelle Deininger, who gave me insightful interview feedback a week later (when I could face it) to point out that, d’uh, if two global drugs companies feature my writing, and I have a book that is still selling, then I’m a writer.

And now I have joined the National Union of Journalists, I really have no excuse.

My little blog started this month, six years ago – a cry/shout out against everything that I was experiencing; the loss of my income, my job, my partner, my future. Perhaps it’s true that writing should always come from the heart, and encouraged by M. J. Hyland, who urged me to start blogging, I picked up a book about WordPress and away I went.

When everything else around me was falling to pieces, I found solace in writing. I poured out my deepest, darkest fears, my anxiety, my despair. But also the comical moments with MS and my teenager.

In 2011, when MS first started, I was struggling to complete my degree.

In 2018, thanks to everyone here, I have gained my Master’s and started my Research PhD, with MS as the main focus.

So, the PhD. I have a monthly target of writing 1,000 words.

If you want to, I would really love to hear your stories about when you were told your initial MS symptoms were ‘all in your mind’ or something similar.

It happened to me.

Despite my father having PPMS, I was initially dismissed in A&E, and told quite definitively I did not have MS.

Eleven months later, I was diagnosed with rapidly-evolving MS, and had treatment to match, natch.

If you want to, please email me at barbarastensland@hotmail.com  All replies will be treated in utmost confidence. But if you’d like to, I will mention you as a reference in my completed PhD and book.

Please, do what I did – just write. Tell me YOUR story.

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