Jennie's MS Journey

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a bit since I have posted. Life has been busy with the end of the school year approaching and the awesome thing is I’ve been able to be a part of it:). We went to Yosemite over the break and I was excited to finish a few hikes in sunny weather and see some beautiful scenery. We went with another couple for fun outdoor skeet shooting the next weekend and that was fun too. The girls had junior olympics at their school last weekend and I was able to stay all day and see their events. I admit I was tired in the heat but well worth it! It was cool being back in the swing of normalcy.

The great news is I’m feeling even more like myself, I’m back working out and starting to slowly gain back some muscle and endurance. My hair is officially growing back more than peach fuzz. It is dark brown and does seem to be a similar texture as before, still very baldish but moving in the right direction. I was wondering if it might be curly but so far I don’t think so. My skin is better, less irritated, and resembling healthy looking. My vision is very clear and that has been one of my most favorite improvements. It was impacting my life and now it’s something I don’t have to plan around. My bloodwork looks good for the stage of recovery I am at and my thyroid and kidney functioning are both in the normal range. These are two areas where there can be complications but so far so good (knock on wood). All other MS symptoms are at bay!

There have been some minor hiccups the last few weeks but mostly I’m too blame for getting a little ahead of myself and pushing more than I should have. I spiked a fever twice which is never good but my new immune system was able to do its job and I recovered in a few days. While the temperature was elevated, I did notice some hand numbness. I was told it is typical and expected to feel some lingering old symptoms while sick but it should dissipate as the virus leaves, and that is exactly what happened. It’s very hot in California this week and while the heat still hard for me, I’m certainly lasting much longer out there than this same time last year. I had a reaction again to the new antibiotics so the team at Northwestern made the decision to take me off of all antibiotics. I was to take those for 6 months so I need to watch germs but my stomach is pretty happy about the change. I still am taking a few things but a couple more months and I’ll be med free! Yay, I’m having a big party when that happens.

I’m loving not having to get infusions and planning around the side effects. I’m beyond relieved not to be tied to medication. I love that I will ultimately just have to take vitamin D and that’s it!

So all in all, things are great and as always I have the sweetest friends and family. People sometimes ask me how I stay positive and how could I not being surrounded by so much love and encouragement. I really do consider myself lucky and in a strange way this last 2 years has cemented my friendships and my appreciation for the unconditional support.