So I was alone,trying to sleep.The machine the lady next to me was hooked up broke the silence with it's continual beeping.Hospitals are not quiet places,my room is right nest to the ward entry and across from the nurses station.Doors bang and despite the fact I've been awake for as long as I have my brain won't stop and let me rest.It seems that every time I doze off,there is another noise that disturbs me.
Eventually I give up and it is morning and the neurologist shows up with a his entourage of underlings.They all crowd in while the neuro goes thru my chart,asks questions,hears my story.Does all the strength and balance tests,all those neurological tests,that I can't do.How hard is it to touch your nose then touch someones finger 2 feet away? For me then,impossible.I poked myself in the eye at least once!! Someone must have moved my nose during the night!! I can't hold my left arm up or my left leg,there is no strength at all and no feeling at all in most of my left foot,my big toe I can't move at all.Anything I try to hold in my left hand I drop.The neuro finishes all his tests and tells me I have MS.Okay,what's that? Multiple Sclerosis,yep,no worries,what's that? and how do I get rid of it? ( Hmmm,naive maybe?!) He tried to explain to me but I wasn't taking much in.He prescribed a high dose of IV steroids and said I'd need to stay in hospital for a few more days.
After they leave the nurse comes in and lets me know she's contacted the MS Society and someone will be coming in to see me as soon as they can.
And so life as I know it stops and changes and life with MS.
And so began your new life...
ReplyDeleteMy start wasn't as dramatic as yours, I already knew a bit about MS, I knew two people who were living with it, so I wasn't completely knocked over by the news.