Good-bye Sue, We Miss You!

On Mother's Day, a friend of mine died. I knew Sue through Saint Francis Service Dogs. She was one of the first people to be partnered with a St. Fran dog, and his name is Barkley. Yes Barkley is 12 years old, and he was by her side for ten years. Barkley will continue to live out his life with Sue's husband and family. He is a very sweet golden retriever who loves life and people.

Sue was one of these people who never met a stranger, always took a moment to stop and talk to people who wanted to know about Barkley and service dogs, and always had time to talk to friends and ask how they were doing and leave them with a smile. She had a myriad of health problems, and was on supplemental oxygen at all times. She had seizures. Barkley knew to lay across her during a seizure, and then to go for help or the phone afterwards.

We live in a small town, and every time we went into Walmart or Krogers someone invariably would say, "you just missed Sue and Barkley".

During one of our partner classes, Sue told a funny story about Barkley. At night when he needs to go out to park (bathroom), he waited until one of them turned on his flashlight and handed it to him. He then would go out with the flashlight to do whatever business he wanted to do. Then, he will come back inside and hand back his flashlight. So funny, so sweet!

Sue's memorial service was this past Monday. Barkley was sitting with the family. There were also five of us with our service dogs who attended the service, plus lots of family and friends. Sue's son is in the Marines in Iraq, and the service was postponed until he could get home to be here for it.

Sue's husband said that Barkley is okay as long as they can keep him busy, but then he starts looking for Sue. It is so very sad, because it's impossible to explain to an animal that the person is gone.

Good-bye Sue, we miss you!

Mowing, Planting, and Nice Neighbors

MS has taken some things away from me, or the ability to do some things. A little over two years ago, we sold our two-story home and bought a ranch that is on 1.25 acres. A few months after that, we bought a riding lawnmower. I mow the yard.

That lawnmower has given me so much pleasure! I have a responsibility to do that I absolutely love doing. When I'm on the mower, I have a sense of pride and I have a whole lot of fun. Once I mow the front and sides, then the fenced-in part in back (Montana's yard), I get to do the "back 40". This is a huge part with slopes. Have you ever mowed going down a slope? Sometimes I pretend I'm on a rollercoaster, let it rip, and yell all the way down! It's given me back a little bit of myself that had I lost.

If it ever stops raining, we are having a landscaping company come to do some work. I'm having small gardens dug in the corners of the fence. I've got seeds from Burpee waiting to be planted. Flowers and herbs and carrots for the gardens, flowers and herbs and patio tomatoes for the deck. I love growing things from seed.

Our next-door neighbor has put her house up for sale. She has a two-story home, and has lived in it for 30 years. But her health is bad and her husband died last year, she said the home is just a house now that she can't keep up by herself. We will miss this neighbor. When we moved in, she brought over a pot of stew. She's like that. The neighbor across the street (also a sweet woman) has moved to another state and is getting married. She has rented out her house to a young girl. Haven't met her yet, she just moved in this weekend. She planted some flowers. I hope she's nice...and quiet, too!

Passover and Family

My sweet BIL and SIL hosted the family Seder again this year. Our son and grandson (see picture) flew in from LA, which made it even better. We had a wonderful time with many great conversations and much laughter.

Together with family and friends, we celebrated Passover with a (short) Seder and a wonderful meal. I have MS, and a friend's husband has muscular dystrophy. Our diseases are downplayed; not ignored but, no one makes a big deal of them either. I like that.

We also had the unveiling of my mother-in-law's tombstone, another Jewish tradition. After the small ceremony, my BIL handed out seashells that he had collected. We placed them on all of our relative's tombstones in place of the usual small stones, in remembrance that we were there. It was a nice touch.

Darn it, but it was too cold and windy to go to the beach. I love to sit on a bench on the boardwalk in nice weather while Arnie walks Montana down near the surf. Both of them try their best not to get wet, and they have a great time together. It makes me feel good to see them having fun while I sit and soak up the sun and smell the ocean smells. My favorite place to be is near an ocean. Some day, I would like to rent a house, maybe just for a weekend, maybe for a whole week, that's right on the beach with a big front porch and huge windows that look out onto the water.

My New Ramp

Here is a picture of my new ramp, and the great guys who built it for me. Many thanks to Don and Mason with the Bike the US for MS organization, and Steve who owns Grayson Place Building near Charlottesville, VA. Don, Mason and Steve worked this past Saturday and Sunday, building me a ramp that makes it easier and safer for me to get from my front door to the car and back. Please take a look at Don's website -- http://www.biketheusforms.org/

I also found out that Don put a video of me on YouTube. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uQNTI48lMI&feature=player_embedded

This group of super nice men and women are riding from the coast of Virginia to the coast of Oregon this summer. Their goal is not only to collect donations for MS, but also to give a hand to people with MS along the route they'll be taking. If you live along this route, let them know. If you know of anyone with MS who lives along the route who may need a helping hand, please let them know about Bike the US for MS.
　
Thanks, maryann and montana

Feeling Sorry For Myself

I was in a really great mood, until today when I came crashing down. An old and dear friend posted pictures of herself and her friends on Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I am not jealous of my friend. In fact, we have been through a lot of the same emotional crises such as divorce and starting new lives after being dumped like a piece of garbage.

However, seeing her made me aware of my physical situation in amazingly great detail. Here is a picture of me wearing my ankle and wrist weights to counteract my tremors, sitting on my rollator with my faithful and wonderful Montana by my side.

Everything I do has become such a damn struggle. So many, many things I can't do anymore that I miss so much. Even if I wanted to get all dressed up, I still could never feel as elegant as my friend looked in her photos. Not with all the accoutrements I need to get around.

I know this will pass, and my mood will improve. I have a wonderful husband, a loving family (his, but who's counting), a fantastic dog, a home that I love, some good friends, a few great friends, and a couple of cold beers in the fridge.

I am who I am. I have MS, and it has been kicking me down. So, I've got to pull myself up (mentally and physically) and quit feeling so sorry for poor little old me.

Mentally Feeling Pretty Good

It's strange. Even though my body feels like it's falling apart and pieces of it are giving out on me, I've been in a super good mood. I know that a lot of it has to do with the fact that my husband Arnie survived kidney cancer surgery and is doing better every day, but there are also a lot of other things that have been making me feel good.

The day before DH's surgery, our son and his wife had a baby boy. Joshua Samuel is their second child, and our fourth grandson!

Due to the fact that Arnie has diabetes and now only one kidney, and he dislikes most vegetables, we had to come up with some new, healthy meal plans. My wonderful SIL sent a big batch of soup recipes, along with a Cuisinart Smart Stick to make creamy soups. I've made two batches of garden vegetable soup, a huge pot of split pea soup, and a pot of veggie soup that has navy beans, grean beans, and onions. Everything has turned out very good, I'm following the recipes exactly and very carefully. This has made me feel good that we're both eating healthy meals and I'm cooking soup that tastes fantastic. It has given me more confidence in the kitchen!

I got my hair cut the shortest it's ever been (it's 1/2 inch long on the top of my head, and shaved closer in the back), and I absolutely love it! It's very thick and straight, I could never do a thing with it as far as styling goes, so this is as easy as it gets.

I've been going to Yoga and riding my stationary bike a couple times a week, losing weight, and basically eating right.

I also taught Montana how to Commando crawl across the floor. Of course, he could never sneak up on anyone because he makes so much noise doing the crawl, but it's loads of fun for both of us.

MS Yoga and Lunch with a Friend

In January, I found out about an MS Yoga class that was available in my area. I signed up and began taking the class, and I'm so glad that I did. Most of the people in the class have MS, the others have some sort of limitation that precludes them from taking a regular Yoga class. Our instructor is 70, has taught Yoga for 40 years, and is just the sweetest woman you would want to meet and know.

Most of the exercises are done while sitting in a chair, although some of us get down on the floor for a couple of the exercises done toward the end of class, and for the relaxation portion. Montana loves the relaxation portion of the class. I lay down on a rug, and he lays as close to me as is physically possible with his head laying on my stomach. That, in itself, is comfort to both of us. Then, when it's time to get up off the floor, Montana stands close beside me on my left, still as can be, and I'm able to brace myself on him in order to stand up. Without him, I would either have to ask someone for help or not get down on the floor at all. It still amazes me that he adds so much independence for me. After class I feel great, much more loose and relaxed.

Today, DH and I had lunch with a friend of mine who is a reporter for our local newspaper. Meg and I met last March when she did an article about Montana and I. At the time, I was scared half to death. I'd never been interviewed for a newspaper article before! After about five minutes, she had me relaxed and laughing, and I was able to forget to be scared and shy. We had a nice lunch with good food, good conversation, and lots of fun.