You can read a bit more about it here:
Peter Principle: It holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Sooner or later they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent (their “level of incompetence”), and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions.

It's a purse on wheels!

My neuro seems to think a round of steroids will help lower the swelling in my nerves and get me walking again, so I went in for my first infusion today. It’s 500 mg of Solumedrol, which is a very high dose. They tell me if I took that much orally it could kill me. This way is much safer (they assure me). It’s almost like being at the spa, the way they cater to me here. Free coffee, pleasant conversation. Forced relaxation isn’t so bad. And it’s basically free since I’ve already met my insurance deductible this year. I can take four more mornings like this, no problem!

Steroid Infusion Day 1

Read the shirt.

He’s not even Irish, but he gets geeked about St. Patrick’s Day for some reason. It must be the Shamrock Shakes.

And we bought the girl a new toy:

Needless to say, we’ve been having a lot of fun here at the Richmond house.

• Central air conditioning is installed at our house and ready for summer
• I have tickets to see Phantom of the Opera with my husband in June
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield used some gorilla math on my claims from my surgery last January and the error is in MY favor
• And did I mention my son is potty trained?

Quadruple WOO HOO!!!!

So here is what needs to happen. I need to stop pretending everything is okay, accept what’s going on with my body, embrace it, and move on. I’m moving through the stages of grief, that’s all. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. I imagine I may have to move through the stages again with every relapse, but have hope that it will get easier each time.

I still have so much to be thankful for. I have an amazing husband. Beautiful son and daughter. Terrific extended family and friends. Great job, church, house, a car that runs. And to top it all off I now have a cane with flames. So take that! If I’m gonna live with this disease I’m gonna do it with some syle.

Here’s the deal: I believe I’m having an MS relapse. Last year when I had my first (or second if you count the third nerve palsy in 2004) attack I had all kinds of numbness from my breastbone to my toes and I couldn’t walk a straight line to save my life. My balance was all messed up and my legs were weak. But then it got better. I wouldn’t say I got 100% function back, but I at least felt like my gait was starting to resemble normal. Now normal has left the building. The numbness is back, the weakness especially in my left leg, my gait and balance are all over the place. Not to mention my left hand is starting to feel a little weird too. I’m officially walking with a cane. I bring it with me wherever I go and it helps me to walk a little faster and safer. If I start to lose my balance I lean on the cane. It shares the burden of weight with my left leg so that my left leg doesn’t fail while I’m trying to step with the right.

When I first started using the cane I felt quite embarrassed, like all eyes were on me. That went away after a few days of realizing that it was mostly in my head. Once I got used to having the cane around it wasn’t a big deal. And obviously the benefits far outweigh any negative reactions I could possibly receive from others. The cane is helping my legs to not get fatigued so quickly and is keeping me safe.

My only issue now is that the cane I use is boring. It’s just a shiny blue and black marble cane and is shaped a little like a shepherd’s hook. If I have to carry this thing around I want it to have a little personality, a little flair. I’ve seen all kinds of different canes on the internet and some of them are pretty cool and not even that expensive! So I’m thinking about getting one. We’ll see.

I did get a new pair of glasses and that has me feeling pretty good. They are a nice design, not all that different from my old glasses so that’s not the exciting part. The exciting part is that they refined my prescription and added a prism to the left lens. I am blown away at how well I can see now! The world is a much clearer place! And with the prism and anti-glare lens my eyes don’t wig out with the bright light anymore. It’s amazing, simply amazing. The true test will be at the grocery store because that’s where I generally have the most trouble. Lots of things to focus on, bright lights, moving objects. I’m very anxious to see if these new spectacles can pass the test.

This morning Luke got up while I was getting ready for work. He came into the bathroom (I’ve gotta teach him about knocking) and told me matter-of-factly that he talked to Jesus. Yes, they had a talk. Luke and Jesus had a talk and Luke asked Jesus for more snow. Now how he knows that Jesus and God are one in the same, I have no idea. We’ve never really explained that to him, but he must have picked up on it somehow.

The element of surprise is a big help, but it still gets a laugh every single time.

He was unzipping his sister’s diaper bag and I asked him “What are you doing?”
And he answered,”What do you think I’m doing?”

Then later he was boxing with Mike. They use boxing gloves and Luke takes his shirt off, just like the professionals. They even have a rule about shouting “ding! ding!” before they start a round. Mike must have started fighting too early at one point because I heard Luke shout,
“I didn’t hear a bell!”

Now if I ever hear Luke say “This cost $10 bucks, shipped!” I’ll start to get really worried.