Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Stir Crazy Solutions

It's winter in Ohio and that means snow, sleet, and freezing temperatures. That also means that we have been stuck indoors for most of this winter. I'm afraid to drive on ice or snow and I just can't justify taking the risk with Dominic in the car. But when the roads are driveable (did I just make up a word?) I've found a few places to take Dominic and cure our cabin fever!

*The Mall! We are official Mall walkers! haha It's perfect to go into the mall before the store opens and let Dominic just roam around. Sad, but great for us-our nearby mall is like a ghost town and even when the mall is open, there are very little people. Our mall also has a kids play area where he can play. Although, Dominic prefers to just walk/run throughout the mall clapping his hands! He's a big fan of the mall walkers!

*Lorain County Metroparks-we are SO lucky to have awesome metroparks scattered throughout the county. Most of them have an indoor kids play area that Dominic loves!








*Playground World-this is actually a "Step 2" store that opens it's doors **FOR FREE** every so often so that the kids can play on EVERYTHING! Trampolines, playground equipment, slides, play houses-so so much!

*Libraries-this one is touch and go with Dominic. They do have baby/child story time but if you have advice on how to pry a bell out of a 15 month old's hands after 2 minutes-let me know! lol

What do you do to get out and about? It's tough with a toddler-but spring is right around the corner!

Monday, February 22, 2010

MS Walk Monday

To date we have raised $695 towards our $1000 team goal! Lou had some very generous donations this past week-so thank you to everyone who donated on his behalf! :) I came across this post while looking around online. I don't experience all of these-but you have to realize that SOMEONE does! Your donations count!!

When We Say We Can’t do Something Because We don’t Feel Well, Put yourself in Our Shoes By Using The Examples of our Symptoms Below…


- Painful Heavy Legs: Apply Tightly 20 LB ankle weights and 15 LB thigh weights then take a 1 mile walk, clean the house, go shopping and then sit down – how ya’ feeling now?


- Painful Feet: Put equal or unequal amounts of small pebbles in each shoe then take a walk, if we are mad at you we would prefer needles to pebbles.


- Loss of Feeling in Hands and/or Arms: Put on extra thick gloves and a heavy coat then try and pick up a pencil, if successful stab yourself in the arm.


- Loss of Feeling in Feet and/or Legs: Ask a doc for a shot of Novocaine in both of your legs and then try and stand up and walk without looking like the town drunk. Hopefully you won’t fall down.


- TN (Trigeminal Neuralgia): Take an ice pick and jam it into your ear or cheek whenever the wind blows on it, or a stray hair touches it. If you want something easier to do, get someone to punch you in the jaw preferably daily.


- Uncontrollable Itching: Glue or sew small steel wool pads to the inside of your shirt, pants and undergarments wear them for an entire day.


- Tingling: Stick your finger in an electrical socket – preferably wet.


- Tight Banded Feeling: Put 12 inch wide belt around you and make is as tight as you can and leave it there for the entire day. How ya’ breathing?


- Shots: Fill one of our spare needles with saline solution, saline won’t hurt you, we would love something worse but don’t want to end up in jail. Give yourself a shot everytime we do our shot.


- Side Effects From the Shot: Bang you head against a wall, wrap yourself in a heating pad, wrap your entire body with an ace bandage tightly then finally treat yourself to some spoiled food or drink.


- Trouble Lifting Arms: Apply 20 LB wrist weights and try and reach for something on the highest shelf in your house.


- Spasticity: Hook bungee cords to your rear belt loops and rear pant leg cuffs then for your arms hook bungee cords to your shirt collar and cuffs on shirt sleeves then go dancing.


-Poor Hearing/Buzzing in Ears: Put a bee in each ear and then put a plug in each one…Bzzzzzzzz


- Balance and Walking Problems: Drink 100 proof grain alcohol and then sit and spin in an office chair for 30 minutes, now get up and see what happens.


-Urgently Needing to Pee: We put a .5 liter remote controlled water bag and drip tube in your pants, we point out 2 restrooms in a crowded mall, then we tell you that you have 30 seconds before we activate the water bag (by remote control) to get to a restroom. Just for spite we may make that 20 seconds without telling you.


- Bizarre and Inexplicable Sensations: Place tiny spiders on your legs or arms and allow them to periodically crawl around throughout the day, heck all day would be good too.


- Pins and Needles: Stab yourself repeatedly with needles all over your body or better yet….Get a very large tattoo in your most sensitive area.


- Dizziness (Vertigo): Get on a gently rocking boat all day and all night and take several walks around the deck with your eyes closed.


- Fatigue: Stay awake for two full days to induce incredible fatigue and then cook dinner, clean the house, walk the dog and see how you feel. Please do not compare MS fatigue to you being tired from only a few hours of sleep – it’s not the same at all.


- Cognitive Function (Brain Fog): Take a liberal dose of sleeping pills but stay awake. Try and function properly and think clearly. To make it even more real without killing yourself of course, take the sleeping pills with a small sip of wine.


- Bowel Problems: Take a 4 day dose of an anti-diarrhea medicine followed directly by a 3 day dose of stool softeners for a minimum of 3 weeks, at the end of 3 weeks sit down on a hard uncushioned chair and stay there til tears appeared.


- Burning Feeling: Make a full pot of boiling water and then have someone fill a squirt gun with the boiling water and shoot it at yourself all day long. However, you can give us the pleasure of shooting you instead…optional of course.


- Intention Tremor: Hook your body to some type of vibrating machine try and move your legs and arms…..hmmm are you feeling a little shaky? You are not allowed to use anything fun for this lesson.


- Buzzing Feeling When Bending Our Heads to Our Chest (L’Hermitte’ s): Place an electrical wire on your back and run it all the way down to your feet, then pour water on it and plug it in.


- Vision Problems (Optic Neuritis): Smear Vaseline on glasses and then wear them to read the newspaper.


- Memory Issues: Have someone make a list of items to shop for and when you come back that person adds two things to the list and then they ask why you didn’t get them. When you come back from shopping again they take the list and erase three things and ask why you bought those things.


- Foot Drop: Wear one swim fin and take about a 1/2 mile walk, nothing else needs to be said for this one, you’ll get it.


- Depression: Take a trip to the animal shelter everyday and see all the lonely animals with no home. You get attached to one or more of the animals and when you come back the next day you come in while they are putting her/him asleep.


- Fear: Dream that you have lost complete feeling in your feet and when you wake up wiggle your feet, just so happens they don’t move. Think about this every night wondering whether something on your body won’t work the next day when you wake up.


- Swallowing: Try swallowing the hottest chili pepper you can find.


- Heat Intolerance or Feeling Hot When it’s Really Not: You are on a nice vacation to Alaska. It’s 35° outside and 65° inside. Light a fire for the fireplace and then get into it. Once you have reached about 110° tell me how you feel, even a person without MS would feel bad, now add all of the above symptoms


Welcome to our world

Friday, February 19, 2010

Show Us Your Life-Ministries


I wasn't planning on using my current situation as a ministry but if anyone can take comfort in my words or feel a connection then I am more than happy to share.


I have recently been diagnosed with both RRMS (relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis) and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). If you'd like to know more about what's going on with me, please just read my prior posts. I had planned to write much more-but unfortunately woke up feeling pretty lousy-I think I caught my son's cold!


Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

MS update/PCOS

I just wanted to pop in and update everyone on what's going on. I received a phone call from Shared Solutions yesterday and my Copaxone injectables will be able to be picked up (along with a Sharps disposal container) within a few days. Copaxone runs about $2000 a month-I am SO grateful that we have awesome insurance and only have to pay the copay of $25 a month---I thought--while on the phone yesterday, the nurse from Shared Solutions told me that I qualified for an assistance where they pay up to $30 of our copay AKA we.don't.pay.anything!!! I was so relieved. A part of me has been feeling VERY guilty for all of these medical expenses lately. Last night Lou and I watched the most boring DVD ever about my treatment and I'll be scheduling with the nurse soon as well to come and show me how to inject myself.

A lot of people have been asking when/if we are planning on having more children, especially now with the MS diagnosis. The answer is yes....someday..we hope. And here are the reasons why:
1) I cannot be pregnant and be injecting myself with Copaxone. In order to get pregnant I have to be off treatment for 3 months prior. At this time, my neurologist told us that it is more important for me to take care of myself and begin treatment as soon as possible to prevent further damage. She advised I be injections for at least one year.

2) I also found out this week that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and multiple cysts on my ovaries. PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility. I have ovulated ONE time in the last 2 years (yes ladies, you know what that means-lucky me! haha!)...and I have ONE child..get the picture. Dominic is a miracle in every sense of the word and I believe that I was destined to be his Mommy. So with that being said, I talked to my doctor and when the time comes for us to expand our family I will have to use fertility treatments to conceive. Most likely I will immediately go to the Clomid route-but we're just not sure when this time will come. We want to limit the time that I am off treatment.

I know this is more TMI than I usually share but it's something that breaks a bit of my heart every time I get asked the question or find out people are having more children. I don't have baby fever by any means (Don't worry Lou!) but I guess I envy the fact that they are ABLE to. I don't have a choice or control of what is happening right now and it's a bit hard to swallow. Everything is happening so quickly that I don't believe I've had a second to really let it all soak in before I'm diagnosed with something else! haha! Maybe that's why I am putting off that dental checkup! hahaha! :)

Thanks for letting me vent! In other news-we are going to Sesame Street Live on Sunday!!! I won tickets on the radio and we have great seats! This way we also don't feel like we wasted $ if Dominic doesn't like it-but he LOOOOOVES Elmo so I'm super excited!!! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

-Brooke

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

ATTENTION!!!

Hey you, yeah YOU! Do you see that cute little boy on the right side of this page? Click on it and vote for Dominic to win the Silly section in the Morning Journal's Cutest Kid contest! Voting ends at midnight tonight! Thanks so much! You can also vote by clicking the link below. Registration & voting are easy, painless and much appreciated! :)

http://tinyurl.com/y9pn698

Monday, February 15, 2010

MS Walk Monday

There are 54 days until the 2010 Cleveland MS Walk!! We have currently raised $390 of our $1000 team goal! Thank you this week to some very generous donations from friends/family of Becky. *Thank you!* Please go here to donate, join, or learn more about Multiple Sclerosis.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?team_id=173779&fr_id=12300&pg=team

As for me, I received my Auto Inject last week in the mail. This is a device that I will put the glass syringe into and use to automatically inject myself without having to actually see it. I also got a call from the nurse who will be coming to our house and instruct & inject me for the first time. I haven't received the actual drug yet-but I've heard it takes some time to go through insurance etc. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you to everyone involved in any way! It really does mean a lot! :)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

3 Words Thursday


Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Simple Pleasures

I recently saw on Kelly's Korner that she did a post about simple pleasures. Simple, little things that bring a smile to your face. I find myself being thankful and grateful for little things throughout the day-so here are a few of mine.

Having my coffee brewed,hot and ready for me when I come down in the morning!

When someone offers to take the cart from you and bring it back to the store after you've unloaded groceries with a toddler!

Watching Dominic eat Goldfish crackers, it's just so sweet watching him maneuver the fishes and such a big boy thing to do!


Our electric blanket, and getting into a nice, warm bed at night!

Hearing the garage door opening at or around 5:15 Monday through Friday. (It means Lou's home!)


There are so many simple pleasures in my life, these are just a few. I am grateful for SO much in my life-and feel incredibly blessed! :) I hope this post encourages you to think of the little things that make you smile! Have a great day!

Monday, February 8, 2010

MS Walk Monday

It seems like Mondays come faster and faster each week. April 10th and the Cleveland MS Walk will be here before we know it! I'm excited to say that I've surpassed my $250 donation goal thanks to VERY generous friends! *Thank you Julie, Claire, Shannon & Nicole* We are still a while away from reaching our team goal of $1000. I KNOW we can do it! All the money raised really is being used to help others struggling and to find a CURE for this unpredictable, awful disease. Please take a moment to check out the "Daly Miracles" team page, here you can join our team or help donate to any of our walkers! Thank you all! :)

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/DMiracles

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Batman! Na na na na na na BATMAN!!

Last week we had some pretty cold temps and like most of the eastern part of the U.S. we were hit with snow all day and night Friday. So Dominic and I decided to have a little fun!

Playing the "drums"in the kitchen!

Jumping on the bed-Batman style!!

We bundled up and headed out to the swing park for a few minutes! Weee!

Dominic loved running around the playground, he is going to have so much fun this spring!
This was the look he gave me as when it was time to leave the park. Geesh! Someone is NOT happy with Mom!

If you have a moment, please Vote for Dominic by clicking the "button" in the top right corner of the blog. It will ask you to register but it only takes a minute, is free, and is GREATLY appreciated! The contest ends Feb. 16th and you can vote once a day until then! :) Thanks!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Show Us Your Life: Beauty Tips



I'm not sure if I'm the best to recommend beauty tips, one of my "bucket list" wishes is to have my makeup professionally done-not mall professional, more like Hollywood professional. Anywho, my life as a mother has dramatically changed my beauty regiment. I put makeup on in the morning and don't touch it til the next day. *Yes I sleep in my makeup-it's bare essentials, says you can on the infomercial! lol* I used to touch up my make up multiple times a day, I laugh at that now because I'm lucky to have matching socks on each day! I'm really hoping that Dominic wins this contest (vote on the right side of our page!) because I could use a spa day-or at least a haircut since I can't remember the last time I had one!! :) Like I said, not sure I'm authorized to give advice but I do have some MUST products!




I love this product! It really does make your pores disappear and smooths out your skin! A large tube runs around $20 but I swear it will last you at least a year. A little bit goes a LONG way!

Bare Essentials. Enough said.



I've used this mascara for years and haven't found anything close to it. I love the thick brush! Which helps because I was not blessed with long, luscious lashes! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

3 Words Thursday

I WON TICKETS!!


*details to come!*

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A friendly reminder!

You can vote once daily for Dominic in the "Cutest Kid" contest!! Please take a minute to vote for our cutie patutie!!

http://allaroundcleveland.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?contestid=13021&pagetype=VOTING&SubmissionID=2729175


Thanks everyone!! I promise to take some pictures soon to post!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

MS Appt Update, Walk Info and Contest help!

Today Lou & I traveled back to the Mellen Center at the Cleveland Clinic to meet with Dr.Bermel and his nurse to discuss the results of my Evoked Potential test, blood work and treatments. I'm happy to report that my Evoked Visual test came back normal-meaning that there is no concern at this time for Optic Neuritis. My blood work also came back normal-which ruled out other autoimmune diseases. Dr.Bermel said that I have Relapsed/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, and he believes I have a mild form right now. I will go back in 6 months for another brain MRI.

We went over all of the treatment options and decided upon Copaxone-a treatment I am familiar with because my mom has been using it for her RRMS for years with good results. I will start injecting myself daily within the next two weeks. A nurse will come and show me how to use the auto injector and where to inject myself. This treatment offers the least amount of side effects-mostly red, "bumps" at the injection site and a small chance that I will experience a major feeling of an anxiety attack immediately after injection (which should subside after about 5-10 minutes). I'm a little nervous about all of the injections but we learned that researchers are about 1-2 years away from introducing a PILL form of treatment for MS. So hopefully I will only be injecting myself for a few years! All this funding for MS research IS working people! :)

MS WALK 2010:
Of course, this year the MS Walk is even more dear to my heart. Sitting in the waiting room today I was able to see how detrimental this disease really is. I was one of only 3 people WITHOUT a walker, cane or wheelchair. As you know-these aren't free! Your donations truly make a difference, whether it is used for research for improved treatment and CURE or just to help those in need--every little bit helps! Here is something to put it in perspective.

$25-provides a reacher from someone w/MS
$60-provides a shower chair with a back for one individual
$150-provides a cooling vest kit for an individual
$240-provides a day of respite care for a family affected by MS
$500-provides a manual wheelchair for one individual w/MS
$750-provides a portable ramp for one individual

We've already raised $125 but have a long way to go to reach our $1000 goal. If you would like to donate or join our team-please go here! !*
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/OHAWalkEvents?team_id=173779&pg=team&fr_id=12300
In other news-Dominic has been entered into a "Cutest Kid" contest through our local newspaper. If he wins we get a trip for 4 to Kalahari Resort (it would be our first family vacation-even if it is 30 min away!), a professional Family photo package, and Spa gift certificates. Please go and vote for our silly, spaghetti Dominic here:

http://allaroundcleveland.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?contestid=13021&pagetype=VOTING&SubmissionID=2729175

Thank you so much! The contest ends on Feb 16-I'll keep you posted!

I feel like I've asked so much in this email and I honestly thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of your day to check in our family, your kind words/comments and donations! We are so blessed to have you in our life! :)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Poppin' in!

I'm delaying the MS Walk post until tomorrow. I have an appointment at the Mellen Center at the Cleveland Clinic with my neurologist tomorrow regarding my MS update/treatment so I figured I would mash that all into one post!

Here is the link to go to and donate or join our team!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/DMiracles