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Showing posts with label Multiple Sclerosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Multiple Sclerosis. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Attempting Audiobooks


Since the Optic Neuritis is still making any attempt to read an exhausting game of fill in the blank, I have decided to give audiobooks another try. I generally don't use audiobooks. It's not that I have anything against audiobooks, (like some people who seem to for some weird book-snobbish reasons), it's that I distract easily.  



I'm very much the "oooohhhhh shiny!" person. Combine this with 4 babbling kids and a husband who randomly tosses questions from across the house. I'm simultaneously overjoyed and exasperated that, just the act of putting on headphones, can summon the 15-year-old from the depths of his bedroom. He peppers me with questions ranging from "my phone is doing a thing...." to "How petty is it that God wouldn't let someone into heaven for not believing in him; seems egocentric...."



The audio-book I selected,  Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett – Good Omens Audiobook. So far, it's wonderful, (and yes, I know I'm late to the game). It's also around 12 hours long. I'd neglected to consider the length of the book in my enthusiasm of finding out the book was available through Libby.


Good Omens, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman


So, I shall continue my audiobook journey, with the hope that I'll be able to return to my print books soon. My shelves are filled with TBR books and I'm anxious to get back to them.  

Friday, July 3, 2020

Optic Neuritis






Optic Neuritis sucks. I have to say it; it just sucks. Okay, so what is it?

"Optic neuritis (ON) is a condition in which the nerve to the eye (the optic nerve) becomes inflamed or irritated. Inflammation refers to a process in which white blood cells and chemical messengers go to an area of the body to stimulate healing or to attack viruses or foreign material. Optic neuritis is a condition that can happen because of a disease or without any specific known cause." -Cleveland Clinic l

My Multiple Sclerosis is yelling "ATTACK!" Then attacking things it should not be attacking. My eyes are paying the price. Normally, the Optic Neuritis sticks to my right eye, which allows for my left eye to compensate. This time my left eye is being attacked, and I'm suddenly aware of all the damage that has been done to my right eye.


Right now, as I type, letters are disappearing. If I go back to read the definition of Optic Neuritis I see: "Opti ne ti (ON) is a conditi in whi the ner...." As I move my eyes more letters appear but, this is draining; especially when your whole world seems to revolve around reading. Let's not even get into the heartbreak of your child's face being blurry.



Summer means that the heat can and will exacerbate MS symptoms. Combined with stress, (b/c well, pandemic), it's not surprising to me that I am having a flare-up. My only hope is that, now that I've finished my 5 days of an IV steroid and I'm in the throes of oral prednisone hanger, my vision will come back to normal really bad self. If it does so within less than 1-3 months; that would be spectacular.