A Year in the Life of Me!

Here is a look back at the year of 2011 in the life of me. It has been a pretty interesting year for sure. It's hard to believe the major life changes that have happened. I remain happily married to a wonderful man and am so blessed by his presence in my life. Here is a month-by-month break down of the year of 2011:

January: In January I saw a wonderful MS specialist in Des Moines, IA and was officially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I did really well through the appointment keeping my emotions in check. And he said that my prognosis is good as I don't have a lot of the common symptoms that occur with MS (muscle weakness, falling, etc.). I cried when we got back the car. I think I had been holding out hope that it was something other than MS.

February: We finally settled with the car insurance folks from the accident in Feb 2009. Hard to believe it took so long but they were stubborn about the amount up until the last day practically. I didn't feel like I had a real chance at taking it to court due to the MS and past injuries. But I was able to pay off Steve's car and pay back my mom. I think February was also the month I had surgery on my ear to replace my ear drum. It was successful but I don't think it made a whole lot of difference in my ability to hear.

March: I started on my MS medications in March. It was not hard to learn how to do the shots, but to get used to them was another thing. Steve and I both did the training with the MS nurse to learn how to do them. The side-effects weren't bad with the titration pack but got worse as the dose increased. I did finally get approved to sit for the licensing exam and got them all the info so I could schedule it. The process is really ridiculous.

April: At this point my weight was getting back out of my control. I tried and tried to get recommitted to the right lifestyle. But I think some depression was settling in due to the MS. It's pretty tough to get that diagnosis. I know at this point I was dealing with fatigue and my muscles acting strangely. Good days are really really good and bad days are horrible.

May: I did a bit better with my health in May, but I still think I was on the slow fade at this point.  A therapist never wants to consider the possibility that they could experience depression. But how can you be diagnosed with a major neurological condition without feeling some depression?

June: June was a pretty packed month! In the same week, my grandmother passed away and I had to go to Davenport to take the licensing exam. It was a pretty crazy week. I sang at the funeral and managed to make it through without breaking down. People don't understand how stinking hard that is! Steve went with me to Davenport to take the exam. It was a nice chance for us to get away a little. I was glad to find that I could get the results immediately after the exam. I was even more happy to see that I had passed the exam! I also signed up to sell Thirty-One this month, hoping that it would provide me with a little bit of pocket money and the opportunity to meet some new people.

July: July is the month of my birthday. It's weird to think about turning 29 this year. I don't really feel that old in some ways and in others I feel about 80. I did have a really great birthday this year.

August: August was the month, or close to the month where I took over the band direction at church. This was a pretty huge undertaking for me and not one that I really wanted to do. But at that point I knew somone had to do it and I was the one that was getting chosen. It was tough for all of us to get a real feel for the changes and to make our own groove.

September: In September, I celebrated my anniversary of 4 years to my amazing husband. He has been so wonderful to me and I couldn't ask for a better man to share my life with. I am truly blessed by his presence in my life.

October: October seemed like a month of just trying to survive. My meds seemed to be working and everything was going okay. Nothing exciting really in October.

November: November was a busy month with Steve's birthday, Thanksgiving, and trying to get everything prepared for the Christmas season. Finally in November I did feel like I had the band direction in hand and had a good idea of what I am doing. Thanksgiving we stayed at home this year and while I am sure that people were giving their opinions, I didn't care. It was so nice to relax at home with my husband and not have to drive or deal with the interesting personalities of our families.

December: This month has flown by so far. I can't believe that Christmas is over already. We had four different Christmases to attend in the span of three days. But we got to see mostly everyone so that was nice. Steve said this has been one of the best Christmases he has experienced and I have to agree. I organized the 7pm Christmas Eve service at church and we had a nice group of folks show up.

So, 2012, here I come. For better or for worse, I hope it will be a good one!