Holiday wish list

This year, my list is really simple.

-no major health concerns to happen-
-begin training at a level that I am used to
membership $$ to join a gym.. I would prefer NOT in my neighborhood, but the anytime fitness will do.  I will NOT rejoin  the gym i used to belong to.  i was never really happy there, just for the spin classes.  Yeah. I know there are no spin classes at anytime fitness, but i think i will attempt a class or two at soho, the studio in town
- material gift.... concert tickets to Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown Band/Billy Cuurington
The positive part is that tickets to that are comkparable to the Strawberry Festival.  We may add in a local hotle stay so that we don't have to worry about getting home in all that traffic.

Thanksgiving and other stuff

This Thanksgiving was really good.  We had a good meal that I was able to cook pretty much on my own.  HUGE difference from last year.  Avonex must be doing its thing.  That is (besides Dave as well as great friends and family) one of the things that we are so thankful for.  Its amazing how one little shot can make such a difference.  I wish that my sense of taste would come back.  Stuff I really used to enjoy tastes like cardboard..  I am guessing this is one of the things that come with having the radioactive iodine treatment.  A small price to pay.

On a plus side of things, we got new laptops at a really good price at a local place that just fixes and sells them.  We don't need all the extras, as most of the things can be gotten, or we have them somewhere. 

I have to start the Christmas card list and letter, something to keep me busy for a while! There is a bunch of stuff to talk about.

On another note, I think that the dream of a 5K at Gasparilla will happen.  I revised my goal to the 8K

A busy January to March

This self injection with Avonex is going really well..  I have been moving about  good.  I was able to get around  at Shands post MRI with no  assistance. Granted I was tired and a little dizzy, but it is more than I have done in a while.   Looks good for Gasparilla this year.  Cannot wait to see everyone this year. Just going to be very interesting with a convention in town the same weekend.


March -- March 12 and 13 specifically are going to be whacky.,  Not only do we have the Region Two Summit during the weekend, but there are a couple of concerts at the Florida Strawberry Festival that weekend.  PLUS there is an MS Walk that I would love to participate in, a doo wop concert at a Plant City hotel that Dave would really enjoy.  do we want to really spend a weekend with Fleet folks, or really enjoy ourselves with good music.


The following weekend is the Kenny Chesney/Billy Currington/Zac Brown Consert at Raymond James Stadium that will be lots of fun.  Nothing like a great concert in a seemingly great place.  One way to NOT go to a football game in that stadium, is to go to a concert there.  Looking forward to the tailgating events before.

Good Hopeful Weekend

This weekend was good.  We went for a walk on the Van Fleet Trail this morning.  Still not great, but we did about 0.5 more than last week in 4 minutes quicker.  This is a very good sign.  Want so much to get back out there on the roads.  Its conforting to know that the end of this nightmare may really be over soon.   The conforting part is that I really do think that the Avonex is really helping great deal.  I know don't put all the marbles in one basket, but when something that was as easy as a prescription can help me back on the path of marathons, that is a good thing.

On another note, I have to go to Shands tomorrow for another MRI.  We were putting all the reports together for the docs there so that a comparative report can be written.  We also found the CD's of all the scans so the report can be accurate.  The scarey part is all the talk of "white matter" that is a big factor in MS in a few of the reports.  It took Tumor Study that another doc did who said the radiologists at her talk said the white matter looks like MS... Another reason why it is a good idea to go somewhere else for treatment.  What kills me two years later that if the neurologist who saw me did what I asked (the spinal tap) and got me diagnosed then.  I cannot imagine how much better I would be now. .  BTW:  I had at least 20 MRI's in a short period.  Makes me wonder if that radiation had a factor in the cancer.  I don't think so, but it is something that i will research.

More good stuff

The feeling of health is really very weird.  Just within that short of  a time doesn't make any sense to me.  I just want to get a real job so badly.  I am thinking that there is nothing really out there.  I saw an ad today that I will send/fax and application to.  One of the jobs would be so perfect for me, because I've done some of it before when I was temping in NY.  The other is not that foreign to me, and I am pretty sure that I would be able to do it easily enough.

We are walking more and more and its a very good thing.  The extra walking is doing me a world of good, and my thoughts of perhaps doing a marathon in the next year may be a reality

Update...

I'm at the 5 week point of taking the Avonex.  And I have to say that the way I am feeling is amazing to say the least.  I don't have the stalling nearly as much.  I would say once every couple of weeks.  The volunteer gig keeps me moving, and the days that I am NOT here, I really feel it.  It shows that moving is going to keep me active.  We go to the Van Fleet trail once a week for a walk.  We are going to go for about 4 miles next week, and that will be good.  Its a little trail that is sorta kinda a straight paved trail, with the trail on either side of us.  Polk trails are different that Hillsborough ones -- for one the Polk ones are free for now -- but there is NO facilities at the trail head the way some of the Hillsborough ones do or water along the route.  Still really nice in the middle of FL to have that sanctuary.  We went to a MS Group seminar on Friday where one of the speakers spoke about another drug that I need to ask about.. it is called Tysabri.  Once a month infusion.  If we have to go to Gainesville to get it done, OK.. I would rather get it done in Tampa

I learned to not get stuff done in my neighborhood lab because they said they ordered a Tumor Marker test, and they ordered something else.  Just really sad.  Especially when I knew they did the wrong thing based on the tube color when I had the test repeated at Shands.  I hate incomptencies. If it were for a "normal" test, then I would not worry too much.. but for wsomething specialized that was on the form, then no.  I would rather go to the nationwide lab across the street from the hospital and get it done there where they KNOW what they are doing.