Birthdays, babies, and updates.

Well Hello,

First a big old Happy Birthday to Colleen!! She is the best penny rugger I know, and she has been so good to me over the past couple of years. We have never 'met' in person, but I feel like we have. She is such a sweetheart. I hope that you have a great day today Colleen. If anyone would like to send her birthday wishes, here is a link to her Blog. I also posted a new link today on my sidebar under Tutorial's to Colleen's tutorial on making a clutch purse. I hope that is all right Colleen? I am now going to eat a chocolate marshmallow Santa in honor of your birthday!

Next, a weather forecast for our little area in Ontario for the next week. Rain, rain, snow or rain, rain, snow, snow or rain, rain! Nice weather to be sitting in front of the fire now isn't it? Lucky for me, thats what I'll be doing. Except for Tuesday...it's 3D ultrasound day for my son Jake and daughter-in-law Kerri, and they said that I can go!! It's less than 12 weeks now until the little guy is due, and Kerri is blooming. They have moved into the house that they had built, and it is so perfect for them. I must get pictures of both Kerri (belly) and the house to show you. I know that I will be posting a 3D picture of the baby Tuesday night for sure!

I discovered this past Tuesday through another visit to the eye specialist and the neurologist, that I will still not be able to drive for at least two more weeks! The reason that I 'thought' my Optic Neuritis was getting better in my right eye is because it is getting worse in my left eye, so generally I couldn't see as much contrast between the two.(In Optic Neuritis, vision is affected by a plaque on the optic nerve, the part of the brain that is in contact with the retina of the eye and conveys visual information to the part of the brain that analyzes such information. This loss of vision can be slight, or you can be almost totally blind. It will worsen with stress, heat, body temperature, meds. It can last up to six months, but a full recovery is often seen. You can get it over and over.) So the eyes are worse, but I can still read.....thats all I care about, well it would be nice to see better than I am, but as long as I can read or stitch a bit, I can handle it.

Family and friends have been so good to offer to drive me around, and I am actually taking them up on it now. More tests have been booked, special Neuro eye doctors in Toronto to visit, MRI's, blood tests, that type of thing. I am still on my Prednisone so I haven't been sleeping well, very shaky, and I sure hope that this weight that I put on literally overnight leaves me, but I'll be finished it next week so an end is in sight.

The Neurologist has decided to attack my MS with a vengence despite the heart and blood pressure meds. So my arsenal of pills has once again increased by several more prescriptions, and I will be starting Avonex injections on the 25th of November. Here is a link to the Avonex site if you aren't familiar with it. Avonex® (interferon beta-1a) has been shown to slow the rate of progression of disability in relapsing-remitting MS. It has been demonstrated to decrease the relapse rate and the amount of accumulated damage seen on MRI, but to a lesser extent than other available agents. Avonex is given as weekly intramuscular injection at a lower dose than Betaseron or Rebif. Avonex is indicated for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS.

My brother Tony took me out for my blood work this morning, then to breakfast and to a little craft store over in the eastern part of our little town. Wouldn't you know, they had all kinds of stuff half off, so I had to buy twice as much. Really, I should be housebound for about three years now, just to get all of the projects I want to do finished...its crazy. I spend more time reading about, or organizing, or buying the stuff for my crafts then I do with the crafts. I am sure that there could be professional help for me somewhere down the road for this very real, and serious issue. The Craft Ammasser...thats what I'm going to call myself:)

Well, I'm off to snuggle with the dogs for a bit. We are going to Norwood tonight to visit with Jeff's Mom and Dad and have Chinese food. We haven't been there for awhile, and I need some TLC from Jackie (course those strong nurses hands also give a great neck rub) and some chuckles from Bert. I think I'll take the camera and see if I can catch them snoozing after dinner...they are so predictable.

Wooly hugs,

Trudy