Catching Up...

Well it's been a bit since my last post, but things have been crazy!
We got word yesterday evening that David's petition for change in status was APPROVED!!
So his 10 yr green card should arrive sometime in the next 60 days.
We are both so glad to have that stress GONE.
The lack of sensitivity has returned to my feet, primarily my right one again. I am opting for really comfortable shoes now rather than really cute ones...I am trying to combine comfort and cute but it's difficult.
I will try to be better with my next post..but for tonite I am tired and well I have also learned when I am tired I best try to sleep because otherwise sleep likes to mess with me :-)

Thw Weather Connection

We ave had damp cold weather the past couple of days and boy do I know it! I have began to really see a correlation between the weather and how my body feels. The higher the humidity and the cooler the tems the more I ache.
I have started noting the weather and temperature in my MS journal. There is definitely a pattern emerging.

Spasticity and the Weather...

So as the weather is taking it's next seasonal turn so are my "issues". The latest being that my legs have decided to freak out at night when it's time to go to bed. As soon as I lay down and get comfortable I start getting this tightening in my legs and then this pain starts resonating up from my feet in a wave like fashion up to my hips. I have also been getting very odd cramps. My legs will bolt straight out and I will have cramps behind my kneecaps and there have been occasions when the cramps have gone from the backs of the knees up the back of the thighs into my butt cheeks!
Talk about painful! But this latest tightening and complete leg aching has been really aggravating so I called and talked to the nurse today. She suggested increasing my fluid intake and trying to stretch and relax before bedtime. I want to avoid any more meds at all costs...so i am thinking maybe some yoga type stretches will be beneficial...
I told her I will give it a go and keep her updated. She said I might see it subside once the season has shifted over completely into the cooler weather. I am hoping I don't slip into the same issues I first experienced, it seemed that the cold weather issues were much more frustrating than the hot weather ones....

Immigration Frustration

My husband is originally from LaSalle Ontario Canada. We were wed in November of 2004. We have done everything possible to follow the immigration process to the letter and even retained a lawyer to help us make sure we have done everything right. During the first year of the process it was not financially feasible for David to stay here and not be able to LEGALLY work (it took a little over a year of waiting for the proper channels to run their course so that he could get permission to work in the U.S.) so after we wed he had to return to Canada and I maintained the fort here in NC.
He was finally able to enter the country to assume his residency in January of 2006. Since that time we have just done the normal things folks do...work hard, pay taxes and share much love. We have continued on our immigration journey doing everything just as we are supposed to and we are down to the last legs of the process where David goes from being a Conditional Resident to becoming a Legal Resident. (Eventually to becoming a Citizen!) We have been awaiting news of the approval of his I-751 petition for around 10 months now.
Imagine our surprise when we received a letter from our lawyer Saturday October 11th, 2008.
They have not approved our I-751 petition due to lack of evidence that we have a valid marriage.
(the I-751 changes David's status from a conditional resident - based on
marriage to a legal resident and makes his green card valid for 10 years)
They are requesting that we submit further evidence. Our lawyer asked for us to come in immediately to go over all this.
I spoke with our lawyer this morning, they are as dumbfounded by this as we are.
They can't see any reason why more evidence was requested based on what we
had previously submitted and said they have never recieved one of these requests before.
They say the only thing they can figure is that we were just one of the random selections.

I am livid. We submitted all kinds of documents showing joint responsibilities, bills, our mortgage, etc. in both our names and 10, TEN!, signed and notarized affidavits from friends
and family.
We are just two people who love each other and because we don't have a dozen credit cards in both our names they are questioning the validity of our vows?


We thought of a few more things we can add, our medical insurance showing both our names on the same policy, our life insurance policies showing each as the beneficiary,
and David's Canadian pension showing me as the beneficiary there too.
So we're going to submit those, request that they adjudicate with the previously submitted items too and hope that finishes it up.
But the kicker is we have to submit before November 20th and the lawyer requires more $$ to be applied to the trust in order to complete this additional work......errrrr
So we won't be taking the trip to Canada for Davids friends wedding in November and it looks like this will be our anniversary and Christmas presents too!
But no matter what, we will do WHATEVER it takes so that they don't deport him. I cannot imagine us ever having to be apart again. It was misery.

I am just so frustrated by this. You try to live right, be honest good citizens, play by the rules and this is what happens??? And yet there are THOUSANDS of folks walking the streets who are here illegally who people are wanting to protect???
I can tell you from my heart and my pocketbook..if you aren't here legally and honestly I wish you'd get the $#^& out.
I am also contacting my Congressman (Mel Watt- D) and Senator (Elizabeth Dole- R) over this.
We are both hard working tax paying members of their Districts and could use their help.

CRAMPS....

After working hard all day yesterday painting the new hall, and generally trying to get the house back in some kind of order so that it can be cleaned before the inlaws arrive this Saturday it's no wonder I was wiped out by 8pm last night. It was a shot night so after supper I did my injection and prepared to go hit the hay. We had just gotten everyone situated (i.e. Duke was at my feet, Daisy Joon was between David and I and Dixie was in her crate) and I was all snuggled in ready to drift off when WHAM! the backs of both my thighs seized up in massive cramps...then the muscles going up across my butt cheeks into my lower back on both sides just started rippling in cramps!!!
It was all I could do to get myself up out of the bed. I stood there froze in agony. Poor David did'nt know what to do...I was just wincing and crying. He went to the kitchen and got me some Tonic Water (quanine). I chugged it down and tried to force myself to move. It was awful..the cramping was like it was going in waves from my knees to my waist..finally as I moved around some it started to subside...I'll be honest, I was scared to lay back down for fear it would sieze up again!

Finally I stretched out and was able to get to sleep. I woke up this morning feeling as if I had been in a fight! I hope nothing like that happens again anytime soon...mercy.

Jen

I SLEPT!!!!

Yes it's true!! I slept last night!!
I slept from a little after 10pm until 4am!! Straight thru..no waking up..no walking around..no doing housework or going to the bathroom..I just slept.
THANK-YOU ZOLPIDEM !
If I didn't need to get up to go to work I think I could have rolled back over and slept for a while longer too. Dang that was a good feeling.
I don't plan to use it often but at least I have something now that will work. Wooo Hooo!

Speaking of...work is crazy busy. Lots going on with more on the way.
I know between now and when I take time off in October I am going to be up to my elbows in alligators.
I like being busy so long as I keep it all organized..when it starts getting away from me I have to reel it back in...lol

Aw well..best get back at it...HVAC details to do today :-)

Tingling Foot....

Hmmmm..well it seems like maybe some of my symptoms from last fall might be returning.
I woke up this morning and my left foot feels like it is lacking in sensitivity...that familiar not quite numb..not quite "falling asleep" sensation is edging up from my toes towards my heel. I had a bit of a similar feeling last week in the right foot but it faded as the morning went on so we'll see how this one goes today...
I also got some information in the mail regarding my Betaseron. It appears they are coming out with a new self-injector that will use a smaller needle!! Wooo Hooo! I am going to visit the webiste today and check it out and see about getting mine ordered. I don't have any problem giving myself my shots, but I do have some issues with injection site redness and swelling sometimes. It has improved some since I started using the cold packs though.

It was a VERY productive weekend around the house. We are on the downhill side of our new hall construction project. All the major work is done and we just have to hang the new door, sand the floor and stain it, and trim out around the door opening. We also decided to go ahead and repaint the existing walls and trim so that everything just looks all nice and new. It is all looking so good!

Work is super busy, we're still on the search for someone with HVAC and plumbing talents. Hopefully we'll find someone soon. We have so much work on the horizon! I love having a full plate and staying very busy, much better than the alternative.

Speaking of work..better get to it!

Sleepless in Reedy Creek

One of the most frustrating things that has come about with the arrival of my Multiple Sclerosis is that the insomnia I have always had battles with seems to have gained steam. Sometimes the waking up after having laid down for an hour isn't so bad, I get up and do laundry or general housework so sometimes I make good use of my time...but sometimes I just click thru the TV channels or go surf the web.
The last time I was in to see Dr. Jeffrey he prescribed me Restoril...I have tried it on several occasions and so far I haven't had any luck with it. So this afternoon I called and spoke with his nurse and she's going to get with him and see about getting me on something else. I really don't want to have to take anything but this getting an hour or two here and there and tossing and turning and being up and down all night is not much fun.
The dogs (Duke, Dixie and Daisy) used to get up and wander thru the house with me but they have decided it's much better to just slide over into my spot and wait for my return
I have tried every natural sleep aid you can think of...lavender scent in the room...a warm soak befor bed..physical activity...and it seems even when I am exhausted and thinking "oh yes i am going to sleep good tonite" I will rest really good for that first hour or two and then BAM! I wake up and that's pretty much the only quality rest I will have that night.

So we'll see what the nurse says when she calls me back...hopefully we'll find something that works!

Weekend Warriors

I just love this picture of David and our canine son Duke. It makes me smile everytime I look at it.

So we've been busy trying to get the house in order in preparation for David's parents coming to visit for the first time ever.
The past couple of weeks we were focused on redoing the office/guest room. We are hitting the final stride on that one with only the window treatments and some lighting to address and it will be complete.

This weekend we constructed two new walls to create a separation between our bedroom and the bathroom. (We live in an 80+ year old house so you can imagine that at one time there was no bathroom and the layout after adding one was a bit odd)

We've got the framing done and the basic structure of the walls complete, now the fun part - getting all the surface work and trim work done and making it look pretty. The dogs seem to like the change, especially Dixie who thinks this made her crate extra cozy. They were'nt at all fond of the air compressor runing though...they decided to hide out under the back porch most of the time we were working.

I need longer weekends to get all my projects completed.
I have to say though, I can really tell the limitations of my energy level now...I go balls to the wall and then WHOOSH...I'm done..out of gas..that's it. It is so hard to tell myself "okay, you have to stop" , but I am learning that I really will pay for it the next day if I don't listen to what the body is saying.

Tonight was a shot night too. I am noticing some of the "lack of sensitivity" returning to my feet, but so far nothing like I experienced last year this time. The injection sites are still wanting to whelp up a bit, but I have been using a cold compress on the locations prior to the injection and that seems to help. The legs seem to have the most issues. I have been having weird feelings in my calves..and experiencing alot of spasms in my legs in general.

Allright time to herd up the hounds and call it a night...

Blogs of Importance

Allrighty....
I have added a section over there ------> called VERY SPECIAL BLOGS. In this section I want to draw attention to Blogs that have an importance to me that I think others might want to have a gander at too. If you would, please take a few moments to check it out. The first one I have listed is from a dear friend of mine and it is a benefit Cycling event in honor of his daughter that's purpose is raising funds for CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF).
I have been swamped with miscellaneous projects at home and work this week so I have been feeling a bit scattered...and this isn't a good day for the ole body - very achey, maybe it's the cold damp weather. I really do think there is a correlation with my symptoms and the weather....I need to explore that more and document it more...
Anyhoo...back to drawing sanitary pipe I'll try to add more in a bit :-)

Jen

I am fumbling, but getting there....

So far so good...I think...
I'm still finding my way around, I think I'll do better when I get into a routine ..
the set-up hasn't been bad at all and once I get it all organized like I want then hopefully
the thoughts will just flow!

Jen

okay we'll give it a go...

Just getting this set up and going..then we'll see where it takes me