I am trying very hard to get healthier and a part of that is increasing the amount of exercise that I get. Yesterday I walked a mile and a half. I was surprised at how hard it was. Part of the difficulty was because I have this horrible cold and unless I am constantly using cough drops, I cough. The other reason is because we took Lenita's dog, Hoppy, with us. He walked really fast the first lap around. The second lap though he was thinking differently, as was I. I was happy to be there, happy that I was doing well enough I could do the walking, and determined to be able to do what I can to get more healthy and feel better. What was funny though is that the second lap around Hoppy kept trying to lie down in the grass. He is so cute! A big dog though and needs his exercise (as do I).

Lenita has three dogs and I have one. So, we have decided to rotate so that all the dogs get the chance to come and walk with us. Eventually I am sure we will take more than one dog at a time, but for now we are starting with just one. Anyway, we walked a mile and a half and I am sore. Not sore in the way I expected though. My legs don't really hurt.....I am actually doing quite well. It is the bottom of my feet. They are VERY sore. Maybe I need different shoes? I'm not sure, but I do have a couple pairs of walking shoes and so I will try a different pair tomorrow. Hopefully that will do the trick.

So, enough about that! Next week I am going to Yakima for a NMSS program. It is a research symposium about Nervous System Repair & Protection. It should be good. There are 4 of us from the Tri-Cities that are going to attend. Lenita, Donna, Laura, and I have decided to go and make a day of it. Should be fun, not to mention educational. I will update all of you on what I learn!

Other than that, not much is going on right now. I am still trying to get over this cold. My sister's birthday was on Tuesday and so we are having a BBQ to celebrate her birthday with the family on Saturday. Next week brings the typical....appointments, walking, and of course the trip to Yakima. I hope you are all doing well. Take care of yourselves and have a great weekend!

Have you ever called to make an appointment with your doctor and when you got off the phone with the receptionist you thought "What was her problem?" Or when you go to see your doctor the front office staff is rude. Or you call to get in to see your doctor and can't because he's booked up and can't get you in even though you really need to be seen (maybe you have a high fever). Most of the time I would say that if you have a great doctor, it does not really matter what the front office staff is like. To have a great doctor is worth putting up with them. Not anymore! I have learned just how bad a bad staff can be. It is unfortunate because I really liked my doctor. He is very good at what he does. I did not even mind that he was difficult to get into (I think my mom is less tollerant with that then I am). All of my experience in the medical field (between working in it and being a patient) I have never had such an experience. I am not sure if it was because we all were having a bad day, it was a Monday, or it was just inevitable because this office staff is not all that nice. This is not the first time I have felt that they were rude, but I figured I liked my doc and so it was okay. Let me tell you, it is not okay. There are other docs out there who are just as good with a friendlier staff!

The last few days I have been getting sick (again) and yesterday morning I called in to my local PCP to make an appointment. The girl on the phone scheduled me for 8:50 in the morning. As I am not feeling well, I was not having a good morning. My head hurts, stuffed up, coughing, and having problems with my breathing. I don't feel real comfortable leaving my house without doing a breathing treatment when I get this way and so I thought it was important to do one before leaving for my appointment. I ended up being 3 minutes late for my appointment and when I arrive I was greeted by a VERY rude receptionist who simply stated "Your appointment is already over, if you need to be seen you need to go to the Urgent Care". As I mentioned, I was not feeling well, and this was the last thing I needed to hear. I said excuse me, my appointment was at 8:50, I'm 3 minutes late. How could my appointment be over already. She stated that she put me in for 8:45 and that it was a for a quick appointment as they fit me in. I said, no, on the phone you told me 8:50. I then said you know what, the last 3-4 times I have been sick I have had to go to the Urgent Care and then ended up in the hospital. I don't want to go to the Urgent Care, I am here for my appointment. If I can't be seen I want to speak to the Office Manager to make a complaint.

The Office Manager was a piece of work! She came out and said that they will not see me, which at this point was not my concern as much as I wanted to make a point that I was given the wrong time on the phone and that maybe this receptionist needs better training or something. I mean, the least she could have done was call me back and tell me it was supposed to be 8:45 not 8:50. This could have prevented the whole problem. I don't care that she made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes. What I care about is the fact I have been so sick for so long and at that moment felt it was unfair that I would have to go sit in the Urgent Care for several hours only to be sent home and possibly get worse. After all, this is what has happened the last few times I have been sick. Anyway, I told the Office Manager my concern and her response was "If you feel you aren't getting the care you need maybe you need to go somewhere else". She could tell that I was upset and instead of just taking the complaint and saying something like, I will take care of it or I will talk to her. She said, she could make an appointment for the next day. I said, fine, I will take the appointment for tomorrow and when I come in I'm gonna talk to Dr. about their attitude. That it is not acceptable that they treat a patient that way. Then she said, you know what, I'm not going to schedule you for tomorrow, and if you don't leave right now I'll call services (which is like security). That is when I lost it. What the hell! I said, that is bullshit. You want to call security because I wanted to make a complaint. I left and then today I got a call saying that they are discharging me from their practice.

I am so disappointed in Dr. I was one of his first patients when he came to the Tri-Cities. This is a man who the last few times I saw him he made comments like why didn't you come see me sooner (so that I did not end up in the hospital). I told him cause he was busy and I couldn't get in. This is a man who I respected. This is a man at my last couple of appointments gave me a hug and told me to hang in there. So, for this same man to discharge me from his practice is VERY out of character. My guess is that this came more from the Office Manager than from Dr. Problem is when a good doctor has a bad staff, what do you do? Really, there is not much you can do. I worked in the medical field, I know how it is. The doctors rely on the staff to let them know what is going on. Obviously, I pissed off the staff by trying to make a complaint that would have only helped them in the future. So needless to say, I won't be returning to that doctor. I am moving on.

I find it interesting that the medical community here is always questioning why they can't keep patients, why everyone goes to Seattle or Spokane to see doctors, why there is such a problem. Well, here is one reason. When your staff is not very professional, when they treat the patients poorly, why would we want to continue to go to see you. It doesn't matter how good of a doctor you are, eventually, a bad staff is going to turn you away.

This past week has been one of insight for me as the walk MS event ended. Being on the news and in the newspapers was quite the eye opener for me. I am glad to do it and happy that we had such a great response. It is great to think of how many people may have learned a little something about MS that did not know before, or of the person who may have MS but did not realize there were programs out there for them. What a great thing it is to have that coverage in the local media. For me however it was an eye opener because I did not recognize myself.

When I started this journey (life with MS) I knew it would be difficult. But what are your options? You just do the best you can. I had every intention to focus on my health and to be healthier. That was almost 3 years ago. The first 6 months I was lost, not sure what to do since I was not working. That is when this blog started. That is when I started to become active with the National MS Society and MSAA. That is wonderful and I am glad I was able to help as much as I have. Problem is my health, my needs....they were once again put on the back burner. Why is it that the most important thing for us to do (take care of ourselves) is the most difficult? I can take care of my son, my sister, my family, my friends, but not myself. That seems silly. We all are like that I think. It seems that there must come a time where we are faced with our reality and must choose to focus on our self for once. That is where I have finally reached.

With every illness, every treatment, every time in the hospital.....I have gained weight. It does not seem to make a difference if I eat healthy. Problem is eating healthy is not enough. For every step I make to become more healthy, something happens which only puts me back 3-4 steps (like being put on steroids). It seems like a vicious cycle that never ends. As if I just can't get ahead. So, I have decided that something drastic needs to happen. The person I saw on TV is NOT me! Sure, the person I am inside is the same and always has been. But, where did this other person come from? A result of my health? Yes. But do I have to accept that as one more health problem? NO! I have decided that I am going to do whatever it takes to become more healthy. Of course I would like to loose a substantial amount of weight while I am at it, but if I only loose some, that is okay. The most important thing for me is that I feel better, am able to function better, and that I have better control over my health.

I have come up with a goal that I think will help. I recently learned of the MS Challenge Walks that happen all over the country (I think there are 8-9 of them). It will take a lot of training in order for me to be ready to do this. It is walking 50 miles over 3 days. The one I am going for is around Labor Day weekend each year in Southern California. I figure I won't be ready for this year, but I can get ready for next year. So, my goal is to start slow. Walk a mile three times a week to start and go up from there. I can do a mile. I did more than that at this years Walk MS in Kennewick. So, if I push myself.....set my mind on it, I can get there. And, getting more exercise will only help me become more healthy. This is the area I have lacked in. I can eat healthy, but if I am not exercising regularly I won't get any actual results. I don't expect results overnight. To do that would mean that I would not really be healthy. True change, becoming healthy takes a long time.....it is a matter of creating a different lifestyle. That is my goal.

To help get to where I need to be, I am taking a cue from My MS Journal. This blog has been a wonderful resource for me to vent, discuss what I am going through, connect with all of you, learn more about MS, about me. I have started another blog that will be used to help keep me on track through my next adventure of taking control over my health. Wish me luck. I will also be raising funds for the National MS Society. My goal is to raise $5000.00 for the MS Challenge Walk 2009! Anything you all can help with would be greatly appreciated. They ask you to donate $2500.00 in order to attend, I would like to see if I can double that goal. I have just under 1 1/2 years to get there. :)

I hope that this finds each of you doing well. Take care!

Tomorrow is the walk and it should be a great event. It has been beautiful weather and it is supposed to be 79`. What a nice change that would be (the last two years that I have been here in the Tri-Citites, it has rained). So, all of us committee members have been very busy trying to get the last minute things done. Personally, I am done with all I need to do. I was very busy at the start of the week, but my chemo was on Tuesday and I didn't want to do much after because the LAST thing I want is to end up back in the hospital.

So, my last post I mentioned that we were doing lots of publicity for the walk. After all, the Pacific Northwest has the highest rate of MS in the US and the 2nd highest in the world, yet there is not much talk about it here in Central Washington. That is NOT okay....so we set off to change that. This week thanks to KVEW tv & The Tri-City Herald we were able to do just that. KVEW's Good Morning Northwest did an interview with us on the walk Tuesday morning, then last Night Stacey Vasko & Gracie Pena did a story on me and MS. Today brought an article in the paper (which includes information about the water program Lenita teaches here locally) and tonight Stacey & Gracie have a feature about the walk. Not all of the videos are up yet, but as they are I will get them linked here.

So, chemo went as well as to be expected. I am tired and today a bit shaky. I didn't sleep real well last night which may have something to do with that. Anyway, I still have some nausea, but it really is all just kind of what comes for a bit after the treatment. Another week or so and I will be good. :) Nothing to worry about. I plan to do NOTHING today but rest, so I am going to head off and do that.....okay, I will be catching up on the shows I have recorded as well. I can't possibly sleep anymore. I slept in until about 10 today.

I hope all of you are doing well, that you have wonderful, beautiful weather, and that this weekend brings you some fun. Take care!

I am in Seattle once again for appointments. We came over yesterday and it was a beautiful drive. We could not have asked for better weather, especially considering the pass was closed for a little while the night before. Anyway, we made it just in time to check into the hotel and head to my appointment with the Naturopathic Doctor I saw a few months back. I was in for my follow-up and let me just say how much I appreciate her. I will be coming back in a month to see her and will most likely be coming on a monthly basis for a while. I tend to be a complicated patient, so there is lots to do to get my health in order. She recommended I get a book called In Defense of Food, so I went to the local Barnes & Noble yesterday after the appointment to buy it. Once done reading it I will let you all know what I think.

So what am I doing up at 4:30 you might ask? Well, I am just finishing the last of the prep for my procedure this morning. I figured since I had to be up I might as well do something constructive, so here I am. :) My procedure is going to be at 8:15 this morning and I am told it should be about 2 hours. I am not worried as I know that I am really good hands. I have some of the best doctors Seattle has to offer after all. So, after the procedure I will be hopefully feeling well enough that we can head back home. Don't get me wrong, I love visiting Seattle, but under the circumstances, I would rather just go home. My preference would be to be able to be here at a time when I can come and have fun, rather than just come for appointments. Maybe next month when I come over I can take a day or two and do something fun. That would be nice. My doc yesterday told me about this spa not far from her office, so that is something I definitely need to check out.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. Take care of yourself and Happy Wednesday!