Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Post 63 - That's All Folks (sort of)

This blog, which began in August of 2009 when I decided to chronicle my trip to Germany for what turned out to be unsuccessful stem cell treatment, will semi-conclude with this post, #63.  Semi-conclude, not completely conclude because I still wish to occasionally speak about MSA; how it affects me and some experiences that might make life more bearable for my fellow MSA sufferers.

I’m semi-concluding this blog for the simplest of reasons; my fingers just don’t hit the keys I aim at.
By the time I correct the misspellings in my latest entry and the time it takes to complete and post an entry, a couple of hours have gone by, hours that have become more precious as each day passes.

Fran, my long-suffering wife and caregiver, has just graciously offered to type up my wandering thoughts in the future.   She types much better than I ever did so we should be in for an improvement.  Until next time  .  .   .

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Post 62 - Just Another Accomodation

I‘ve mentioned several times before  how MSA involves adapting to a series of physical conditions such as conditions affecting balance which require first a cane or walker, later a wheelchair, so people don’t think you’ve had too much to drink.  Another condition I’m dealing with now involves the loss of my voice and what to do when I want to add something and be understood.  Just when I thought  had encountered all the annoying conditions MSA had to offer, a brand new one pops up.

This time the issue or annoying condition I’m experiencing involves drooling or, as someone more refined might say, having an excess of saliva when it’s not needed.  Actually, these discharges don’t just emit from my mouth, but my nose, taking a difficult situation and making it extremely troublesome. Imagine having a spoonful of water placed in your mouth with every forkful of food.  You can swallow or remove the excess with your napkin.  Or, you’d like to add something to the conversation but first you’ve got to deal with this water in your mouth.  So what do you do?

 First, you go shyderager@yahoogroups.com (the MSA Support blog) to find out if others have encountered this phenomenon and how they dealt with it. You find it’s just another strange condition sometime experienced by those approaching advanced stages of MSA.  You also learn that there’s no treatment for this annoying condition. Lastly, you find the only thing you can do is to prepare for this dinner time visitor – and ask for extra napkins!