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Well, Mom's shoulder surgery went very well. They did end up doing the reverse shoulder replacement, because there was a huge hole in the tendon near the rotator cuff, which meant there was nothing the surgeon could create a suture with.
But, because she has so much extra muscle in that arm (because, her kids believe in strength training) - the doctor will be sending her to PT and expects that she will have far more mobility than most because of the muscle in that arm.
And, yes both my brother and I couldn't help smiling with that..."I told you so" grin on our faces.
Both of us do weights and had a few good strength training sessions while care giving.
On the flip side. We all got sick and I have to say this one was pretty horrendous. It started with my bro. It was kind of funny because we were talking the night before about our immune systems. We have some weird genetic funky things with our immune systems. But, we're an odd mix of ethnicities so its always hard to nail which side we got it from.
For the record, my brother and I are a strait half and half of Bengali Indian (dot, not feather) and Caucasian. I'm only getting racial for medical reasons here so don't get touchy. The Caucasian side is a wonderful mix of Italian/Hungarian/German/Dutch.
Since, we were young my brother and I have immune systems that tend to react sensitively and out of proportion. Mine more so than his, but when it comes to fevers our bodies go crazy and for all intents and purposes we fry like bacon! LOL
Now, high fevers are not out of the ordinary for young babies but my brother and I never grew out of it. Throughout our lives we strike fevers out of no where with no accompanying symptoms and the temp will just continue to go up and up and up. And, oh yes our fevers will often defy the impact of aspirin or Ibuprofin. It will go down a couple of degrees, and then go up even higher than before. This hit a peak for me at 40 years of age and a bout of rheumatic fever (pre MS diagnosis) when it hit 104 degrees and my mother had to put me in the bath tub.
All I can say is it felt like somebody ripping the skin off my body to be 104 degrees and put in cold water. I screamed and remembered thinking "geez I could go into convulsions..." I remember the water around me was turning warm from the heat of my skin.
Anyway, Mom tends to think this propensity for high fevers and high immune response is from her side. But, then why does no one else on her side of the family react this way? My brother and I don't know too much about our Indian side because my parents split when I was 2 and my bro was 4. Both, my brother and I would not be surprised if he too had the genetic marker for MS due to his own immune responses. But, we both know just because you have that marker doesn't mean you will actually present with the disease. And, we both agreed that my life as a humanitarian presented an extreme level of stress that would have definitely provided the key that "unlocked the genetic door".
Either way, we were twinsies this time around. It started with him and it began with the fever. Mom, got it too but not as bad though they gave her a good strong dose of antibiotic before the surgery.
And, then came my turn and the fever went from 101.5 - dose of aspirin - then 101.6 --> 102.7 -->aspirin --->99.9 --->101.5.-->another dose of aspirin. It was at 102.7 that I started freak a bit because I was not going to go back to the tub. Unless you've been through it, you just don't know...the pain is ungodly.
FINALLY, after we started pouring mucinex down my throat the fever started to abate. I do still deal with Polyarthritis from that bout of rheumatic fever so even when the fever abated every joint in my body is inflamed right now. My ribs and and lower back have taken the biggest brunt. But, I switched to ibuprofin at this point because it's much better at pain relief than aspirin. I am feeling a thousand times better than yesterday and can function even if my thinking is a bit water logged right now.
I slept the majority of the time in upstairs spare room. I love my kitty little Bill, but he likes to be all over me when I'm sick and just having the sheets touch my body is painful. Mom pulled out the softest of softest blankets and put it over my body and I don't even have words but to say it felt like paradise in the midst of a raging hurricane going on inside my body. And, though we might say I slept upstairs so I could watch over mom - we both knew it was the other way around. It's the closest room to the dreaded bathtub.
Fortunately, God was good and we didn't have to go there. Now to transition out of of being sick and move into the wonderful role of getting better. I hope you are all having a blessed and beautiful day!
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 Comments
08 May 24 by member: Mistybenner
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08 May 24 by member: SaraRiley
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The bathtub was one of the biggest things that really surprised me about my MS diagnosis. I've always used bathing is one of my techniques to deal with illness and feeling bad. But as I've been dealing more and more with a lot of the MS symptoms and the emotions that come with it; it then became more of a curse then it was helpful. I'll crave the heat of the water to deal with the cold when I'm freezing but then it makes me ill and dizzy and now I have to watch it because it'll make me pass out which of course is dangerous in its own right. But I do know what you mean about the painful temperature difference of water and your body's temperature. Ironically I have a different problem with temperature for me I seem to freeze to the point that any cold on my skin feels like agony and burning the doctor is suggested some sort of pill medication, but it's just yet one more pill to take although I have been considering it just because it's so embarrassing to wear a jacket when it's 80° outside. Or to be violently shivering inside because the building has air conditioning I have chill bumps and freeze constantly. Do you have a low-grade fever all the time? My body has what is called an under temperature which means I run a fever a couple degrees lower than the average person as well as I seem to always have a low grade fever I don't know if that's common for someone with MS or not, though 🤷. I'm glad you're finally starting to feel a little better now it sounds like you were truly miserable and I'm glad that your Mom and brother are starting to feel a little better as well. I know that my doctor has moved my appointment date up since my medications don't seem to be working as they're supposed to be I thought it was just a flare up and would go away, but he says that they're cognitive decline symptoms and they should be observed and monitored and medication changed so that means another MRI... to evaluate it bleh. It's interesting to know about your genetic markers and family history and the fever connection relate with one another. I'm sorry that people would have hassled you about the mention of race when you were just trying to explain the connection with the fevers it's funny how sensitive people can be. I grew up breeding dogs and horses on the farm so genetic markers can be very important for a variety of different complex issues in aren't necessarily connected to any sort of social issues but then again I'm used to dealing with animals more than people so I think of that kind of behavior more than I do social behaviors I guess. Honestly I kind of like animals more than I like people when it comes down to it there's so much more honest and kind most of the time.
08 May 24 by member: Leah_guffey
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Egull1 💖 A dear friend of mine Elle has the heart a warrior 💪 like you have. She has great difficulty speaking/communicating for herself. I promised her years ago that I would not speak for her unless they were her exact words. Elle reads your posts and feels for you and your family during this time. 'This difficult time shall pass (pause) keep moving forward and treasure every moment. Thank you 💖
08 May 24 by member: Livin_Breezy
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Wow! That sounds pretty intense and painful! I'm glad you are all on the mend! Glad your mom came through her surgery and even though I'm sure she is in pain PT will help her. You were right to smirk.. strength training is so important!
Take care and get better!🩷🩷
08 May 24 by member: Diana 1234
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Thank you, Diana - believe it or not Mom is not in as much pain as we all thought she would be. This particular shoulder replacement is very different from the one she has on the left shoulder. She had a full stem put in on that one and those are extremely painful. Since then, they've modified the procedure to a much shorter stem and ball. She still has to wear the sling for 6 weeks but she has a LOT more freedom and significantly less discomfort. She's already hopped in the shower and is able to do a lot of things on her own because she still has use of both hands even if she can't use the arm. This was a godsend when I was down and out yesterday. And, Breezy please give Elle a big big hug from me. I read my mom her words and they comforted both of us. I kept moving forward just as she said and I treasured every moment. Mom confessed a little bit ago that she was worried last night. I guess we both have a little trauma left over from having to put me in the bathtub a decade ago. In that incident, my cheeks swole up and the blood vessels burst in my face. She was probably afraid I was about to explode. LOL. It left a indelible mark on both of us. And, we are very thankful the fever subsided. Once, I got a handle on the pain I knew I was home free and was able to move forward just as Elle said and I got a whole lot done today. I pushed but made sure there was enough bandwidth to continue recovering and get to bed early tonight. The fever is maintaining around 99.4 which is fine. 99 feels like nothing compared to 102.7 or 104 for that matter! Please let Elle know her sentiment brings both of use great comfort :-) @Leah - I do have temperature sensitivity as well, but actually have learned to increase tolerance through exposure and heat adaptation therapy. However, the same cannot be said for the cold unfortunately. It slows the motor skills down and I confess winter time is very frustrating. Especially when one can go from running a 7 minute mile up hill in 90 degree heat to feeling like one is moving through quick sand or sludge in very cold temps. I still adhere to my nightly cold showers post workout (except when sick) because they do help me to recover quickly and reduce inflammation. And, yes I can have the same reaction to cold tiled floors but I was already instructed not to walk around barefoot when I was diagnosed. So, I'm rarely without some form of shoe, sandal or slipper except when I'm in bed. The floor can make the muscles on my feet knot up. But, heck I'm 7 years into all of this so I just adapt and adjust as needed. If there is one thing I've learned from studying animals in the wild (specifically raptors) like eagles, hawks, and owls - if they lose a limb, an eye, their hearing, they just adapt and seem to look at it as just another way to "be". They seem to let go of their expectations of how it's all "supposed" to go and just keep functioning in whatever way then can. And, they all seem to find a way to make it work that's both inspiring and amazing. Anyhow, I do hope your MRI comes out okay. It looks like they want to see if theres new disease activity, and/or monitoring brain volume. Brain volume shrinkage can be a key marker in progressive MS. I know MRI's suck but it is a good thing to monitor.
08 May 24 by member: Egull1
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08 May 24 by member: Yippee Ki Yay
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Oh goodness egull. Hope you all feel better very soon. In my prayers. ❤️🙏🏻
11 May 24 by member: wifey9707
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12 May 24 by member: Livin_Breezy
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