Did Too Much

Uhh... Today was kind of not great. I tired myself out. It's so frustrating that I'll do less than I would have done on any given day before MS, and I'll be completely wiped out.

This morning I went to play with an almost-two-year-old, which I videotaped for a presentation I will be giving. I stayed maybe half an hour. Wiped. Now, I was not driving, so I was able to rest in the car.

Next stop, Home Depot. Needed fireplace tools. But first I headed straight for the bathroom, because apparently one lactase pill was not enough for what I ate for breakfast. I stood and looked at the tools for about ten minutes then had to sit down. Standing is worse than walking, if you can believe it.

Then we went home and rested for 15 minutes. Then it was off to babysit a friend's adorable, autistic three-year-old and adorable, hopefully-not-autistic baby. Why did I agree to babysit? Hm. Because I'm a yes person?

Driving to their house (again, that would be riding, not actually driving), I just wanted to go home. Or sleep right there in the car. The half-hour drive was a good rest, I guess.

It was nice to see those friends, whom we haven't seen in a few months, but gosh, those kids wore me out. The funny thing is that they weren't demanding at all. They are truly wonderful kids. The three-year-old chattered nonstop, but he was quite self sufficient with play. He loves to play alone. The only thing I had to do for him was feed him and make sure he kept his clothes on. Or at least his underwear... priorities. I tried interacting with him, but he's only interested in interactions that involve requests: food, TV, toys, etc. I did pick up the one-year-old sometimes, because he is quite huggable. I played with him when I could, because he likes interaction. To be honest, most of the time I laid on the couch, watching Fraggle Rock and wondering how women with MS raise children. My eyes could barely focus, I was so tired. We ended up babysitting for four hours.

Sensory:

-Pins and needles: 2, left leg, both feet

-Tingles: 2, arms

-Paresthesias (burning): 1, both feet

-Paresthesias (other): 0

-Numbness: 2, just the permanent areas--I don't think I was losing feeling from sitting. I did wake up with my right forearm and hand completely numb, and it was painful when sensation returned.

-Vision: 2, more floaters today, as well as trouble focusing (maybe from fatigue)

-Nerve pain: 0--maybe I was too tired to notice

Motor:

-Gait: 3, kind of ataxic? Or maybe just from stiffness.

-Sore muscles: 3, calves, quads

-Fine motor: 3--still so hard to fingerspell! But I rocked a coloring page with that little boy.

-Weak muscles: 5, I was afraid I was going to fall this afternoon.

-Spasticity: 2--gastrocs, rectus femoris

Cognitive:

-Language processing: 1

-Memory: 2

-Attention: 1

-Confusion: 2

General:

-Fatigue: 8

-Balance: 4

-Sleep: 3--7.5 hours

-Bladder: 3--Mostly just the usual. And once this morning I had sudden urgency then couldn't get started! Whatever.