Living With MS - A Busy Mom's Story

In October of 2006 I was diagnosed with MS. Not that it was any surprise. I had been having symptoms for several years, the 'flipper' foot, the fatigue, unexplained illnesses. It is still hard for people to believe that I have it because I look so healthy. I do not have the gross motor problem that many have with MS. My symptoms are invisible.

My symptoms go absolutely unnoticed by most. Most, except for my family.

In 2005 my husband and I adopted 6 and 8 year old girls from Ukraine.

That same year is when my MS symptoms began to escalate. I was working full time and trying to get to know 2 daughters that did not speak my language. I am sure the stress did not help my symptoms at all. I began to spend weekends in bed, leaving parenthood and housecare to my husband. He is a saint! He did it all without complaining!

I had constant pain in my right side. Numbness, tingling, feeling like I was constantly being 'bit' by some bug. I was also exhausted. I am not talking about tired, or 'Gosh, I need a vacation,' kind of tired. I mean the 'can't get out of bed if the house was on fire,' exhausted! I could barely move from the pain and exhaustion. While I was in bed, my family carried on...without me. Not what I had in mind for family life.

I knew that I had to do something...ANYTHING to get back into family life.

I tried lotions, potions, this vitamin, that vitamin, massage, acupuncture, meditation, oh, I could go on. Then came the day that I realized I could not function at work and function at home. Something had to give. I made a very painful decision to stop teaching. Painful because I LOVE to teach. It has always been my passion. I taught middle school Social Studies. To me, it was the perfect job. I loved the subject I taught and I love middle schoolers. (I have a middle schooler at home now....WAAAAAY different! I can control 30 adolescents in a classroom, but ONE at home???)

So, here I was at home now....resting (good), relaxing (good), bored (bad).

I wanted to go out and talk to people, get out in the sunshine! The only problem was, I was still very tired and still had quite a bit of pain, although not quite the intensity of when I was working. I decided I needed a job. But what kind? How was I going to keep a job when I was not able to leave the house most days. Ah! There's an idea! Work at home! Work when I want to, crawl in bed when I need to! SO began the journey into an online business. I miss teaching but I am enjoying this new chapter in my life.

While working from home, I began to research alternative therapies for MS. One of the alternatives that I have found is called E.F.T or Emotional Freedom Technique ( aka 'tapping.' ) You can find their home page at http://www.emofree.com. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but I do find some relief in this technique. To any skeptics out there about alternative therapies, try being at the end of your rope with absolutely no relief, you will try anything! I am trying things that I would have scoffed at a couple of years ago. Open minds are sometimes created from need!

Cathy Roll is the author of the "Living on Half" Blog. In her blog she gives tips, advice, resources on living on half of your current income, either by force or choice. Learn how to repair just about anything in your house instead of calling expensive repair companies. How to get the most bang for your buck on many items and how to make extra money on the internet. Join Cathy as she takes you on her journey from rags to riches and back through the cycle again. See her blog at http://LivingOnHalf2.blogspot.com.

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