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The Strength Inside – part IV

I had entered the hospital on February 16 and by now, with my best recollection, it is February 22. I had agreed to go to the rehabilitation Center at Palmdale regional. Or at least that’s what I thought. Again, I was heavily medicated with morphine and being in the hospital I wasn’t sleeping the best. I was just about to fall asleep when two very, umm, loud women came in my room.

Hurting my ears

The one woman mentioned that she was from a rehabilitation center in San Bernardino which was an hour plus away from my home. She and the other woman, the hospital case manager, both explained how ‘their’ rehab center had been in business for 22 years (maybe 24) and they were the best. Now in my morphine haze, I thought they were actually talking about Dr. Nasser’s rehab center. If I had been in my right mind I would’ve realized that his (Dr. Nasser’s) center was not an hour plus away from my home. But these women were so forceful in their ‘sales pitch’, that I just sat there nodding my head saying yes. Somehow they had heard about my interest in going to a rehab center, and ended up in my room pushing their place on me. I was a little taken aback because the case manager from the hospital was with this person. In my mind, this was a conflict of interest. [ya think] I felt as if these women were tag teaming me. 😂 I don’t remember much more except, I think, I agreed to go to their place. When they left I was very anxious and in tears.

As I was falling asleep, a man entered the room. Instantly I felt calm. He was good looking, he was dressed nicely, had very nicely trimmed and well-kept beard going on, and he was Zen like. He told me his name was Scott and that he was from the rehab center at Palmdale. So now my mind was going in all different directions. I explained about the two women that had shown up in my room and how they told me theirs was the best rehab center around. He smiled and told me that they are a well-established rehabilitation center. He explained that the rehab center at Palmdale was fairly new, only a tad over one-year-old. I knew immediately I was going to go with Palmdale. Not just because it was only five minutes from my home, but because this guy made me feel calm. His voice was even, he had a pleasant laugh, and he was not throwing me a sales pitch. I know I was high on the morphine, but he also made me feel high just talking to him. I told him my mind was made up and that I wanted to go to ‘his’ place. We talked a few more minutes and then he left. I was so calm by then I just remember falling asleep for a good four hours.

When I woke up, that evil little voice inside my head was making me very nervous. Telling me I wasn’t strong enough, that the pain would be too much, that I can’t forget I have primary progressive MS. As usual, I started to weep. And yes, ugly cry. And yes, snot running down my face. But then, as if a fire was lit inside of me, I dried my eyes wiped my nose and said to myself, “I CAN do this! I know it will be hard, but I know I have the strength and the courage to do it. My life and my families lives depend on this. I’ve got this!”

The next step…Life!

Love and Light

Craziness · Family · Fear · Happiness · Health · HELL · Hope · Love · Medical · Multiple Sclerosis · PAIN · Primary Progressive MS · Ramblings · RANDOM · Strength

The Strength Inside – part III

All about Dr. Hottie! His name is Dr. Thomas Nasser, DO. This part is about how he helped me start my new journey.

By now I had seen Dr. Muscles and awesome Dr. Pretty. [the psychiatrist] I truly need to find out their real names. All of a sudden the curtain opened and this very attractive man walked in my room. He introduced himself as Dr. Nasser. I looked at him and apologized because I told him they they sent me the wrong Dr. Nasser. You see his wife, Dr. Susan Nasser, is my primary care doctor. He laughed a little and said,” you must mean my wife.” All I could think of was they must be the power couple in the valley here. He explained that he was a pain management specialist and that he ran the Rehabilitation Renter at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. He had been told of my plight by Dr. Muscles. He wanted to ask me if I wanted to go to his rehab to get help. Again, for those of you that know me when I know something, I’m always right. I explained that I have primary progressive MS and there really isn’t anything he could do for me. Again, he just smiled and basically he told me, well then there’s nothing to lose right?

In this moment I had so many things going through my head. I was drugged up on morphine, and everything was still hazy about what had happened the day before. Hell this might’ve been the same day I truly can’t remember. All I  could think about was being told for so many years there wasn’t much I could do once the progression started. The new medication, for the progressive forms of MS [Ocrevus], I could not go on. Something about being too disabled. I will talk about that another time. All the while he just stood there waiting for my response.

I looked at him and said. “I don’t think you know what you’re dealing with, but yes, I would love to try it.” I told him that my insurance probably wouldn’t do it, and he told me not to worry about that. When he left the room I was scared. The pain I have on a daily basis is about a 10+. But As my fellow MS’ers know we learn to deal with it. I knew doing this was going to be hell-a painful and hell-a hard. And there was that little asshole voice saying ‘it won’t work.’ And, again, I was scared. No, fuck that, I was PETRIFIED!! Could I deal with the pain? Could it, would it, really work. NO, it won’t work!! Nothing will help!! That damn voice would not shut the fuck up!! Then somehow… from somewhere… a strange feeling overtook me. HOPE!! Real hope. A feeling that I had lost many years ago. You see hope was my mantra. Then, hope became paralyzing. Hope became a word that made me cry. But, at this moment, hope was back. I’m not a great writer, so bare with me as I try to explain the feelings that took over. I see/feel dark and light. Dark and light clouds, if you will. My cloud was pitch-black and gloomy over me. I felt the cloud ‘open’ and light enveloped me. I was shaking and tears were streaming down my face. Fifty-three years of negative forces went flooding past me and a rainbow of positivity swept over me. Maybe, just maybe, this would work. Maybe, just maybe, I could get my life back and save my family.

Now the real journey begins…

Have Courage and Be Kind

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‘Have Courage and Be Kind’ is a beautiful quote from this 2015 version of Cinderella.