Yes, I Can!

I gave myself a shot today! I practiced on an orange, then I did it. And holy cow, it was easy and painless. And that's a good thing because I pretty much have to do this once a week for the rest of my life. So, good thing it was easy.

I have a mild case of MS, but with medication, it hopefully won't get much worse for a long time. The Avonex I'm taking slows the progression of the disease and decreases the number of flare ups I'll have. And if it works, it's worth one little shot a week.

I'm just so friggin' proud of myself. I'm not horribly needle-phobic and I had really worked on calming myself down and felt ready for it. But I'm still proud of myself.

And can I admit something really kind of silly? I was watching the propaganda informational DVD that came with my medicine, fully expecting to be talked down to. But I'm actually glad I watched it, just for the testimonials. Not only because one of the hosts of the DVD was a neurologist who has MS (he has MS and can still be a doctor!) but because there was a young woman who admitted that one of the things that had upset her about having MS was that she couldn't wear her favorite high heel boots and shoes again. But being on the medication she can. And I started crying because I had thought the same thing! It's such a simple thing, but I want to wear my high-heeled boots! I like how I look and feel in them, and I was afraid that as this disease got worse, I'd be wearing old-lady, comfortable shoes. I know, such a shallow thing, but somehow it represented some of the freedom I might be losing, and here was this woman saying that it doesn't have to be that way.

OK. That's enough confessions for one night. I'll do lighter stuff later. It's probably time for a Daily Dog update. Or I'll take a picture of my latest knitting projects. Anything but talking about illness.