A Breath of Fresh Air

[Note: Hello!!! Yes, I am still alive! Talk about taking a vacation from a blog. My apologies. I have no excuse. I will blame it only on laziness! :) ]


I love this weather. It was about 70 degrees today with an ever-so-slight breeze. And it just smells good. It smells fresh. New. I live in south Texas and it gets hot here. HOT. Any of you who have MS know that is not ideal surroundings. So these past few days have been incredible. I can't stay inside. Housework and some of my professional work gets put in second place, or maybe third or fourth... I ride. I work in the yard. I sit on the porch with my husband and have a cup of tea. I go sit at the barn and talk on the phone. I am going to enjoy this. We don't get days like this very often.

I encourage you to do the same. Especially if you live down here. We only get a handful of days like this each year. Don't waste them by staying inside. Take a vacation day. Just go experience God's beauty. He made days like this just for you!

To rest or not to rest? That is the question...

Ready, set, GO!!!! That is how I used to start my day. Everyday. I'd hit the ground running with an idea of the 189,000 things I was going to accomplish that day. I never got them all done. Not even close.

The Western society that we live in rewards hard work and accomplishment. 80-hour-a-week workers are a gem! Unless you're the worker...

So, when I got diagnosed with MS, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments to my lifestyle, but I had no idea how much I needed to slow down. I needed to slow down regardless of my newly found condition, and I am betting that you could use a little slow down as well. Am I right??? Even God rested...

"In six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested" (Exodus 20:11 TEV).

Pretty cool.

Busying yourself doesn't always make you productive. In fact, the busier you have been that day, the more tired you will be that evening. When I am tired, I am not sharp. I close my ears. I close myself off. I cannot give to my family, my husband, and the creatures God has put in my trust. I'm quicker to snap at James and quicker to snatch on a horse, when what I need to do is just let God lead me. But if I have taken no time for myself or Him that day, I am not "leadable".

Each day I schedule down time. I usually require a nap in the afternoon. And what better way to get relaxed than to spend a little time with the Lord? So in my hour, I do a devotional, read my Bible or simple sit and listen to what God has for me that day. Then I sleep a little while. My afternoon after that resting time is typically fantastic!

Know what the crazy part is? It is extremely hard for me to take that hour each day. I would much rather keep working on the current project (you know, project 91,236...) and go, go, go! But it is much better to go willing to rest rather than have my body quit me for the next two days!!!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our body is a temple. Take care of it so you can be ready and refreshed when God calls you to do his work. Need a nap? Then go take one. It's OK.

Acupuncture is a great option...

It has been a while since I posted about my acupuncture, so as a refresher, I decided to try this avenue to improve my sleeping. I started it about 3 months ago. While being very pleasantly surprised at the sleeping results I gained after about 3 weeks of it (once a week), my hair was blown back by the other things it helped with. I had been having some recurring but recent MS symptoms when I started going to him. Mostly numbness and tingling in my feet and legs, and also in my hands. By the 3rd treatment, those new symptoms had disappeared. They reappeared a couple of weeks later, but after a treatment, they improved dramatically again!

With acupuncture, the doc works on the body as a whole. While his needle placement was working on relaxing me and balancing hormones to improve my sleep, my circulation was revved up a bit. Circulation increases blood flow and blood flow increases nerve response. Very cool.

I am a fan. I would recommend this to anyone. For me, now I get to sleep without taking a sleeping aid. If I get some new symptoms, I'll got back to try to speed up the process of getting back to normal.

I encourage you to try it, but please get a good recommendation! I gotta give a plug to the man I go to, Scott Taylor. Check out his Web site! How did I find this guy? A friend of mine went through the invitro process. She went to him for several treatments around that procedure and it was successful. She is now pregnant with twins! After a success story like that, I felt pretty sure the man knew what he was doing!

Keep an open mind. There is no telling what all you can accomplish. Have a great day!

Is this my MS?

A while back, I had gone shopping and purchased some new dark denim capri pants. They were cute! Being excited to sport my news duds, I wore them out the evening after I got them. For things like that, I don't think they have to be washed before wear.

This was also a time I was in an MS slump. I just hadn't been feeling good and was having a lot of symptoms. And to add insult to injury, my shots weren't going that well either. They had really been hurting me and leaving knots in my thighs.

I got home that night after the outing and got ready to take a shower. Obviously I undressed to find blue upper thighs! I though, "Oh Lord, what next? I feel like doo, my shots are dreadful, and now they are turning me blue with bruises!!!!"

So I got in the shower ready to feel sorry for myself. After a little soap and water, the blue magically disappeared. I put two and two together and realized it was from my newly purchased jeans. Not MS. Not my shots.

This tends to happen to me more often than I like to admit. I blame more on my MS than should be blamed on it. MS does not cause everything that is wrong with me. Those of us with MS need to remember that our bodies are otherwise pretty normal and even though we have one thing challenging us, we are not exempt from other ailments.

This story of a harmless incident is one that gives me a chuckle when I think back on it, but it bring me to a good point. Keep an eye on other things. The human body is amazing and complex. Pay attention to it. Head to toe. There is no telling what it is wanting to say to you!

It's not always where you go, but who you go with

My wonderful husband and I recently went on a trip. I'm from West Texas and I have a love for that country that will always be a part of me. We had been wanting to go for a while, but just hadn't gotten around to actually doing something about it. A good couple friend of ours had some cross-country driving to do because of a new location in the military. They were headed out west before they headed north, and wanted us to go with them.

We jumped at the opportunity to have a reason to go to "God's country". We really like Stoney and Ali. We have been gradually spending more time with them which had made us realize just how likeable they really are. They are good Christian folks that are walking with the Lord. This would be our first trip with them. Now having MS, there is always a little bit of underlying stress with traveling and most especially, not wanting to be the party-pooper when it's only 10 pm and everyone is having a great time, and I need to go to bed.

This is the first time I have been on a trip with someone else who has MS. Ali has MS. She was diagnosed a couple of years before me and has been a mentor for me. Most especially on how to keep a positive attitude and go on living a regular life. She runs and bikes and works out. She is an amazing photographer and her pictures inspire me as well. (check out her Web site) We do a bit of photography with our horse business development company, so it is so fun to talk photography.

It was such a treat to be on the trip with them. No only because of the quality of folks they are, but also because they know how it is. They plan for afternoon stay-out-of-the-heat and rest time. They know that we need to get back at a decent hour. They know what the "droop" is. They know the importance of low-stress. I always worry about how everybody is gonna take my need for down time. Are they going to think I'm sick, or bored, or mad? And not only that, most people just don't really understand. They want to, but just haven't experienced it. Either they forget, or they dote on you and the fact that you have MS. What a relief to have that worry taken away!

So thanks Ali and Stoney! We loved seeing West Texas with you and just hanging out with you. These are a couple of people I would go on a trip with anytime.

Consider these things when you plan your travels. I certainly don't want to discourage your travels with "healthy" people. But this "insider information" makes a great trip even that much better!

Listen to your mother (and your body)! Eat your fruits & veggies!

I wish that I didn't, but I like the junk food. I don't eat Big Macs every day or anything like that, but I eat what I can grab and go. I try to eat right, but I slip up now and then. And recently, I noticed something.

When you have MS, your body lets you know when it is upset. And it doesn't whisper to you, it usually yells at you!!! I have gotten to where I don't eat the greasy burgers, pizza and cupcakes very often (even though they are oh so good...). But the other day I had about a 3-day spread where I WAS eating stuff like that. We travel a lot and that's what we were doing. Traveling and hurrying. I hadn't cooked in a while, so we were living on fast food. After about day two, I was not feeling good. When day three came around, I just wanted to go to bed. Nothing else had changed. I had been getting my rest, which usually is what affects me. There wasn't any unusual stress. The weather was nice. After thinking about my diet the past few days, I put two and two together. I MUST EAT BETTER!

So I made an effort to clean up what I had just done to my body. I loaded up on the fruits and vegetables. I had a mid-morning yogurt party for the next few days. I ate grilled meats. I ate salads. An apple was my afternoon snack. I cut the sodas and only drank water. And low and behold, I started feeling about 99% better! I wasn't as fatigued. I was in a better mood. I was simply better.

The Bible tells us our body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Take care of it. If not for yourself, for the Lord. When you feel good, you can better do his work. Go have an apple!!!!

What brings you closer to God?

What do you love to do?  What drives you like nothing else? 

I love horses.  They drive me.

When I was diagnosed with MS over two years ago, I didn't think anything would change with my riding and horse activities.  Along with the riding, this includes cleaning the barn, washing manes & tails, oiling tack, mucking stalls, feeding in the evening, etc.  These are things that I bet most people would consider work, or necessary evils of horse upkeep.  I probably would have agreed until I just couldn't get it all done anymore.  Riding has always been a joy, even if there are ten horses that need to be ridden and it is 100 degrees. So what. Let's ride.

Needless to say, life has changed a little and I have had to adjust.  I realize that things will never be like they were.  I don't like it, but that's the hand I've been dealt, so let's play.  I ride only a couple of times a week, and usually just one horse a day.  I am obsessed with long, full manes & tails, so I work on two horses a week.  I love a clean barn. Well, that one I'm still getting used to...  

Anyway, I am still doing what I love.  I have to work to keep it at an enjoyable level.  I have to practice more moderation these days.  If I overdo it, I pay for it later, so there is a fine line of irony there - Doing too much of what I love makes me feel like crap.  Even though at times, it is totally worth it, because I truly feel closer to God when I'm on the back of a horse.

In the wonderful book A Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren uses an examples from the movie Chariots of Fire.  The main character Eric Liddell says, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel God's pleasure.  To give up running would be to hold him in contempt."  Well said.

Things don't always happen like we like it.  Or when.  But in God's time.  I'm ok with that.  He has been pretty faithful this far, why would he stop now?  I can't wait to see what He has in store...

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I have had a really exciting thing happen earlier this month, and I want to share it with you.  My reining horse, Rugged Holisway (Sway for short), and I won the Amateur Reining Circuit at the Alamo Quarter Horse Breeders Assoc Show.  I showed her mother when I was in college and have been so ready to get her in the pen too.  I would have liked to have been showing her much earlier than her sever-year-old-year, but I'm showing her never-the-less.  I can't tell you how good it felt.  

Is this stuff sent from heaven or what?

When I read that title, I'm thinking creme brulee or chocolate covered strawberries...  ummmm! Ok, back to reality.  The stuff I'm talking about is Mona Vie.  This is an all-natural drink that gives me energy.  And I will generously say that it changed my life.

Fatigue is a very common symptom of multiple sclerosis, and what gets me down the most.  I tried some prescriptions for the fatigue and lack of energy, but they made me a crazy, nervous wreck and completely incapable of sleeping.   I bumped into a friend of mine when I was in College Station a few months back that deals the Mona Vie.  She had heard about me having MS and wanted to help, so she gifted me two bottles of the Mona Vie.

I am a highly skeptical person.  I was really just humoring her, in a sense, by taking the stuff as she  directed - 2 oz. in the morning, 2 oz. in the afternoon.  By golly if I didn't see some serious results in about 4 days!!!!  I had more energy than I had experienced in a year!  Not weird energy, just consistent, normal-life energy.  I finished the second bottle, which put me on it for about 2 weeks.  

I was sold!  I did some serious research on what Mona Vie actually is - the Brazilian acai berry - and signed up as a distributor.   

I don't think it was any accident that I ran into Dusty that day.  I had been praying daily for better health and she had been praying daily for a way to help people attain better health.  Our God orchestrates everything.  It is quite humbling to know that He put us together so I could feel better.

So today, I say thanks, Mona Vie. Thanks, Dusty.  And thank you, Gracious God.

Stick me with needles...???

Yes. That's right. Today I started acupuncture.  I have been hearing about it for people with MS for a while and that it is quite beneficial.  Being half scared of needles, I needed a reason to go and a close friend to tell me it wasn't that bad!  And she was right.  

I have serious insomnia.  This started soon after I was diagnosed with MS and had a rather huge round of steroids.  So along with the wonderful irritability and acne that steroids cause, I also got insomnia - that didn't go away!  I do know that alot of people with MS suffer from insomnia, so the root cause is as good your guess as it is mine.

So I went in a few weeks back for the consultation to see if I was a candidate for acupuncture. That part was free.  This guy is quite knowledgeable and I love the idea of natural medicine.  I am finished liking sleeping "assistance", so this is my new approach.  He talked extensively about how your body systems work together, i.e. endocrine, nervous, etc. and that natural medicine such as acupuncture helps these things work in harmony.  Sounded great to me! Time for the needles...

I went back in today at noon, had a great re-visit with the doc and laid down on the massage table.  Wonderful memories of my last massage came back to me as I laid down and listened to soft music.  Well, it wasn't as enjoyable as a massage, but it wasn't torture either.  As I laid there, I prayed that the Lord would guide the doc's hands and that He just be present with me and use this treatment to the betterment of my body.  

I got about 12 pricks and then laid and relaxed for about 30 minutes.  Let me tell you, I don't understand how it works, but boy did I feel gooey and relaxed when we were done! Hooray! I am hoping that my afternoon nap when I got home is just a taste of how well this stuff is gonna work!  I can't wait to get stuck with needles again...

Raising Some Funds and Getting Some Exercise

A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated and sponsored me in the MS Walk: San Antonio.  While this report is a little late, I wanted to be sure and let you know how it went.  It was great!

The walk started as scheduled at 9:30 Saturday morning, March 7th.  My team members and I laced up our tennis shoes, put on or MS Walk t-shirts and hit the street.

They had the AT&T Center parking lot section off and plenty of volunteers telling us where to go, as well as handing us drinks and snacks.  With fairly agreeable weather, we, along with a few thousand others, started the walk.  Some overachievers even ran! There were all walks of like there.  Some people with MS, some without, husbands, wives, friends and other supporters.  Some local businesses joined together and had huge teams - all in matching t-shirts.  Lots of people brought their dogs.  I did.  Lola wanted to be a part of it all!

We completed our mile and were glad to do it.  After turning in our donations, the Mona Vie Energy Team drank a complimentary Powerade and called it a day.

Again, thank you for your support!  Our team raised $2750!!! How wonderful!  By teaming up like this and fundraising, we will enable the research it takes to achieve a cure for multiple sclerosis!

God bless you!

"Allow myself to introduce...myself"

Howdy there! I want to start this blog by introducing myself.  My name is Tonni.  I love God, life, my husband, family, jewelry, and horses.  We have two dogs that keep us entertained.  We live in South Texas and love it!  And I have multiple sclerosis.  

I was diagnosed over two years ago.  While it took a long time to get diagnosed, I was actually glad to have a diagnosis and to get one that wasn't worse than MS!  Since then, I've figured out a few things.  I had to make a few adjustments, get educated, take better care of myself, and trust the Lord.

Things are good.  Welcome to my blog.