Turkey Mania and Other MS Ravings

Musings for Thanksgiving and a blog update

As turkey day nears, my thoughts are as rambling as the flock of wild turkeys in my backyard. One afternoon I counted 18!  I thought, “isn’t that the way? The more turkeys you have the more useless they will be, just when you need turkeys!”

Rumor has it that wild turkey isn’t as good as farm turkey for turkey day and let’s face it, I’m not about to turn my small apartment into a seasonal slaughterhouse for the holidays.

Can you imagine the mess?

But I’ve enjoyed following them from my window and I’ve noticed some comparisons between them and people.

For example, they pretty much want nothing to do with you unless you get too close and then they stand up straight and puff up their feathers to appear much larger, stronger and cooler than they really are.

It reminds me of some human turkeys I know. 

One developed a leg injury and was shunned by the others. It was heartbreaking to see him limping along by himself. But then, two others decided to keep him company and like the good turkey friends they are, have stayed by his side as they wander together.

Thank goodness the disabled turkey has some dear reliable turkey friends, just like I do!  

Dear reliable people friends I mean.

Considering so many turkeys just as t-day nears leads my mind to other ironies, especially those of the medical kind.

I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis for ten years now and here are some of the most perplexing paradoxes.

If you forget to bring decent reading material with you to a doctor’s appt, the longer you will have to wait. Probably alongside a table with dusty editions of Scientific American from the 1990’s. BUT, if you remember to bring a good book, or even a magazine article you are looking to finish, the medical assistant will call you in as soon as you take off your jacket.

Similarly, if you bring good reading material to your infusion, that will be the day it is very loud in there and impossible to concentrate. If you don’t bring anything good to occupy your mind, it will be the day it is super boring in the infusion center, and yet, you will be too restless to nap. 

Not to be outdone during intravenous therapy, if you bring your own snacks, that will be the day they have lots of delicious treats to nibble on. If you don’t bring your own snacks, you will be lucky if water and stale pretzels are available.

The more you need insurance, the less coverage you have. If you are lucky enough to have a great policy, you probably won’t even suffer a runny nose. Like, ever…

Or at least until you lose your insurance.

If a new ailment or symptom of a pre-existing ailment does arise, it will probably disappear by the time you get to your doctor. If you choose not to make an appointment, you will be stuck with whatever that thing is forever.

Case in point, being an MS’er and/or just generally clumsy, I recently tripped over nothing and fell flat on my butt and stomach. I stood up and experienced a little soreness and a lot of embarrassment.

The soreness was on my right side and persisted, but not horribly. I thought maybe I broke a rib which would be interesting since with all my medical issues, I have yet to break anything. I had a previously scheduled appointment with my primary physician’s assistant and told her about it. 

She agreed that I may have a broken rib and there really isn’t much to do but take OTC pain meds and wait it out, unless I was having trouble breathing. She said she could order an x-ray if I wanted, but it wasn’t necessary. I told her it was ok. The last thing I needed was yet another appointment. (I’d barely gotten in two pages of the Lisa Marie memoir while I was in her waiting room.)

The next day I went on a healthy walk and my breathing was a little strained. Concerned, I called the referral line and left a message. 24 hours later a girl who sounded like a high school intern called and said the referral was made but she didn’t know where or when and maybe the x-ray place would call me to schedule, but she wasn’t sure. 

No disrespect to high school interns but shouldn’t a referral person have actual information about a referral? 

Now that the soreness is subsiding, I will probably get a call from the x-ray people. I know for a fact that if the soreness WAS getting worse, I would never hear from them again. As I type this blog, I seem to be breathing so I guess all is well.

Here’s another irony-the more medications you take, the less symptoms you will have of the condition you are taking the medications for….

Oh wait, maybe there’s a reason behind this one.

MS bloggers are not exempt from these paradoxes. The more ideas for a blog you come up with, the less time you have to write a blog.

And MS possibly aside, I have also discovered that the more I want to procrastinate, the less I will find with which to procrastinate.

I love a big cup of tea in the morning and when I have time to linger over it, there is nothing interesting in my emails or on Facebook to check out while I am drinking it. But the mornings when I have to rush to one of the aforementioned appointments, forget about it- everything on the internet will need my attention and be something worth responding to.

And one dilemma of ironies is also present for every woman I know. The more bad hair days you have, your hair will turn into beautiful, golden locks the day of your haircut appointment.

Even if you’re a brunette. It never fails.

What’s a woman with MS who blogs to do? 

As I get ready for Thanksgiving, I guess I will blast Alanis Morrisette’s ‘Isn’t it Ironic,’ which actually isn’t very ironic, and take a lesson straight from my own backyard.

Like the limping turkey, I am most grateful for the friends that stay by me during ironic times, MS or not!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and your families and friends.

Maybe not so much happiness for your turkeys though…..

FYI

Dear readers. I am also very grateful for all of you!

But in these lean times I’m discovering that my website subscriber service is not really paying off. Because of this, I have decided to suspend the service on 1/15/25. This means that starting in January, subscribers will no longer get my blog automatically sent to their email inbox. However, I will still post the blog on my website Facebook page and will have my own email contact list. If you would like to be automatically contacted when a blog is posted, please like the       facebook.com/YvonnedeSousa/website          or send me a private message with your email through the contact tab above. My deepest apologies to newer subscribers.

You have probably noticed repetition in my blog postings. Sometimes my brain is too tired, life is too overwhelming in ways both happy and sad and multiple sclerosis is too quiet to come up with new material. MS being too quiet is one of those good problems to have, but it makes for boring or nonexistent blogs. So future postings may continue to include repeats, but rest assured, my mind will continue to conjure new content whenever possible!

Do you have any readers in your life?

If so, MS Madness! A “Giggle More, Cry Less” Story of Multiple Sclerosis and Shelter of the Monument: A Provincetown Love Story both make great holiday gifts!