These past few weeks have really opened up my eyes to what the future might bring. Things I never thought about, smacked me in the face, hard. I thought that I have been living with MS, but the reality of what the future could hold, has really became apparent over the past month.
Let me explain what happened, or at least what I know to have happened. Basically, my MS causes my immune system to misinterpret and attack itself. So, I get an infusion every 6 months to deplete my immune system so that I don’t get new lesions when my immune system attacks itself. No immune system… No attacks. Knowing this, the biggest downside is my risk of catching things. So far, I have been super careful! No Covid, no infections, no flus, and maybe one small head cold but all in all, I’ve been super healthy!
This is something that is hard for people to wrap their brains around, I’m not sick. I have a disease. Sometimes my disease presents more symptoms, but I’m not sick. Sometimes I get pseudo flareups when I get hot, stressed, or have my period or anything else “extra” on my physical body, these pseudo flareups feel like I am in a relapse, but I’m not presenting new symptoms, which is what an actual relapse is defined as. Most times a little flareup doesn’t last long. However, a few weeks ago I got a UTI. Even though I haven’t had one in years, I knew it right away and my Dr. got me on an antibiotic that day. Halfway through my weeklong dose, I either got a vicious Gastro intestine flu or E.Coli from the beach? The Kids were swimming at a beach that was later flagged the day before I got sick. Who knows?
After 24 hours of not being able to keep anything down, including water, I couldn’t stop shaking and, every MS symptom was flaring! I was in pain, I was exhausted, I was so thirsty, I couldn’t see, and my entire body was boiling hot, vibrating, burning, and felt like what I describe as white noise in my veins or skin I don’t know? It’s not a feeling I’ve ever felt before until MS, so I don’t know how to explain it.
At 5:30 in the morning, I got Ninja to drop me off at the hospital to get rehydrated and get some anti-nausea medicine in. Everybody was great, well except one nurse lol and I had all my blood work back, was rehydrated, and keeping water down within 6 hours! Over the next week, my nausea remained and I fought a fever that left me convulsing with MS tremors so hard that I couldn’t stay on the bed! Sometimes they lasted minutes sometimes almost an hour! And the headaches, POUNDING headaches and aura migraines! I slept and slept and slept. My Bro came and introduced me to his new partner and her daughter, in my bed. And then I slept some more.
After a few days of birdbaths, Ninja wanted to change the sheets for me and get me into the shower. I never really thought about the shower. Yes, it’s hard. It leaves me physically exhausted. The warm water drains me. Raising my arms above my head, drains me. The friction of scrubbing my scalp, causes a ton of pain and fatigue. Physical fatigue, to my arms, they feel dead by the end of my shower. However, I’ve always been able to get into the shower and out of the shower, on my own. I may have to nap after my shower or take some time for all my senses to calm down and yes, it’s an ordeal, but it was nothing like what I went through last week. When I was completely dead weight as Ninja helped me sit on a stool in our shower. As he had to pick up my arms and legs because I couldn’t feel them, at all! Once the water hit me, all my senses were so overstimulated that I could do nothing but sag into Ninja to keep me steady and moan. MS leaves you absolutely no dignity! I never thought the tiny little step into my shower would ever be a problem… But now I see, that I was wrong.
Since then, I have taken showers on my own. Still sitting down on the stool, using the handheld shower head, and I can’t wash my hair every day, even every second day right now, but, I can do it. However, I saw a glimpse of what the future may hold, and it scared the shit out of me.
I live upstairs. I have been upstairs for 3 weeks. I could make it down, I could slide down. I did it on our family photo night! But once I am out in the sun, socializing, walking, doing anything, how will I get back up those stairs? I never thought of that before. My stamina since my stomach flu has been non-existant. Even walking to the fridge to fill up my water bottle, leaves me having to sit down and rest before I come back to bed. I walk to the stairs then I walk back and my legs are tingling, I do it another time, and my legs are numb. I do it one last time and then I have to crawl/drag myself back to the bedroom. I am used to the leg tingles, it’s why I can’t wear jeans anymore or anything that is rough, the friction makes my legs tingle so much that they go numb… but I know they’re there, so I just say, keep walking. But since I got sick, the tingling and numbness are too much for me to just “walk-through”. When I went to the family photos, I barely remember being there because it was hot and stress makes my brain fog even worse, making my memory spotty at best. But, I remember sitting on my Nana’s transport chair with my head hanging and my body vibrating with pain. I ALSO remember laughing and taking in a deep breath and thinking, how freaking grateful I was to even be there for those pictures. Even though my hair was greasy, I probably smelled, and I felt like vomiting lol.
It made me realize how and why people with MS sometimes need mobility aids to get through those times. I NEVER thought that would be me. Because I handle my MS. Or so I thought. It also made me realize how guilty I feel for making my family wait for me, for missing their entire visit, for leaving everything up to my Sis to plan, and for making Ninja work, look after me and the Kids AND be host and BIL to my ENTIRE family, on his OWN. Without HIS partner, his equal half who is NOT pulling her weight lately! SO much guilt. Now my SIL, BIL and nephew are in town and it is happening all over again. Guilt.
But, that’s for another day, for today I will remain focused on the goal, my life. That is always the goal, not getting to the beach, but getting to be a senior citizen one day. My goal is to recuperate and rest so that I can be around NEXT summer, and the summer after that. My goals have changed a lot recently as my eyes have been opened to a future that could be. Knowing that, I will continue to move forward, to take small steps towards the future that I envision, that I want, even if that means leaning on my Loved Ones or sometimes even needing to be carried (I love you Ninja), ALWAYS forward. Thank you to each and every one of you for all the support, I TRULLY appreciate it.
Peaches, Peaches, Peaches! This week begins our city’s annual PeachFest! To me, July was always about the sweet smell of cherries in the air, while August is ALL about peaches! I was and still am a big cherry fan but my Sis was all about peaches. She even wore peach perfume from The Body Shop when we were Kids! I have an allergy to stone fruits so I can only have peaches in small quantities but I can’t resist the sweet and sticky temptation of a perfectly ripe Okanagan peach! I chose 3 different recipes to highlight the juicy fruit to it’s highest potential. I made this Peach Feta Salad With Tomatoes the other day and it was BURSTING with fresh flavour, salty goodness, sweet from the fresh tomatoes and the peaches! This is the perfect salad to bring to a BBQ, as a summer potluck dish or as a side to your favourite grilled meat!
Speaking of your favourite grilled meat, pork and peaches just GO together! This Grilled Pork Tenderloin with BBQ Peach Sauce was so easy to make and tastes SO much better than a bottled BBQ sauce! With Ninja’s famous mashed potatoes and some fresh corn on the cob, this was the perfect summer dinner!
To be honest, this whole post came about because of this single recipe. Some people grocery shop at Costco and some people go to Costco for specific items you can ONLY get at Costco. That’s me. I only go to Costco for their Market Fresh Mango Peach Salsa. The ONLY reason. Seriously, I can get toilet paper anywhere, but peach mango salsa? Only at Costco. Or, WAS only at Costco. It has not been seen on the Costco shelves in a year! A FULL year!!! I HAD to take matters into my own hands! I found this recipe for, Peach Mango Salsa (Costco Copycat) and it tastes JUST like the Costco salsa!!!! Well minus the MSG of course LOL But for real, it doesn’t have the preservatives so the flavours are more… real, which in my opinion, is even better! This recipe makes the same amount as the jug from Costco! I put half in the fridge and froze the other half for later!
Ingredients
2-3 peaches, pits removed + cut into 6-8 wedges per fruit
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 a lemon, juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt + pepper, to taste
Directions
Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste to a glass jar with a lid. Shake together until well-combined. Set aside.
Add sliced peaches, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta, and basil, to a bowl.
Pour dressing overtop of salad and toss ingredients until coated in the dressing. Season with salt + pepper, as desired.
Serve the salad immediately, or allow it to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with BBQ Peach Sauce
4-6
servings30
minutes40-50
minutes10
minutesIngredients
4 peaches, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 lb pork tenderloin
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use the spoon to break up the peaches into small chunks.
When cooked, let the sauce cool down. Leave the sauce chunky or pour the sauce into a food processor or like we did, use an immersion blender and puree until smooth.
Place the pork tenderloin in a plastic bag. Pour ⅔ cup of peach sauce into the bag. Toss the bag to coat the pork in the sauce. Place the pork in the refrigerator and marinate the pork for at least 4 hours. Overnight is ideal. Store remaining sauce in a container and place in the refrigerator.
Heat the grill to about 350 degrees. Place the pork on the grill and cook, covered, for about 20-30 minutes. Turn the pork every couple minutes so all sides are cooked evenly.When the pork is nearly done, spread about a ⅓ cup of sauce over the pork and continue cooking.
Remove the pork from the grill and let it rest for at about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve the pork with remaining sauce.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs tomatoes
2 peaches
3/4 mango
1 red bell pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 onion
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cloves garlic
4 oz tomato sauce
2 oz tomato paste
Directions
Pit, chop, and dice all the veggies.
Combine all the ingredients into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes.
Pour hot salsa into a clean mason jars; freeze any leftovers.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #390: Don’t Let Your Dick Hit the Bar. After a couple of week’s away from recording, the Maier’s get together to discuss: beach wear, Kristin gets sick, the hospital, Kelly squared visit, boat day, fishing, SOW, Australian music, and the Olympics.
Another week of summer family fun while I continue to recuperate from the stomach flu! Thanks Ninja for taking these awesome pictures so that I have something to add to the family calendar this Christmas and for allowing me to feel included. I have finally been able to read this week, my eyes have been awful lately but I have caught up a little on my summer reading list! We got our family photos back from Megan Nicole Photography and Ninja has been taking advantage of the hot summer nights. We have a SUP and a 2 man kayak so Ninja and the Kids took them out this week and spent a few evening down at the beach. Dad is living his best life in Winnipeg, going to Bomber games with my Bro and meeting my WpgBesty and her Hubby for breaky. I’m jelly lol.
The Penticton Firefighters hosted another city waterfight to help the Kids escape this heat wave and a trip to VeriBerry helped too! Ninja’s Sis and JQ have arrived and there have been nights swimming at Grandma & Grandpa’s, drinks at Palmer’s Rooftop, hitting some balls at WOW driving range, and BBQ dinners. The Kids try to entertain me as my brain begins to feel better but my body is limp and not listening, they have had Tickleberry’s, gone to the beach, jumped off the OK Falls Bridge and played at the waterpark. So far August is off to a great start!
3 thoughts on “MS Update & Peach Recipes”
Great peach recipe. Congratulations, you are being featured on TFT. I hope you stop by. https://www.eclecticredbarn.com/2024/08/all-about-peaches-on-tft.html
Hugs,
Bev
That’s awesome! Thank you so much for having me and for featuring my peach recipes! See you next week!
Your blog is a constant source of inspiration for me. Your passion for your subject matter is palpable, and it’s clear that you pour your heart and soul into every post. Keep up the incredible work!