Didn’t manage to get round to doing a blog yesterday.

So we had decided to call time on Cyprus.  We didn’t have a timescale or any idea how or where we were going to go. We thought we would end up moving in with family as that would have been the cheapest option. I had left home a long time ago, and as much as I love my family I wasn’t too keen to go back home.

Hales had to make a trip back to the UK to sort out the transfer of her job to the new person. I decided to go across with her and just have a look to see what the rental market was like in Ipswich. We still weren’t sure when we would move back, we had just decided we would like to move back to the Ipswich area.

I looked at loads of websites etc of property to rent. There were a few that looked quite good, I was really surprised at how expensive rental had become! I ended up having a look round 1 property while we were over, but it was way too small and i really didn’t like the location.

So we returned to Cyprus to try to figure out what we were going to do next. We knew Hales had some redundancy money coming so we decided that if we could find a place, we would move as soon as possible.

On the 1st day back I received an email from a property rental site for a bungalow in Sproughton. We both quite liked the look of it and decided to make further enquires about it. There was no way we could get back to the UK so soon to have a look round it though, so we asked Hales dad to have a look for us. He looked round for us on the Saturday morning and we spoke to him while he was there.

He confirmed it was a nice place so we decided to see if we could get it before somebody else got there first. It was a bit more expensive than we had planned to pay, but we both liked the property and the location so we went for it straight away. Luckily we got the place, so it was then time to sort out returning to the UK.

So we had returned from the UK on the Wednesday, received details for the place on the Thursday and got Hales dad to look at it on the Saturday! A quick phone call to the agent on the Saturday afternoon, and we secured the place straight away.

We then had 3 weeks to get everything sorted in Cyprus and get over to the UK. Luckily we had always rented fully furnished in Cyprus so we didn’t have loads to sort out. We put everything we had acquired over the 10 years up for sale as it would have cost way too much to ship it to the UK. We managed to sell most of the stuff and gave a few odd bits away to friends.

We had one last trip to the beach

And also met my nephew and his girlfriend as they were on holiday in Cyprus

 

Well I’ll finish here for today and continue in my next blog

Rob

When I was still doing my old blogs we were still living in Cyprus. We were in a really nice 2 bedroom detached bungalow, with its own pool in the front garden. We were about 1/2 a mile from the beach in Protaras, a beautiful place to be. Despite my MS problems life was quite good.

I was still doing yoga and trying to do as much as I could. My walking had gotten a lot worse, I was using a walking stick and a rollator. I also had a mobility scooter which I used frequently to go with Hales when she went for a walk along the beach walkway.

It was probably my favourite place we lived in while in Cyprus.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to stay there for the rest of our time in Cyprus, we ended moving into a 3 bedroom bungalow out in one of the villages. It wasn’t as nice as the one in Protaras but it was slightly cheaper rent and nice and secluded. It did also have a nice Jacuzzi in the garden!

 

It was an ok place but not as nice as being in Protaras. Unfortunately we were a fair drive away from where I had been doing yoga so I had to give that up. There was a physiotherapy centre very close though so I started going there twice a week. 1 session of physio and 1 session of hydrotherapy. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the yoga, but it was still something to keep me active.

I was starting to get settled in the place, but that didn’t last long. Hales got made redundant from her job, and we knew it was going to be extremely unlikely there would be a job available in Cyprus that would pay enough to keep us there!

The heat over there had been getting harder for me to deal with for a few years, so we took the hard decision to call time living in Cyprus and return to the UK!

I will continue this next time and get up to date with where things are now.

Rob

Just thought I would do a quick blog to update how I am doing.

The vampire (Fampyra) tablets seem to be helping a little bit, I am not quite as unsteady as I was and walk a little bit quicker. Only problem at the moment is that it is hot and humid here so the tablets are being a bit counteracted. I am probably better than I would be without the tablets though.

The heat and humidity are affecting me a bit more than it has before, but I was expecting that with the M.S. getting worse this year. It makes me more fatigued and makes me ache more than usual. Some days are better than others, today I have been more achy than usual so extra painkillers needed.

Apart from that I am not doing too bad, trying to swim every day so I at least get some kind of exercise. The diet I started seems to be going quite good, not sure what weight I have lost but I am fairly certain I am losing some.

I have been told by a few people that my attitude towards dealing with my M.S. is really good. I just get on with life and do whatever I can, I learnt a long time ago that there is nothing I can do to change the M.S. so why worry about it.

Cookie had to have a night in the vets the other day, she somehow snapped one of her fangs off and had to have the root removed to stop it getting infected. She looks a bit strange now when she yawns and you can only see 1 fang hanging down.

Well I think that is about all for now, no other news really. Life just goes on as usual.

Quick update

Still taking the Fampyra tablets despite the cost. Also started having acupuncture and some kind of cranial massage. Not sure if it is just one thing that is making my walking better or a combination! So will continue with them all for now.

I have also started attending Yoga classes. The instructor has helped people with MS before so she is tailoring the classes to my abilities. I am really starting to enjoy the classes, which I wasn’t sure if I would or not. Enjoying the challenge of pushing myself a little more every time.

It is still very warm here and we have had quite a few humid days as well. This makes my MS worse, so most of my improvement so far is being cancelled out by the weather. Hopefully once the weather starts to cool down I will notice more improvement.

I am hoping that I will continue to walk a bit better, and hopefully build the strength back in my legs a bit. Fingers crossed, I am hoping to be able to get back to doing a bit of scuba diving next year!

Still sticking to my diet, quite hard sometimes but doing a lot better than I thought I would. Not losing huge amounts as I can’t really do much exercise to go with the diet. I think I am slowly losing some weight though so will stick with the diet as well.

Everything else is the same as usual, still have times when I would chop my legs off if I had a chainsaw lol.

I was hoping to arrange something for our wedding anniversary this year as it will be 20 years, but because of the extra money for tablets and the other stuff I just can’t afford to. Quite disappointed, with it being our 20th year married.

Well, can’t think of much more to blog for now so will finish off and get this posted for you all to read.

Wow, I can’t believe that I have not blogged for so long! No excuses, it just hasn’t happened.

Guess I will update on where I am in life right now.

My MS is getting slowly worse, but that’s why it is called Secondary Progressive as it just steadily gets worse.

I am still doing Yoga and enjoying it. I am also doing other exercises as well, including swimming as the weather is good here at last.

I am not really going to get much stronger and definitely not going to stop the progression of the MS. All I am hoping to do now is slow it down a bit.

My legs are definitely worse, I struggle to walk even short distances now. My arms are deteriorating as well. Some days I even struggle to hold my fork to eat with my right hand!

Despite all this I still try to stay as positive as I can and continuously push myself beyond my limits. I am not prepared to slow down and not ready to take it easy. Anybody who knows me will know that I don’t give in easily or quit when the going gets tough.

When I was a kid I was small for my age and the perfect size for bullies to pick on. My dad told me early on that the best way to stop a bully was to stand up to them. So that’s what I did, and never really got bullied as a kid. Yes I occasionly got beaten up but I got more respect by not backing down, and even became friends with some of the ones who tried to pick on me.

MS is now the bully in my life, and as always I will stand up and fight instead of backing down! I am not a defeatist but I am also not stupid. I know that this is a fight I will probably never win, I really can not see a cure coming out in my lifetime. That doesn’t mean I am going to stop fighting. I plan to fight this to my last breath, I will not go down easily and will do whatever I can to drag this out as long as possible.

If fighting it all the way means it might progress slightly quicker then I am fine with that. I can’t remember who said it or where I saw it but there is a saying I like. Its better to burn out than to fade away!

So I stay as positive as possible and put a smile on my face. If the way I am inspires others to deal with their problems then that is a bonus. At least I will be making a difference in the world!

Anyway that’s enough waffling for today and I am determined to get back into doing this blog regularly again, so plenty more time to bore everybody with my drivel!

Till the next time

Rob 😁

I have lost count of the number of times I have sat down to write more on here and had a complete mental block! I last posted a blog 2 months ago, can’t believe I have left it that long!

My condition is slowly getting worse, I do notice it myself so I am sure people around me do too. My legs do ache more now and I am quite a bit more wobbly than I would like to be. The distance I can walk is getting less, even the short distance I walk to work is a struggle for me some days.

I still try to keep going though, any distance walked is better than no distance! I do still push myself more than I should really, not very good at taking things as easy as I should. My way of thinking is that if I don’t keep pushing myself then the MS will have chance to take over more.

I get spasms in my legs quite often and it does sometimes make my knees ache more than usual. It does occasionally make it difficult to find a comfy position in bed, so I do have some night’s with not a very good sleep. Being up for a wee at least 2 or 3 times doesn’t help much either lol.

I have changed my car to one that is slightly higher so easier to get in and out of, and it is an automatic so slightly easier on my legs to drive. Not ready to totally give up driving just yet so doing all I can to keep on the road. I can’t drive very far now, especially round town as that tires me out more. Easier for me when I go out on the motorway as not so much moving around in traffic then.

Apart from that I am not doing too bad, obviously have bad days and good days. I do have more bad days than good now but try not to worry about it too much. There are days when I feel down a bit about it all, but I don’t let it get to me too much. Worrying does not help anything, only makes it worse.

The weather here is already starting to get better, had some really nice days the last couple of weeks. Looking forward to the pool being warm enough to get into regularly, the exercise will be good for me and I plan on getting into a routine of swimming more often. I am hoping it will help me lose a bit of weight too, been putting it on and finding it hard to get rid of when I can’t really exercise much.

Trying to eat a bit more healthily, started making home made soup which is mostly vegetables so not too many calories etc. there.  I do still have a Friday night takeaway though, got to have some naughty but nice stuff!

Well I think I will finish here for today, managed to write a bit more than I thought I was going to. I will try to get back into posting on here regular again, I will have a think about some different things to talk about as well.

Rob

Thought it was about time I wrote on here and gave an update on how I am doing. I cant believe it has been 3 months since I wrote the last blog, lazy bugger lol!!

Unfortunately my MS is deteriorating quicker than I would like. I am struggling more and more with my walking, I don’t go anywhere without my stick now. I may need to try using a crutch soon as I am putting more weight on my stick now, and makes my wrist ache sometimes. I struggle to even walk to work, which is probably only 3 or 4 hundred metres away.

It is particularly bad in my right leg now, I think quite a bit of it is down to damage done by spasticity. I get quite a bit of pain in my knee now and my big toe doesn’t go quite flat. This is down to when I get the muscle spasms (Spasticity), my big toe curls upwards and my knee either locks out or curls up as well.

I quite often struggle to find a comfy sleeping position because of my knee. If I lay flat on my back with my knee straight it is painful when I wake up. If I lay on my side with my knee bent slightly my knee is not so bad but it makes my hip ache instead. I have tried recently having a pillow under my knees, this seems to work but if I do it too much I get a bit of backache! I think that is the best option so I am trying it that way at the moment.

So far my left leg is not so bad, but I do sometimes get spasticity in it as well so I think it could get worse over time. I am quite a bit more wobbly now and I don’t have as much strength in my legs.

My arms are also getting worse, I don’t have as much strength in them either and I do sometimes get spasticity in them as well. When they are feeling bad I sometimes even have trouble holding a fork in my right hand. I lose quite a bit of feeling in them and even typing is awkward sometimes.

I had an MRI scan last month and I have been told that my MS likes my spine but is not too active on my brain yet. I think this means that my arms and legs etc. will get worse but I should keep my faculties for longer!

That is basically it at the moment, it sounds quite bad when I read it back but my spirits are still up and not letting it worry me too much. I try to carry on doing as much as I can, sometimes more than I should of course!

I am so lucky to have Hales for support. She does more and more for me and never complains, she is the main reason I manage to stay so positive about it all. She really is my soul mate, my best friend and the best wife in the world.

Well I will finish here for today and let you all have a read, don’t worry about me too much I am still fighting this battle as hard as I can. It is not in my family upbringing to let things get me down, just carry on and never worry too much about it.

Love to you all

Rob

It is almost 2 weeks now since I started on the new medication. It is called Fampyra so I just call them my vampire tablets lol. Don’t think they will actually turn me into a vampire, but I did wake up the other night hanging upside down from the door frame!!

I think they are doing some good, less than I would have liked but my expectations were probably slightly high. I feel a bit less wobbly when walking and I do actually seem to be a little bit quicker. They haven’t really improved the distance I can walk and I still ache the same as I did.

Still trying to decide if the slight improvement is worth €290 a month, guess I will see how it goes when I get towards the end of this batch. Maybe the effects will improve slightly more, hoping they will enable me to walk a little bit further too.

Apart from that everything is the same as usual. The spasticity continues to cause problems with my right knee, I think the tendons behind my knee are damaged a bit. I am going to try to see a Physio to see if there is any way to help with this.

The weather over here has definitely warmed up now, it got to 50.2c in the direct sunlight the other day! It was even 35c indoors in the shade so slightly on the warm side. It does affect me a bit, makes me ache a little more than usual. It is worse when it gets humid though, makes me more fatigued and aching quite a bit more. Definitely extra painkillers when it is like that.

Started on a diet just over 2 weeks ago and that seems to be going ok. Not sure what I have lost yet as I didn’t weigh myself before I started! I do feel as if I have lost a little bit so will stick it out and see how it goes. Lots of salad and watching the calories I eat for each meal.

Easier to do a little bit of exercise this time of year with the pool being nice so trying to get quite a bit of swimming done. Might need to see about getting an exercise bike for winter, but that’s ages away so will wait for now.

Well that’s about it for now, just a quick update on how I am doing. I will try to write another update in a week or 2.

Rob

Not quite so achy today, nice to be able to move around without wincing.

It’s been a few days of being achy so as I was kind of expecting I am quite wobbly today. I’ve noticed before that it happens like that, the achy days I have are followed by wobbly days.

I guess it’s just the way it works now, hopefully it means I will be back to normal in the next couple of days. I certainly hope so cos I get really annoyed with not feeling up to doing anything when I’m like this.

I’m sure it just looks like I’m being extra lazy but when I’m like this it’s extra hard trying to do anything. When I’m falling on the floor just trying to get myself dressed I know I’m in for a frustrating day!

I was hoping to get out in the garden to do a couple of jobs, but the weather is not great here today so all I managed was to clear away some of the fallen leaves. Fingers crossed it’s a little better tomorrow so I can get something done.

Obviously it won’t be much that I do get done, definitely frustrating seeing things that need doing and not being able to do them. I see things that I want to get done and I know it’s stuff I used to be able to do quite easily. It’s still really hard to accept that I just can’t do everything now and have to rely on Hales to do most things now.

As I’ve mentioned before, to me frustration is the hardest aspect of having MS. I really struggle to deal with it some days, it’s hard to explain how you can be frustrated with being frustrated!

I try really really hard not to show how I’m feeling on the inside, I even try to hide it from Hales. Not that I think it works to be honest, Hales knows me way to well to not know when I’m feeling down. And of course it only takes the smallest smile from her to get me back on the right track!

So even though I’m particularly wobbly today and a bit frustrated I couldn’t get out to get things done I’m fine. I know tomorrow is another day and by then I will have forgotten about how I am today.

The past has passed and can’t be changed, so why worry about it?!

Enough waffling for today, I’ll end this blog for today

Rob

 

Relapse is slowly getting better. Feel like I am getting a bit more feeling in my hand, either that or I am just getting used to it lol! Not doing too bad apart from that, good days and bad days as usual. Today is a fairly good day, not aching real bad but enough to notice it.

I have been talking about family the last few blogs so thought I would continue with people who are like family.

I have to start with Andy (Ted). He and I were in the same regiment in the army and we quickly became very good friends. We were both radio operators in the same troop, so we spent a lot of time together on exercises and even served together during the 1st Gulf war.

He was a motorcycle instructor and as I wanted to get my license he was the one who taught me. I remember when we were out one day training that we travelled down to Hull and called in to see my family. My family knew he was my friend already and when they actually met him he immediately became part of the family. We visited my Gran on the way back to camp and Gran being the way she was regarded him as another grandson straight away. That is the way he has been ever since, gran regarded him as a grandson and my family regard him as a big brother.

We have known each other over 24 years now and seen and been through a lot together. Even though we don’t see each other so much nowadays our relationship is as strong as ever, he is and always will be my first ‘brother from another mother’!

Next is Emil, we met playing an on line game and got on really well straight away. We are both the same age and both ex army, so we had a lot in common. We talked quite a bit on the computer and one day we somehow got talking about scuba diving. It turned out that he was an instructor and I wanted to learn so we decided that I would visit him in Cyprus and he would teach me.

The moment we first physically met I knew we would be more than just good friends. I had a fantastic time in Cyprus and he taught me to scuba dive, and ever since then we have regarded each other as brothers. He was one of the reasons we moved to Cyprus and we had some really good times while he was still here. Unfortunately he had to move back to the states and I miss him being here all the time still. He is my second ‘brother from another mother’.

When we first moved to Cyprus I didn’t have a job, and soon found out that despite all my experience in transport I was very unlikely to get a job in that industry. I had seen Martin driving around the estate we lived on, he had his own property management business and he lived on the same estate we did. I asked him at first to help me learn to look after our swimming pool, as we couldn’t afford to pay someone to do it for us.

He started doing that and after a short time I told him I was looking for any type of work. He agreed to take me on part-time to help him with his pool cleaning. It was only a couple of days a week to start with, but any work and money coming in was very helpful then. He started getting me to help with other jobs he had to do as well and we quickly became really good friends. We spent a lot of time together working and I soon realised that I regarded him as another brother rather than just a good friend.

We seemed to fit hell of a lot of good times and great memories in, even though he had to return to the UK after only knowing him 17 months. We still keep in touch and I regard him as my 3rd ‘brother from another mother’.

I first met Pete through a mutual friend as I needed a mechanic, and he already used Pete to look after his vehicles. We quickly became good friends and I started popping round to visit him just for a chinwag and a brew. We started going scuba diving together and found we were really relaxed diving together and enjoyed the experience more because of that.

He would do work on my motor for me, and I would go round and help him work on other vehicles to repay him. That worked great and we got on really well together. As my MS has got worse I have stopped helping him so much and just go round for a brew and a chat and to put the world to rights!

As you have probably gathered from this blog, when someone becomes a really really good friend I regard them more as family than friend!

I think that I have waffled enough on this so I will finish now and post this one as done. Not sure what rubbish I will come up with for my next blog but I am sure I will think of something.

Rob

Relapse has settled into a routine now. Some days I can hardly notice any numbness in my left hand and I can grip and do things as normal. Other days the numbness is quite bad and I struggle to grip things very good. It also depends on how I am feeling in general. If I have overdone things or just not feeling 100% it is worse.

Before with relapses the affected area has gone back to nearly 100% and then only been noticeable when I am having a really bad day. I guess that because I now have secondary progressive MS relapses are going to be different. Hopefully this will be the only one for quite a while now! Apart from that I am okay.

Xmas and new year have been and gone for another year. Had mother at ours for xmas so that was good. Went out for xmas lunch which we don’t normally do, but we had a good time and the food was good. We stayed in on new years eve, much prefer being at home with just Hales and me than being out.

I see people putting that they hope this year is a better one for them. I am not being defeatist or anything like that, but I am fairly sure it isn’t going to be better for me. I am gradually deteriorating and there is nothing that is going to change that. I am not getting down about it though. It is just one of them things, I will keep battling it and pushing myself more than I should. That’s just the way I am, not going to change now.

I know that I will probably need a wheelchair in the near future, but for now I will continue walking as much as I can. I can’t walk very far now and my legs quickly start to ache and go wobbly, but I guess that even walking a small amount is better than nothing. I won’t be giving up when I do get a wheelchair, it will just mean I can get around a bit better and maybe do a bit more. I will still try to walk as much as possible, but there are times I would like to be able to get more than a few hundred metres.

I would love to go for a walk down near the beach with Hales, but at the moment I have to park as close as possible and then sit down somewhere close to the car. It would be nice to go further along the walkway together, even if it meant I was propelling myself in a wheelchair.

Anyway, I think I will keep this a short blog for today and stop for now. Please don’t take what I have put as me being down or anything like that, I am just trying to say how things are right now.

I will try to get back into writing on here more often again now the festive period is over. Please comment on here or on Facebook if you enjoy reading my waffling, it makes me happier to know I am not just boring everybody!

Rob

Nothing much to say about my MS today, usual aches and pains but not too bad. Had a bad day yesterday, I was aching quite a bit and felt more wobbly than usual. I do get days like that occasionally but I just carry on as normal and try not to complain or worry about it. Not a lot that could be done even if I did.

I have been noticing more aching in my joints lately, but it has been cooler here recently so that is probably why. In general the aches elsewhere are not much worse than normal so I don’t worry about it too much.

I have spoken about family and very close friends but not really mentioned anybody else. I am the sort of person who has to be totally sure of somebody before I call them a friend, I think I have more acquaintances than friends!

I won’t go to mad mentioning too much about my friends but will try to name most of them, not in any particular order though.

Bob and Sonia. They are Hales Uncle and Aunt but I regard them as my friends, similar age to me so we have always got on really well.

John and Hazel. They are our Cyprus mum and dad, we have gotten on really well from the first time we met them when we first moved over here. We regularly meet up and quite often go out for meals together. Life in Cyprus would definitely not been as good without them here, they are more family than friends really.

Charlie. He lives near John and Hazel and we got on really well with him from the start as well.

Jack and Heather. They are probably our best friends in Cyprus and we have had some fantastic times with them, some of them getting quite drunken and rowdy!

Sylke. She is a gardener who did work for Martin and also a Dive Instructor. I have done a lot of diving with her and we have always had a good time when we did.

Andy, Claire and Matt. They are all connected to the company I currently work for but I class them as friends more than colleagues.

Shell, Pete’s wife. We have always gotten on really well and she loves the fact that I am always honest with her and give her grief if she deserves it!

Old work colleagues, these are from when I worked for Stan Robinson in the UK. Probably one of the best jobs I have had and the only job I have kept in touch with friends from. John, Phil, Kris, Jason and Micky.

That’s about it really, I have other people that I am friendly with but not that I class as close friends.

I think I will finish this blog for today and try to think of what I will write about in the next one.

Rob

Had a bit of a stomach bug the last couple of days. Whenever I am slightly down because of illness my MS seems to flare up a bit and I get more achy and wobbly on my feet etc.

It’s just one of those things that happens, so not really anything to worry about or do anything about. I’m lucky that I don’t get ill very often, quite a rare occurance for me.

A few days rest and I’ll be back to normal, whatever normal is classed as now lol!

I don’t really bother with pain killers nowadays, they don’t really do much anyway. I find that if I just take it easy and rest a bit I tend to not really notice the pain so much.

It’s not a case of trying to be brave or ignoring the problem. It’s just a case of getting on with my life the best I can.

It’s not nice having MS, but it is what it is. Nothing I can do about it, just got to keep my fingers crossed some really intelligent scientist comes up with a cure in the near future.

I don’t really get stressed about it, that really wouldn’t help. I will always just carry on with the fight, way too stubborn to let it get the better of me.

So please don’t worry about me too much. I’m not writing stuff like this looking for sympathy or to cause concern. I am doing this purely to get my story down, and if it inspires anybody to never quit then I’ve played my part.

Only a short blog today, just thought I would have a day off from posting old blogs.

If anybody has any questions about me or my MS then ask away, I don’t mind. Or if there is anything in particular you would like me to write about then just let me know.

Rob

Relapse is still ongoing. Been on steroids for 3 weeks now and still not back to normal. Was hoping to be a lot closer to 100% by now. The first week on the steroids it seemed to improve slightly, but since then it has stayed pretty much the same. It’s quite possible now that it will not get any better, could well be stuck with a partly numb hand from now on! I’m a bit frustrated as I thought the steroids would sort it out, never mind though these things happen. I will make an appointment to go see my Neurologist this week, see if there is anything else we can try.

Apart from that I am not doing too bad, usual aches and pains but nothing I’m not used to. Spasticity has been quite strong last 2 or 3 nights, which means my legs are aching more the next morning. I get that now and again though so nothing new to me. Thinking of trying some acupuncture, not sure if I think it will do any good or not, but anything is worth a try.

The weather is starting to cool down over here now, yes I know it’s nowhere near as bad as the UK but we do notice it here. Joints ache a little bit more, but again this is nothing new.

I fed the cat colony near mine yesterday, there are between 10 and 15 cats there when I feed them now! I am still only going every 2 or 3 days so they don’t get totally reliant on me. Some people think that you shouldn’t feed feral cats, but I am just too soft to see them go totally hungry. I know I can’t help all the cats out there, but if I can make a few cats lives a bit easier then that makes me feel better.

Not long till Xmas now. Got mother and step dad coming over to spend it with us so that will be good. We are going out for Xmas dinner this year, first time for a several years that we haven’t had it at home. We do have a Turkey in the freezer, so it’s quite possible we will do a Xmas dinner on New years day if not before. We both love Turkey anyway so I doubt it will be in the freezer very long!

Well I think that I’ve done enough waffling for this blog, so will finish for now. I think I might talk about family in my next blog, so watch out family!

Rob

Relapse is still ongoing but apart from that not feeling too bad today. My hand seems to be worse late afternoon into the evening, feels better in the morning. Not a huge difference, but enough for me to notice. I have been checking out some MS websites and found that relapses can last longer than I expected. They don’t always clear up quickly even with steroid treatment, so guess I will just have to keep my fingers crossed a bit longer that mine clears up more!

I thought I would get away from the MS for a bit and talk about family. You don’t really have to be afraid, not going to spill loads of secrets really!

I was born in Yorkshire and I come from a large family. Being a northerner means family is very important to me, some southerners don’t understand how much family means to us northerners and I don’t say that with any disrespect to them.

My granddad (Mothers dad) was very important to me when I was growing up, I know I was a bit of a favourite for him. He passed away when I was in my late teens and I still miss him today.

My Gran (Dad’s mum) was the centre piece of the family. Everything I remember about the family when she was still alive totally revolved around her. She was the glue that kept the family together and unfortunately the family has drifted apart a bit since we lost her. It was a huge loss to everybody in the family when she passed away and she will definitely never be forgotten.

Mum and Dad split up when I was 16 and that was a very hard time for me to come to terms with. I did get over it and I love both my parents loads. I am very grateful for the way they brought me up, they instilled respect for my elders and an appreciation of the more simple things in life. I like to think that it has made me a better person and I hope they are proud of the way I am.

I have 4 sisters, all younger than me. The eldest is only a few years younger me so we grew up just like brothers and sisters normally do, fighting each other all the time! We have grown closer as we became adults and don’t fight anymore lol. She has 2 kids, my nephew who is in his 20’s now and very special to me as he was the first. And the first of my nieces who I love to bits as well. The next oldest was a bit of a toyboy growing up, so not having a brother I tried to encourage that to make her my substitute brother! She did grow out of it eventually, and has my 2nd niece who I love to bits too.

Next we have my baby sisters, even though they are grown adults as well. One of them is single and the other has my 2nd nephew who I also love to bits. I love all my sisters and hope that they all know they have a big brother who really cares for them, and is always available if they need me.

I will carry on talking about the rest of my family in the next blog. I am not including any names as I don’t thing I should! I could have gone on a lot more about each member of my family, but that would have meant pages and pages of me waffling!

Till next time, hope I don’t bore you too much

 

Relapse is still ongoing, some days seem to be better than others. It’s a bit better today, still quite numb but a fair bit of feeling in my hand. Hope it gets better soon as I am getting a bit fed up with it now. Apart from that I am not feeling too bad today. Legs were aching quite a bit first thing, but once I was up and moving about they calmed down.

Winter has arrived in Cyprus. Temperature has dropped quite a bit for over here the last 3 or 4 days, down to 7c which is cold for here. It was very stormy here yesterday, rained nearly all day and night and was very windy. Cold and cloudy this morning even though the sun did try to get out for a few minutes here and there. Even had some sleet here this afternoon, very rare for this pat of the island!

Have left my blog for a few days just in case anybody didn’t want me to mention their name, not had anybody say anything so will carry on about my family. It won’t be in any order, just who comes to mind as I type.

I have to start with John and Beryl though, they are my 2nd mum and dad. They have been a huge part of my life for as long I can remember. I even lived with them when I was in my late teens, I have tons of happy memories of that time. I love them to bits.

Michelle is their oldest daughter, only a year younger than me. She is mentally handicapped and has had and still having a lot of health problems. Despite that she still always greets me with a huge smile and wants a cuddle, and she knows I love her loads. Mandy is their next daughter, I had a huge crush on her when we were younger which developed into a brother sister love as we grew up. John is my brother, we spent a lot of time together as kids and I have thought of him as my brother for as long as I can remember. Jane is the youngest, I have loved her to bits since I first saw her as a baby and she fell asleep on me as soon as I held her. Unfortunately we had a bit of a falling out over her ex boyfriend, but I still love her to bits. I love all the girls as sisters, and John as a true brother.

John and Christine are the other aunt and uncle that were around a lot as I was growing up. They have 9 children, even though I never really knew their eldest. I remember a lot of happy times with the rest of their children and try to keep in touch with most of them still. I will name them but they will probably not be in the right order! Steven, Darren, Linda, Jenny, John-Andrew, Ann-Marie, Kelly, Lizzy and Michael.

Ian and Jan live down in Torquay, so didn’t spend a great deal of time with them growing up. They have 2 children, David and Rachel. Aunt Janet lives in Suffolk, so again we didn’t spend much time with her. She has 3 children, Beverley, Phil and Harry. I have 6 cousins who live in Scotland, and I try to keep in touch with most of them via facebook. My uncle Paul (who sadly passed away last year) and aunt Nicky have 2 children, Adam and Emilie.

I love being part of such a large extended family and try to follow how they are all doing as much as I can. Facebook is great for doing that.

I do have other cousins but have no contact with them, 6 from one uncle and 1 from another.

I think that this is a long enough blog for today, I will talk about friends who are more like family and other friends in my next blog.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 3 months since I wrote on here! Really must try harder.

Quick update. Busy going through a mild relapse at the moment, numbness and tingling in my left hand. I am on steroid treatment for it, done nearly 2 weeks with another 4 or 5 days to go. It is slowly getting better but it still very frustrating at how slow!

Of course there is no guarantee that my hand will go 100% back to how it was, more likely around 95% if I am lucky. Some of my other symptoms are affected by the relapse too, I have noticed that my legs in particular are aching a bit more than normal. They should settle down with the steroids as well.

Apart from that I am doing fine, the usual aches and pains but I am used to them. Thinking of trying acupuncture, see if it will be any help at all. Not sure if I think it will be or not, but anything is worth a try.

Weather is definitely cooling down here, been mostly dull with a few showers last couple of days. Temperature still up to around 20c though so not mega cold yet. I know that when it does get colder it will affect me a bit. My joint’s will ache more but that’s not just the MS, old age and rough usage when I was younger contribute to that.

Long distance running, cross country and road running. Plus when I was in the army we still did most physical activity with boots on. Nowadays I don’t think they are allowed, think they do most of it in trainers. Plus several years of driving trucks and cars and then constantly kneeling down cleaning swimming pools! So there is no wonder my poor old knees suffer lol

Well I think I will keep this short for today and I promise I will try to get back into posting on here more regular again. Doubt it will be every day but I will see how thing go

If there is anything in particular you want me to talk about, and I do mean anything, then please let me know. And please leave me comments, I feel as if I am doing something worthwhile when you do!

Rob

Having one of them days were I don’t feel great. Nothing to do with the relapse, just not feeling 100% today. I do get days like this now and again. Obviously the relapse doesn’t help much, it does affect how I feel anyway.

Aching a bit more than usual, the numbness and tingling are a bit more noticeable as well. Nothing new though and it normally only affects me for a day or 2 at most.

Had a great comment from my friend to say I should add how my mood is when I do this blog. Really good idea, so my mood today is relaxed.

Most people that know me will know that I am an animal lover. Particularly cats but anyone who has or has had dogs will know I am very good with dogs too. Wouldn’t want one myself but I am absolutely fine with them.

Anyway, living in Cyprus and being a cat lover is very hard as anyone living here will agree. Both the cats we have now are rescue cats,

 Charlie in particular being rescued from what would have been a difficult and probably short life.

There are hundreds of stray and abandoned cats around, most living in not great places and struggling to survive. Some of them live in tourist areas, so during tourist season they get quite well fed most of the time. There are other colony’s that try to survive in not so populated areas so obviously struggle a little bit more. It is very common to see them run over on the side of the roads, the only way to deal with that it to realise that they no longer have to suffer! It is very hard to do but it is the only way I have found to not get depressed by it.

There is a colony of feral and stray cats not far from where we live and I have taken it upon myself to feed them. I don’t go every day as I don’t want them to get fully reliant on me. Some of them are quite tame and will come up to me when I stop to feed them. They have learnt to recognise the sound of my car and come running when they hear it.

That caused a big problem a few weeks back when a kitten, about 5 or 6 months old heard my car and ran out into the road. I was watching the other cats on my right hand side and didn’t notice it run out from my left. Unfortunately he ran right under the wheels of my car and was instantly killed. That affected me really hard as I had been feeding that particular kitten since just after it was born.

It was used to me and would love to be stroked and would purr when I did. If I had been able to take on any more cats at home, he definitely would have been the one I took home. I just have to think that he had a much better life than he would have had if I hadn’t fed him, and that at least he went quickly and didn’t suffer. But it was still very hard for me to deal with, and even now I get a lump in my throat when I think about it.

We have also just started feeding some other cats down near the beach, obviously food is not as easy for them to get this time of year so the bit we give them will help a lot. I wish I could help all the cats, but I know I can’t so just concentrate on doing what I can.

Well enough for today, don’t want to bore you too much!

Rob

When I got up this morning I wasn’t feeling too bad. I’d had a fairly good night’s sleep, only up once for the loo which is good for me! My legs were aching but not too much , again that was good for me.

As I was feeling ok I decided to do some work in the garden, still trying to get it looking good from moving in just over 3 months ago. Nice easy job, just dig up an old plant to tidy up and make room to add something better. So I thought anyway!

The plant turned out to be a lot tougher than I was expecting, very firmly rooted in place! Ended up taking me all morning to get it out and definitely doing more than I should have. After the 3rd time of falling over and struggling to get myself off the floor I should have called it a day knowing I had reached my limits!

But that’s not me, I tend to be a tad stubborn when it comes to reaching my limits. I will carry on pushing even though I know it’s going to mean more pain, and several more episodes of being flat on my back having to haul myself up off the floor.

How am I supposed to know exactly where my limits are if I don’t constantly push passed them?! My limits aren’t in a constant place, they vary with how I am feeling and what I am actually doing to push them.

It’s also down to my philosophy of wanting to constantly push my MS as far as I can, it’s my way of fighting it and not giving in. If I stop every time it gets painful or I know I’ve reached my limits, as far as I’m concerned that’s letting the MS win!

I’m not daft, I know eventually the MS will win, unless a miracle cure is found first. That’s not going to stop me though, I intend to keep fighting till my last breath. One of my favourite sayings is along the lines of ‘it’s better to burn out than fade away!

So that’s exactly how I intend to be. I would rather have less time but be happy than have more time but be miserable!

That’s all a long way off though, there’s plenty more fight left in me and I intend to drag the fight on for loads more years yet.

I’m happy, I feel positive about it and I have tremendous support from family and friends. Plus I have the best wife in the world who tirelessly looks after me without moaning even when things get tough.

Well I think that’s enough for today. Going to sit and have a cuppa and just relax now!

Rob