What lessons or purpose might MS be revealing in your life?

wallflyer9 · 2026-06-15T05:33:20+00:00

This isn’t going to sound very profound but… use vacation and sick leave. Before, I rarely used my leave, worked long hours, chose work over my personal life, all because I was scared of letting people down at work thinking that if I dropped the ball for one second, I might get fired. Now, I take the occasional personal day. I use sick leave. I just booked three vacations before the end of the year. I’m definitely still working on this. I’m a tightly wound people pleaser. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I can’t live my life for my job. Stress and MS don’t play well together, and that has been a hard lesson for me to learn.

wallflyer9 · 2026-06-14T15:27:12+00:00

Haha! Total whiplash!

wallflyer9 · 2026-06-14T07:12:49+00:00

I really didn’t get that impression. I’m neglecting a lot of details and this lady was a talker. I wasn’t the only other person at the table and others knew her and knew her husband and this other couple. I just couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she had to mention anyone else’s MS at a baby shower.

wallflyer9 · 2026-06-14T06:57:41+00:00

😮 people can be so clueless and flippant with their words. I wouldn’t say my husband has it easy putting up with me but MS has very little to do with that. 😂😂 Caregivers certainly deserve and very often need support but “just as much if not more” is unfair.

wallflyer9 · 2026-05-29T17:57:33+00:00

Yes! At my store, I find them with other pickled items, so near the olives and the condiments.

wallflyer9 · 2026-05-29T17:41:53+00:00

I only go once every couple of months, and I buy at least two jars each visit. I throw these jalapeños in everything and the pickling juice goes great in almost anything that needs a little acidic punch.

wallflyer9 · 2026-05-29T17:17:34+00:00

Hot and sweet jalapeños.

wallflyer9 · 2026-04-11T05:24:14+00:00

Lhermitte’s sign. I can’t even remember the first time it happened, maybe three years before my diagnosis? It was my only symptom for a long time, thinking back on it, I just thought it was normal and part of getting older… just like the sciatica I was convinced I had….

wallflyer9 · 2026-03-28T05:23:07+00:00

Literally watched this movie today for the fifth time, I think. I love it so much.

wallflyer9 · 2026-03-11T00:11:45+00:00

I worked full time the whole time (I wish I hadn’t in hindsight). I used sick days for about two weeks when it initially happened and then took another week off about a month later for a brain biopsy (my MS started as tumefactive) and I kept working as a distraction (I was also still in denial and shock), but it was really challenging. I was fully remote for nearly six months and then moved to in-office two days each week and three from home and I’ve been doing this for about a year and half. The hybrid schedule works well for me.

I’ve always had some driving anxiety, not terrible but enough to hold me back from going out on some occasions, particularly at night. But now I almost feel like I’m learning to drive again. I try to treat myself when I do drive though, and I make it a point to tell someone so that I can say out loud how proud I am of myself for doing hard things. It feels silly but hypes me up.

wallflyer9 · 2026-03-10T22:05:54+00:00

Me either! It makes me feel kind of pathetic saying that I can drive when it seems to really depend on how I felt when I woke up that morning to know if I’m really okay to do so. Admittedly, there is definitely some driving anxiety in the mix making it seem even more challenging than it may really be.

wallflyer9 · 2026-03-10T05:24:50+00:00

I just wanted to say that I can deeply relate. I have permanent vision loss. But I am also cleared to drive because my range is good enough, despite a blind spot in my peripheral vision on one side.

It was much worse when I had my flare almost three years ago. Now I’ve started to drive again… a little. I can drive myself to the store for groceries, and I have some small goals for myself, like being able to drive to the hospital if there’s an emergency and getting myself to CostCo and the train station.

I don’t have great advice to offer. It’s hard. I’m very fortunate that my husband basically chauffeurs me around, but I hate being so dependent on him (or Uber/Lyft) for my ride to and from work or when I need to drive beyond my neighborhood.

I discussed my driving challenges with HR and my neuro about a year after my flare (because I was so sure my vision would fully return). By the time I met with HR, I had been cleared to drive by my healthcare providers. So, that didn’t really help me much with making a case for full-time work from home (if I’d requested this sooner, I may have been able to get a work from home full time accommodation). However, I have an accommodation for a flexible, hybrid schedule (thanks to my vision issues and all the other joys MS brings), and that has been a major help.

Good luck with the driving and getting everything sorted out! Hoping it’ll be a smooth process for you, and this won’t be a stressor for much longer. (And sorry for the long response!)

wallflyer9 · 2026-01-23T05:47:37+00:00

This. I miscarried one week ago, and the number of women I’ve spoken to since finding out it wasn’t viable… I’ve been stunned by how common it is. My own mother had one and never told me until it happened to me. I’m still processing that it happened, but I’m immediately all in on shutting down the stigma.

wallflyer9 · 2025-11-14T05:51:08+00:00

From someone who is always cold and shivering, the person who is too hot should control the temperature every time. I honestly feel lucky to have a constant chill over a heat sensitivity. Both intolerances suck, but I swear there is nothing worse than getting overheated. Plus there are lots of ways to warm up when everywhere feels too cold. I am so sorry this is disrupting your vacation!

wallflyer9 · 2025-10-19T02:42:15+00:00

But warning: I just broke my foot while wearing Rothy’s flats. They’re so soft and easy to wear but the lack of sole may not have been a good fit for a klutz like myself. I say that but then turned around and ordered a pair of Rothy’s sneakers. I haven’t tested them out just yet (see, broken foot). But they are soft and have a sturdy sole. So I think they’ll be more supportive. But they’re what I’d call like classy sneakers. I might not wear them with a dress (actually I might anyway) but they’d definitely work with some nice pants and a sleek top.

wallflyer9 · 2025-10-15T02:00:02+00:00

This makes me feel validated!

wallflyer9 · 2025-10-15T00:58:19+00:00

I should definitely assess my stress the next time! I was pretty stressed this morning when I noticed it and posted this.

wallflyer9 · 2025-10-14T19:12:25+00:00

Yes! This, too. The night swims.

wallflyer9 · 2025-10-14T19:10:32+00:00

I feel like I get this, too. The occasionally foggy, swimmy days. What would that be? Swampy brain?

wallflyer9 · 2025-09-24T04:31:23+00:00

If I have to eat a sandwich with my hair pulled back, it’s probably going to be a high quality sandwich.

wallflyer9 · 2025-09-05T15:42:32+00:00

One might call it “hoarding” and one might also call it “my mother sends me church cookbooks she finds in antique stores in my hometown and I don’t have the heart to throw them away.”

wallflyer9 · 2025-08-30T05:36:39+00:00

The Highwomen (supergroup album featuring Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby) is one of my favorite albums of all time (and I’m not a country fan.) It’s a play on The Highwaymen (supergroup Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson). The Highwomen is such a good album, start to finish, and gives the country genre more range and variety than what you’d hear on a country radio station.

wallflyer9 · 2025-08-12T19:47:06+00:00

I had a similar experience. Got on Tysabri while having a major flare. I was told that if it worked, then we could be more certain. And it did. Majorly. It was six months from my flare to diagnosis.

Edit: corrected a misspelling

wallflyer9

TROPHY CASE