Wow a busy day. i am heading to bed soon. Even though it is just after 6 pm. We had a breakfast meeting with someone from Helping Paws re the upcoming Tail Waggin Dinner Fundraiser. Hope many of you can attend. Then home for a brief break. Off to water exercise. I do what I can but some of the moves increase the vertigo. Lunch at a friends house and a nap. Then a quick visit to Helping Paws to get Emma's new pack and visit Judy, Sue, and say hello to Pam. We greeted Charlie also.

All that and remember I can't drive yet due to a variety of MS issues. What great friends I have. Tonight I am so tired. I managed the vertigo so well today!! Tonight I am so tired that it is evident again. The heat and fatigue make it worse. Maybe things will continue to improve. MS is really full of ups and down days so we will just have to see.

My big message today is how Emma can surprise me. Emma hates getting her nails trimmed. She gets it done often and no matter what we do she hates it. I take her to Petco. I have tried both the vet and a smaller dog trimming place and she hated it all places. Some times the person doing the trimming has so much trouble getting the last paws. Now she even hates going in the door where we take her.

Last night I rode with but felt so dizzy, Greg took her in alone to get her nails done while I waited in the car. He came out all smiles. She apparently handled it very well with him at her side to calm her. They do it at floor level to make it easier on her and he just held her close to him. Yeah Emma. We will have Greg take you next time also and see if it helps you handle the trimming.

SWIMMING - MY WATCH DOG -EMMA lays at the side of the pool about three feet or less away from the edge. She usually lays their with her eyes on me. Once in awhile she perks up if she think I need something and stands. For the most parts she lays down. Well today at the end of class I really got her attention. I was still in the pool helping put away the items we use for exercise. Their were young teens waiting for our class to be over so they could swim.

I was coming back from the deep end when one of the youth jumped in a bit prematurely. He startled me and I made noise and got soaked. Emma was up all fours immediately.
She even moved forward so she was closer to the pool. She was alarmed. I was on my way out and assured her I was okay. She did not jump in the pool. Those around her assured her I was okay. Today made me wonder though that if something really big happened to me if she wouldn't want to come to my assistance. It sure made it clear that she has her eye on me even when she is relaxed and laying down.

Tomorrow will be quieter. The days are hot and humid. It will be good to rest and stay cool.

Wishing you a good day!
Mary and Emma

At book club we had a great discussion of the book The Memory Keepers Daughter. Emma is so cute. When we park she knows which store I am heading toward or so it seems to me. Then when we get to the circle of chairs she easily lays at my feet (not like church yesterday). At first she moves her head as each person chats as if she is listening to us discuss the book. It is so cute. Then she just settles in to nap while we continue to talk away for over an hour. She got a good nap in. Book club is so enjoyable.

Book club helps us keep up our cognitive skills. It motivates me to take time to read a bit more than I might otherwise. For sure it streches me to read a variety of books. It is so interesting to hear other ideas on the book. The next book we are reading is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. How fortunate Barnes and Noble had it on buy one get one free offer for certain books. All the people in the group have MS though we don't pick books on MS. Some of the individuals I see at water exercise, others I only see at book club.

I just couldn't cool off today. It did not get as hot as they expected though. Still I feel so warm. I look at Emma with her fur coat and think no wonder she sheds so much.

My vertigo is acting up and worsening again. So I am going on steroids one last time and taking another medication to see if it will help. I will start tomorrow for about six days. Then next week is the Huega Program. We will be at a hotel from Tues the 31st - Aug 5th. They reminded me from the MS Office that this week I will be on the steroids so things should improve we hope and next week my own MS specialist will be at the program with us all week. So if there are problems he will be right there to talk with me. I don't know what happens if this next round does not work. Then maybe I just have to wait and see what happens over time.

Emma likes the hotel or did when we were there for the Couple's Getaway.

I managed okay with the vertigo today with the helping arm of greg and friends and my dear Emma. One day at a time.
Mary

If you want to see a wonderful story cut and paste this link into your browser. It is a story about a Helping Paws Graduate Team. It made me cry and is excellent. Don't miss it. It was on the news tonight but als on the computer. Enjoy

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3849123&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

This week at church Emma would not lay down. We forgot to bring a blanket but she often lays down (drop) without a blanket. She just stood. Quiet as can be at my side she stood.
A few times she peeked through the opening in the pew seat to look out in front (no one was sitting there we were in the second pew).

At one point I took her outside. I was right she needed to go to the bathroom again. Then I thought okay now lets lay down. She didn't. She was quiet, she was not disruptive in anyway. We were alone in the pew with a dog who stood for almost the full hour. She went great with me up to Communion and was well behaved but on all fours. The last song she layed down.
I forgot to bring any treats but not sure even that would have changed her mind.

I wondered if this would be a day where she just didn't want to work. No she was fine all day. We came home to take a nap after playing outside before it got hot. At about 2:45 Tia, and my Granddaughters came to hang out. Yeah I did not have to spend the day alone. Greg went to the ballgame with his brothers.

Rosa (almost 9 months) and Sophia (7) were dellightful. It was so cute Sophia was playing Barbies and driving them in their car around the house. Following behind was little Rosa. It was so darn cute. Sophia is so patient and loving as a big sister. Tia visited and got to finish the Harry Potter book. It was hot out so they liked my cool house.

Emma practices the cue "leave it" many times when Rosa or Sophia are playing. When they are not here, the toys of course are hers to play with (she has her special dog toys). Well let me remind you that the rubber chew toys Rosa has don't look much different than Emma's. And well those Barbie's and Kens look darn interesting. She also knows she cannot eat what Rosa drops on the floor while eating. At this point it is mostly cheerios that find there way to the floor. I was just so proud of Emma.

Emma did very well with Rosa today. Then Greg came home. After a simple meal he got on the floor to play with Rosa. Emma had left a food dish in the living room. It was upside down and Greg and Rosa were banging on it like it was a drum. You should have seen Emma's expression. She waited a little bit till they paused in their play, went and picked up her dish and put it where it belonged. Asking her to share that item we agreed was asking too much.

When Greg and I are both on the floor with Rosa, Emma gets jealous. Earlier in the day she layed by my side and I petted her while keeping and eye on Rosa. When we are actually holding Rosa, or playing toys on the floor - she got a little jealous. All she needed was some attention from us though and she did fine.

Tomorrow Emma will have me all to herself. I am hoping to manage book club and have a meeting in the afternoon with a board member to discuss the Tail Waggin' Dinner talk I am going to give. I hope it all works out.

Unfortunately twice today I fell while trying to walk, due to vertigo. Now at least it is not constant unless I try to lay down. Any movement while laying down sets it off. Both times today I landed on furniture, not the floor. One time I just couldn't get enough balance and enough relief from the vertigo to stand up or sit up for at least 5-10 minutes. What a pain in the neck this is. I made sure Tia did any lifting of Rosa.

I hope this goes away or levels off. I need to figure out how to cope. So far no injuries, but as I grab my cane, for the wall, or stumble to furniture, I know I am just fortunate I have not had a fall with injuries. That is why I hope I feel more stable tomorrow. I do check my blood sugars, and blood pressure to see if that could be an issue. No I think plain old MS inflamation in the brain is the cause. Yuk

Thanks so much for reading this blog. I hope you don't mind that I do vent and explain some of the problems of MS. It helps me cope to right. For the most part I try to keep a positive attitude. The vertigo at least is not constant and as severe as before. One day at a time.

Well after several days off my husband, Greg, is dreading having to work again. Whether you work outside the home, at home, or like me just try to manage MS and daily needs - I hope Monday treats you well.

Take care, Emma and Mary

Saturday

Today we had a nice surprise. Rosa and Daddy came over for a visit. She had on her MN Twin Outfit that I bought her. She is really crawliing now and moving fast. She is at Emma level now.

Emma figured out after just one reminder that I did not want her to fetch Rosa's toys. Her favorites are a collection of rubber ducks, a rubber boat named "Grandpa's tug Boat" and a Grandpa figure. Rosa however was a bit intrigued by Emma's toy. So Greg and I played with Rosa on the floor, while also throwinga fetch toy for Emma. It actually went smoother than you would think.

Then Emma layed down near Rosa. At the speed of light Rosa was over trying to crawl over her. Emma was patient. We did however move around so Rosa would not be able to grab at Emma. Emma just watched Rosa play and Rosa just stayed with her own toys. It was darling. I tried to take a picture but I couldn't quite capture it the way I wanted to. Emma or Rosa or Greg would move and then the picture would be lost.

In the afternoon I went to the movie Hair Spray. I enjoyed it. This time I left Emma at home with Greg and to take a nap. Once in awhile I just feel it is good for her to be home without me. Greg was mostly in the garage while Emma slept inside. He did however take breaks to bring Emma outside to play.

It was a joyous reunion when I returned home. Emma was so eager to see me, to play, and to let me pet her. I was with her the rest of the day.

I am struggling to work on a project. It is a film idea for a contest through the MS Society.
My proposal has to be less than 500 words. You can't imagine how many times I have edited and revised my ideas. The winners will work with a production company and MS staff to create a film 5-7 minutes in length to be shared at the MS Society National Convention in late October. I know I would be a long shot but am having fun trying to pull my ideas together. Getting my ideas limited to 500 words is really a challenge. I will let you know more about it as time goes on. I need to email it tomorrow. Wish me luck. It concerns how I deal with MS in my life.

It is suppose to be pretty warm all week. In the 90's and humid. Greg will be at a Twins Game so Emma and I will go with him to church and then be home. Yes I did fall over again due to dizziness - it will be awhile till I drive. This time I was sitting on the couch when I toppled. I moved my head and down I went. Yeah it was tonight not when I was playing with Rosa.

Our power went off tonight. I have a small battery operated lantern that I gave to Emma to "carry". It was a bit heavy so I was not sure how she would react. She lifted it and carried it about 2-3 feet and then put it down. I was ready to give up on it. Then she changed her position a bit and put the handle in her mouth again. She proudly carried it around to show Greg. I don't often remember to have Emma practice with heavy objects. This was great. Especially if I need her to carry a bag or something for me. Hopefully we won't need a lantern picked up very often. Yes the lights went back on in about 20 minutes.

Emma and I had a good day. I am actually adjusting to being dizzy and still dealing with life. I have seen improvement but sure hope this gets better still. I do have waves when it causes me to fall over, I walk with a cane and hanging on to things. I might have Greg bring my walker back in the house to help me be more stable. At the movie my friend let me hang on to her and I used the cane.

Wishing you a good day Sunday. Stay cool and have a relaxing day.
Mary