here goes…

okay… here goes the blog i’ve been trying to post for about 2 months now.

After going to the Dr. about my numb feet, legs and left arm, I got to experience an MRI for the first time. After the MRI, I was referred to a neurologist. Then I got to undergo another MRI, some blood work, and a chest X-ray. Then I was diagnosed with MS and spiraled into panic mode. Eight weeks and a spinal tap later, I am going to be okay. Granted I still have MS, but I have successfully exited panic mode. I am still working; I am still driving. I am going to do this damn play if it kills me. :)

Good news:

We can still have children; I should even have a pretty normal pregnancy. We’ve decided to give it a year or two, but we were planning on doing that anyway. Ben isn’t even done with school until next summer.

I started my medication about 6 weeks ago. The earlier you start meds, the better.

I’m young. The earlier you catch it, and start meds, the better.

I have an awesome support system. I had to stay in bed for a few days after the spinal tap, and I had lunch delivered every day. We had a few movie watching parties in the guest room, too. Have I mentioned how amazing my husband is? I am blessed to have him in my life.

I have a super-fabulous neurology team. Dr. Reed and his assistant, Rhonda are both MS certified and have been super supportive. I them.

My medication is injectable, but I have a one-button Auto-Inject: the most amazing piece of plastic I’ve ever known. I give myself my shots without passing out. I don’t see the needle, and it doesn’t even hurt too much.

Wow. Lots of good news, and I could go on.

Bad News:

I have MS.

eh. could be worse.

Sometimes, the depression is overwhelming. Sometimes, I get worn out way too early, but if I eat enough and sleep enough, even the bad stuff isn’t so bad. I have spent enough time dwelling on the can’ts and nevers. I am putting my faith in God to carry me through this. I know He isn’t going to give me anything I can’t handle, and that the reasons I am searching for will appear in time.

On a slightly happier note, The Play opens 2 weeks from today! I have a costume so horrid, it’s hysterical. That in and of itself should make you all want to come out and see it. Maybe that will give you something more exciting to blog about. :)

Heroes

Ok, most of you know that I’m not the biggest TV aficionado, but I watched a couple episodes of “Heroes” on Netflix this weekend, and I think I might be hooked.

The show is ingeniously executed. There are enough unknowns in the show to keep you guessing, and the storylines are fast-paced and exciting. Unlike some other shows I’ve seen recently, there’s a good amount of charcterization, to create that oh-so-desirable “connection” with the audience. In other shows, the number of storylines might be overwhelming, but not here. You get just enough information each time to want more, then all of a sudden you’re taken back to another storyline, given a little more information, and so on and so forth.

I don’t know how many of you guys out there are fans of the show, but you can count me as one now.

By the way, don’t spoil anything in the comments, I’m only three episodes into the first season :)

First artificial life form

It seems as though it’s finally happened. Check out this article on Fox News.

Craig Venter, a genetic scientist, has officially created the first artificial life form. Using lab-created chemicals, he created a synthetic chromosome, which effectively changes the makeup of another lifeform’s DNA. Using this new DNA, Venter can change one form of life to another.

There are going to be huge debates over this, and expect to hear quite a bit about it over the coming months. I could be wrong, but I’m thinking this is going to be pretty huge. Being able to change one life-form into another is borderline “playing God”, and there are going to be a lot of opinions about this.

Kinda cool, kinda scary.

Peter Jackson and The Hobbit?

Man, I’m really hoping this one happens. I watched the Hobbit a whole bunch of times when I was younger (as any good dork would), and often thought about how cool a live-action version would be. Fast-forward more than a decade, and Peter Jackson creates three of the best movies of all time. Not only did he capture the magic of the books, he did it in an epic and extremely grandiose way.

So you can imagine my excitement when I read today that Jackson and New Line Cinema might be talking to each other again (after some squabbling about Jackson not getting enough money, essentially). There’s still a good chance that he won’t do the movie – but come on, he has to. Nobody else can, seriously.

Most of you won’t be quite as geekily (is that even a word? Well it is now :) excited about this as I am, but if he does the movie, it will be amazing.

Here’s to hoping.