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I did something remarkable today
Mar. 14th, 2015 07:33 pmI made popcorn. By myself. I walked across the house (only about twenty steps, for you Fitbit fans) to the kitchen, reached up to the top shelf of the cupboard -- quite a stretch for me if not for my husband, who was in his study -- and pulled down the box with the popcorn bags, pulled one out and put it in the microwave. I stood in the kitchen, upright, for two minutes while the popcorn popped. I walked across the kitchen a couple of times, to get a drink, to get a napkin, but all the time standing up comfortably. I now, having walked the twenty or so steps back to my study, I am eating my popcorn.
Why is this a big deal? Because twenty-one months ago this would have been impossible for me. Two years ago I didn't feel well enough to travel to England to celebrate my fiftieth birthday with friends. Two months later my father died, and at the end of the month I had a very hard relapse that left me barely able to stand upright or walk more than a few steps at a time. I had been taking the injectable drug Rebif, which worked my trying to suppress my immune system. It may have helped, but I slowly got slower and slower and stiffer and stiffer. I had just switched to Tecfidera, a pill that by reports worked much better than any other medication. I was terrified. Was the new drug going to help or make things worse? I've since learned of cases where it did in fact make things worse, but at the time the drug was too new on the market for me to have heard much about results.
Now it's twenty-one months later, and I still have problems, but I'm much, much better than I was. Tecfidera has helped tremendously, which is why I'm very reactive when my insurer, Aetna, keeps trying to deny me coverage. I appreciate it when so many people help me out to get them to change their minds. I'll have a new shipment early next week. I am so lucky so have so many friends. Thank you all.
Why is this a big deal? Because twenty-one months ago this would have been impossible for me. Two years ago I didn't feel well enough to travel to England to celebrate my fiftieth birthday with friends. Two months later my father died, and at the end of the month I had a very hard relapse that left me barely able to stand upright or walk more than a few steps at a time. I had been taking the injectable drug Rebif, which worked my trying to suppress my immune system. It may have helped, but I slowly got slower and slower and stiffer and stiffer. I had just switched to Tecfidera, a pill that by reports worked much better than any other medication. I was terrified. Was the new drug going to help or make things worse? I've since learned of cases where it did in fact make things worse, but at the time the drug was too new on the market for me to have heard much about results.
Now it's twenty-one months later, and I still have problems, but I'm much, much better than I was. Tecfidera has helped tremendously, which is why I'm very reactive when my insurer, Aetna, keeps trying to deny me coverage. I appreciate it when so many people help me out to get them to change their minds. I'll have a new shipment early next week. I am so lucky so have so many friends. Thank you all.
