Hello and welcome to podcast number nine. Today there's a few little bits and pieces
I want to talk about. First things first, I know I've said this before but I would like
to thank each and every one of you for downloading and streaming and listening to this podcast.
As I say I'm literally nobody special, I'm just a fellow who's gone through this diagnosis
and going through to try and get help and treatment for MS. I'm still so new to all
of this, whether it be the MS side of things or this podcasting. I'll be totally honest
with you, on a personal level this podcasting is absolutely superb. Just managing to talk
about things, getting thoughts from my head out into the world. All of you that are listening,
quite honestly you're helping, you're massively helping me, thank you, I appreciate it. The
main thing today is I actually had a letter today from my neurologist. I had my most recent
MRI scans a good few weeks ago now and he's sent me through the report, I mean if you
can say it's a full report because it didn't seem it I'll be totally honest with you. But
in the report he has put that he believes my condition is stable, there is no new lesions
or anything, it's as it was, except from one particular lesion apparently. There is a lesion
in my cervical spine which apparently is showing up a lot more pronounced than it previously
was. Now I know I've mentioned it previously but actually I've been getting a lot worse,
a lot worse recently. My balance all sorts and to be honest with you it's just about
everything that you can imagine. I'm getting pains in places that I didn't even realise
existed but yeah he believes that that lesion is progressing. He's had to send me back to
the MSMDT which is the multidisciplinary team and literally I've got to wait for a lumbar
puncture to work out what kind of treatment I can have. They have told me what they're
expecting and I'm doing a lot of research on the treatment that they've suggested to
me but again I've got to sit back and wait some more to find out exactly where we are
because the MDT want me to have a lumbar puncture before we do any kind of treatment. Which
I'll be totally honest with you, it's not easy. I really am at a point where, please
don't take this as me being majorly negative or whatever else but sometimes in life we
have to look at what's going on and speak as we find. At the moment I'm actually struggling,
I really am struggling. The pains I'm getting in legs, back, calf muscles, up my knees,
across my hips, my lower back, middle of my back, feeling like I'm being squashed across
me around my chest area and top of the stomach and with my brain I've been forgetful for
a while but incredibly forgetful and it's not easy I'll be honest with you at times
it's quite upsetting and I'm doing all I can to keep a smile on my face and for me that's
what I need to be doing, I need to keep a smile on my face and try and carry on because
there's people out there in a much worse condition and I need to for my own sanity just try and
fight back because as I've said before I've got MS, MS hasn't got me, it will have its
day it will have times where it makes me struggle and at the moment there's a lot of them times
but actually I am not going to give in, I am genuinely not going to give in because
I've got lots to fight for and I personally believe that we all have so keep me warrior
about me and I'll keep going but yeah that's kind of where we are with that in all fairness
as I say the issues I'm having are not nice at all but I will keep ticking over, I will
carry on. Now one of the things we've done today and over the last couple of days I mentioned
previously in my last podcast that the room out in the garden was going to become my studio
and it is, that we have confirmed, Lisa bless her she's quite happy for me to have this
area where I am now as my recording studio and to be honest with you at the moment it's
gorgeous out here, the sun is shining it's coming through the window and yeah it is absolutely
lovely it's really quite nice I've got to say I'm enjoying it. The new tumble dryer
turned up today that's all been set up now anyone out there that actually knows me knows
I am atrocious with any kind of DIY and how I mean really really bad. Actually today the
table we bought for the kitchen for the microwave to go on which I will say we didn't like it
the table we loved but the position of it in the kitchen just didn't work for us at
all so we reassessed and that table's now been used in the living room looks really
nice I'll be honest. I actually put that table together. Now Lisa she did help me I think
she screwed a few screws in but predominantly I actually did that pretty much on my own
and again if you know me you know full well that that actually is quite some achievement
because I am useless with that sort of stuff but for once yeah no I'll be honest with you
I'm looking at that table sat in the corner with all the bits and pieces on it and I'm
like I did that I did that and it looks good it's solid it is good yeah so that's a massive
achievement I'll be honest with you I really thoroughly enjoyed that this morning it was
interesting and actually in the grand scheme of things it's made me think maybe just maybe
I'm a little bit more capable with that sort of thing than I give myself credit for because
I do get frustrated with that stuff can't help it I look at what needs to go where and
whatever else and think how how do we put that there how do we make that work but with
this one actually I did it exactly yes I did I listened to the instructions I did it exactly
as the instructions said and it was easy little bits and pieces were a bit frustrating some
of the screws were sort of starting to cross thread so I had to take them out and readjust
yeah it was well worth it I can't say it was well worth it because I'm looking at it in
my front room and thinking yep that was money well spent and a bit of time well spent so
yeah I'm really chuffed with that and as I say the tumble dryer turned up new tumble
dryer that's going to be indoors as opposed to out and bless Alisa we did the first bit
of drying she did this first bit of drying and it was it was the towels now with the
old dryer it was a heat pump dryer the old one towels would literally take all day genuinely
they take all day and it was a little bit annoying this new condenser dryer they've
been in there one hour literally one hour and they are perfectly dry amazing the heat
pump dryers are supposed to be the newer technology all singing all dancing absolutely superb this
condenser which is old technology brilliant absolutely fantastic and having it indoors
actually is going to be quite helpful where we've where we've put it we're going to put
a couple of shelves up either side and sort of above the dryer we're going to put like
a little work surface so when the stuff's coming out the dryer we can take it out and
fold it all right there put it in the basket boom take it upstairs thanks very much job
done it's yeah I think it's actually a really good idea whereas this old dryer has been
outside in what is now going to be my recording studio it's been out here for two years it'd
be nice to actually not get soaking wet in the winter bringing the drying out bless Alisa
she's done that for two years and she absolutely deserves a medal bless her but we move on
we do these new things and actually I think it's going to work really well in terms of
just just life in general I've got to say actually doing that that walk Saturday and
as I've said you know I've been totally honest I probably was in the wheelchair for a good
95% of the walk both both Richard and my dad they they were brilliant actually do you know
what it's given me a real good boost you know as much as I'm struggling at the moment doing
that and again you know I'll be honest we raised 190 pounds which isn't a massive amount
but actually I feel like we've done something really really positive and I can't wait for
next year because I'll I'll be signing up to do next year's without any kind of problem
because it's absolutely worth it and yeah it's made me feel quite good about myself
just to do that little tiny bit which again I find it really positive and at the moment
positivity is absolutely what's needed it really is there's you know these other little
bits and pieces as as usual I've had six days off work I'm off again tomorrow and
back to work on Friday which yeah I've actually I've really enjoyed my six days off and it
is what it is on that back to work I'm kind of looking forward to going back to an extent
I think we all would like to win the lotteries so we didn't have to but but yeah I mean as
I say I mean there's not really a great deal more I can and want to say today from my
point of view these these podcasts me me talking to yourselves like I do I'm going to continue
for the long term they really are because it is incredibly helpful and again I've said
it previously and I will say it again if there's anyone out there that does want to come over
and join me on any of my social media accounts I am accessible say we are I'm on the Instagram
it's Mike's underscore MS underscore journey we're also on TikTok which is Mike's underscore
MS underscore journey and again exactly the same for the YouTube one of the things I do
want to very quickly mention earlier on was doing the washing and drying up and add two
of the kids in the kitchen and just as a bit of a laugh I was I was doing some some impressions
and I did the Mr Bean impression I'm not an impressionist but the pair of them were absolutely
whiddling themselves with laughter and it was really quite fun so I think that might
have to happen from time to time I quite enjoy making people laugh maybe at some point I'll
have the confidence to let you all listen to my Mr Bean impression but not today I'm
not going to subject you all to that today all right well I hope you all have a great
day I very much looking forward to talking to you all again soon speak to you soon bye
bye