MS Update Plus Honey Mustard Pork & Potato Skillet

Speaking out about multiple sclerosis to others who may be dealing with this disease is actually helpful to me as well as, I hope, to others. It builds community, helps bring awareness to MS, and strengthens the MS movement that will ultimately lead to the end of this disease.

Teri Garr

Update! I feel like I can confidently say… I’m in recovery… I think 😆!!

What does that mean? Well, I’m not sure myself 🥴😆 From what I understand, once the flareup is over, I won’t get any new symptoms until a new flare up begins. HOWEVER… The symptoms that I have already experienced are now with me. Every day is different. I can experience all of them, or one of them or maybe a combo of ALL the different symptoms. Yay! 😒 My symptoms range from extreme fatigue to tingling sensations in my thighs and up my back. I also have blurry vision, memory lapses, brain fog, dizziness and balance issues. My worst symptoms are the nerve pain in my left hand, the spasticity in my left hand which causes it to claw up, and nerve pain in my right fingertips. Oh and my left arm has numbness as well. I don’t know how to explain the feelings. One of the nurses asked me if it felt like my arm was asleep? In the easiest sense of an explanation, I guess it is but it really isn’t like that at all. I asked her if she had ever had a baby. She said no and I said, “then I can’t explain contractions to you. There’s no other pain like it.” That’s just like this. I’ve never felt anything like this so I don’t know how to explain it. I can’t explain it in terms of sensation/pain/numbness so I’ve been trying other ways to explain what I feel. To be honest, I am hoping this all makes sense because my mind is muddled and it is so hard to type that either my hands or my brain keep skipping key words and sentences 😂. I am such a mess. The feeling in my arm and hand makes me think of the rings around a solar pulse. Big circles pulsing as they fade but they never fade. The nerve pain in my hands feels like white noise or a sound wave chart of loud noises. When I picture the feeling radiating down the back of my thighs and up into my butt and back, it makes me think of the aftermath of a giant firework as it dissipates throughout the sky. But unfortunately it never dissipates. It is difficult to get used to these feelings because they are constant. I can’t escape them. I am realizing that certain things can trigger my symptoms to come out or intensify. So far… Feeling hot water, raised body temperature, getting emotional, getting upset and not getting enough sleep. And I mean 9-10 hours a day!! My old schedule used to be fall sleep around midnight and wake up at 7:45am!! Unfortunately, there isn’t medicine for any of this. If the pain gets really bad I can rotate between Advil and Tylenol. The treatment therapy I will be getting will NOT help or take away the symptoms I have already accumulated, it will HOPEFULLY prolong the time between now and my next flareup so MORE symptoms don’t get added on to the damage that has already been done to my brain. This week I had to get updated on all of the vaccinations that I was eligible for. This is because the treatment that I am going to start will make me immunocompromised. They want me as prepared and as protected as possible! I also had to get a TB skin test and an X-ray in order to move forward with the treatment.

The treatment is an infusion therapy of monoclonal antibodies. We are hoping now that all the tests are done we can begin treatment in the next week or 2! It is around $30 000 a treatment and I will get it every 6 months until it doesn’t work for me or a better treatment comes along. Of course this all depends on whether the therapy works for me as we hope it does. Either way, I’m so grateful we live where we do 💛. Despite the fact that we are small business owners without benefits we are fortunate that our provincial Fair PharmaCare covers the costs!!! You have no idea what a relief this is to Ninja & I!

It makes me think, what would a woman in my exact position do if she was born 45 minutes away from me but across the border? She wouldn’t be this lucky 💔. I’m SO grateful to call this beautiful country home. Especially in the midst of what is happening in the world. It is heartbreaking. I have to limit my screen time because seeing people flee Ukraine and the senseless destruction and fear leaves my body physically vibrating. It is definitely a trigger for my symptoms.

When I watch the news and see what is happening in Ukraine, I feel like we need to do some thing! I mean the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people and their leader is inspirational! How can we just sit back and watch this happen? But when I think of the reality of joining the Ukrainians in their fight… The reality of what that means scares the shit out of me. I hope it doesn’t come to that 💛💙.

Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #266: Shot(s) in the Arm HERE! This week, I receive some (more!) shocking news. Topics: vaccinations, MS symptoms, a night out, the message, X-ray, Hockey update, crisis situations, finales & kids’ music.

I grew up thinking 3 things had to be on my plate… I’m getting better over the years but I still gravitate towards having a plate with 3 items on it, protein/starch/vegetable. This dish gives me 2 out of 3 of those while only using 1 pan! Genius! Even better, it taste delicious! I’m a honey mustard girl so anytime I see those 2 ingredients, I’m all in! This recipe was especially nice because Ninja had no problems making it and there was barely any cleanup! Even better when there’s just one of us doing all the heavy lifting lately ☹️🤬.

Honey Mustard Pork & Potato Skillet Adapted from Eatwell 101 3 pork chops, boneless 3 cups small yellow potatoes, quartered 2 tablespoons butter, divided 2 tablespoons oil, divided 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/3 cup honey 1/4 cup whole grain mustard 1 teaspoon smoked paprika Salt and fresh cracked pepper

Par-boil quartered potatoes in boiling salted water for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Pat dry and season pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides.

In a small bowl, combine mustard, honey, paprika, lemon juice and mix until smooth.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and cook potatoes until golden with a nice crust, tossing regularly. When potatoes are done, remove to a plate. Discard oil and butter if it’s too brown.

In the same skillet, melt remaining butter with oil, cook pork chops 3 – 4 minutes on all sides until cooked through. Remove to another plate.

Lower the heat and pour the honey mustard sauce. Let the sauce reduce for one minute then stir in potatoes and toss to coat well. Move potatoes on the side and add pork chops back into the skillet.

This week was better than other weeks considering I was put through the medical testing ringer 😂. Dad and J bought me a delicious cake from Wouda’s for being so brave with all my shots this week 😆❤️. The mornings felt moody outside but the sunshine finally came out! So did the first sprouts of our tulips and crocuses! I brought out the spring Scentsy, tried the new spring Starbucks drink, and took the dog for a walk! The Girls had their first lunch and sudoku session outside, HBear had Saturday dance competition class, we went for a wonderful walk on the beach, took naps (lots of naps lol), Dad took SweetPea and SydneyBean to Pink the Pink Vee’s night and then had a sleepover while Ninja and I went out for dinner for the first time in months with my Sis and our BIL. There were lots of ups and downs this week but I am feeling grateful 💛.