Today is the first day of our second week in a local hotel eight miles from my home. The aftershocks of our flood have subsided along with the water. We've picked out the new carpet, wallpaper, and window fixtures and all have been ordered. Tomorrow they will start ripping the baseboards up and anything that is wood such as doors - I am learning a lot through this process and have received encouragements and plenty of hugs along the way.
Lets talk about hugs. Such a warm way to show the emotional bond of friendship! I have always been a hugger and not afraid to give that added squeeze to reinforce togetherness. I love to connect with my audiences when speaking and am blessed by those who come up to me afterwards and want to give me a hug, to show their appreciation. Some, without realizing how frail I have become with my MS, have inflicted pain with their emotional squeezes. I love a hug but now have to caution folks who give strong squeezes.
This past week has been a very intense and stressful week and several times I have experience tightness and pressure around the upper part of my stomach. I have noticed this before over the past months, but this week it was persistent. Sometimes the pressure was so great it nauseated me. Then I would have to calm myself from having a panic attack! Was it my heart? Do I have congestive heart failure as my mother did? All sorts of thoughts raced through my brain as I dealt with the confusion and turmoil of being relocated to a hotel room while major construction takes place in my home.
When I mentioned the weird sensation to "Thumbs", my registered nurse, she researched my complaints. Lo and behold, she informs me that it is an MS symptom and called the "MS Hug." A hug? Of course! That is exactly the way the sensation feels but much more powerful, enough to make you want to throw up!!
Friends, can anyone help me understand and deal with this new "hug"? Is this a short little "speed bump" that occurs every so often on the journey of MS? Is it something that I need to be concerned about - like can I have a heart attack over it? I can only imagine headline news announcing that Sue Thomas died because of a hug!! This is quite a journey where I have seen many faces of this MS Beast; the extreme fatigue; double blurry vision; numbness of feet; instability; the dribbly bladder; the wheelchair; motor scooter; the weakness and frailness of body and the excruciating pain found in the jaw, and now just when I thought that I have experienced it all - I get a "Hug"! Not just any ole hug, but an "MS Hug" that sucks the life out of me!
Can anyone share their experiences about this so called "Hug"? Surely it doesn't last through the whole MS journey. Its the last thing that I want - A HUG From the Beast!!
- It's not about me
- It's about us...about we!
4 comments:
I don't know about the MS hug, but I do know that you have more trials in your life than I would like to imagine. My family has just discovered your show that is now airing on Animal Planet, and we are so glad to find a clean program that mentions God with respect. May He bless you for giving the world a glimpse at your inimitable, courageous spirit through this show, and may He give you strength to cope with all your recent trials. --WL
Hi Sue, we met at the WAMS luncheon in Maine last year. You may remember Logan, my wonderful Golden assistance dog.
I've had a lot of different MS symptoms but I haven't experienced the MS hug. I've heard that it can be annoying and even painful though. Here's hoping that it goes away quickly.
Hi Sue,
Rick Scully gave me the link to your blog a couple of weeks ago while I was complaining about my MS symptoms.
I woke up with an MS hug around the same time yours arrived. This is the first time I've experienced it, but I've read about it. For me it's a feeling of tightness and burning. It feels a bit like I've been doing a lot of ab exercises, even though I haven't, and if I touch the area, it's not a sensation coming from the mucles. It's become less annoying over a couple of weeks.
Your MS seems a bit more aggressive than mine. I hope your hug is easing off also.
I had 2 MS hugs before I knew they were MS related. The first one put me in the ER and got me a stronger label for being "crazy" or worse an attention-seeking hypochondriac. The second one, I simply decided to sit through. I said I'd rather die than receive another one of those "looks." I survived. Then, I heard Monty Williams talking about "MS hugs." I had mentioned the two heart attacks to my neurologist and she acted like I was nuts too. When I told her about Monty, she pooh-poohed his experience too. LOL.
Post a Comment