It's about time for an update. Questions have been trickling in for a few months now and I realize that a lot of you are wondering what is the latest. Nothing has changed since the last post. The doctor still thinks it's ADEM which means it was a reaction to the flu vaccine. I was so lucky, not just because it wasn't cancer or MS, but because my case of ADEM was so mild. Most people with this condition end up in a coma or paralyzed or dead. Or maybe those are just the reported cases. Maybe there are tons of people walking around with varying forms of it, not knowing, because it's mild. That's my guess. The vaccine company acts like it's so rare, but my doctor told me he had seen 5 cases this year. It's obviously not as rare as they are making it seem. My doctor said he still recommends vaccinating to prevent childhood diseases, but he doesn't give his family flu shots and he said no more for me. He thinks that vitamin D supplements are actually more effective in preventing flu anyway. My kids think the new no-flu-shot-policy is great news.
I'm still on guard all the time watching for MS symptoms. I look forward to two years from now because sometimes that's how long MS patients go between attacks. I feel like if I can go two years without another episode, I can safely say it's not MS FOR SURE. I have a follow-up appointment in November when I will be getting another MRI to make sure there aren't any new lesions. But with my little friend Lottie Crawford still praying for me every day, I don't see how that could possibly happen. She's been praying for me all this time, even in primary! Bless her!
I continue to be touched by the heartfelt outreach of so many of you. Every now and then I see a friend or meet someone that was following the blog and they tell me, with tears in their eyes, about how lovingly they hoped and prayed for me and it makes me so emotional! I can feel the love they have for me (sometimes complete strangers) and I can't express to them how much I appreciate their support and their prayers. I truly attribute all of my success and recovery to the collective prayers of my family and friends whose hearts were filled with so much faith and love that our Father in Heaven could not be restrained from pouring out blessings on me and my family. Feeling that love from God and everyone else was such an amazing experience that I will always remember.
The only symptom that remains is the speech slurring. I don't think anyone would notice it that didn't know my situation, but I know those that do can hear it. It's the most frustrating when I want to speak quickly. I once had one of my young women ask me if I was from Las Vegas. I said, "Yes, how did you know?" She said, "Because people from Las Vegas talk really fast." Haha, I had no idea. But it's true, I like to talk fast and that has become very difficult. My brain thinks fast and when I have a lot to say, I just want to roll it all out there but it all gets twisted on the way out. I still believe the day will come when I won't even remember the speech difficulty, I just have to keep exercising my brian.
Speaking of brain exercises and things getting all twisted up, I have a recent addition to my list of future circus acts: spinning fire. I have started taking poi spinning class. Now if you want your brain to feel completely done in, take this class! It's so hard to get your head around what you're doing and getting your dork side to cooperate with your dominant side. This is super new for me. Step one: practice poi. Step two: glowing LED poi. Step three: lighting poi ON FIRE. But for now, I leave each class a little bit better but also feeling a little bit like I have a learning disability. Why can't anything ever be easy?!!! It looks so easy when YOU do it Jennifer Wilkins!!!
My studio is undergoing a makeover. It is switching from J&M Expressions to Cirque Asylum which is a much better description of what goes on there. It's just a bunch of crazy freaks! The other day I was in the studio and I had this total out of body experience like, where am I? On my right, there was an amazing acrobat on the aerial pole (a metal pole that is free hanging from the ceiling, which I imagine makes the regular pole moves twice as hard). Let me just tell you, there is a whole side to pole that you don't know about that has nothing to do with stripping. These girls at my studio are extreme athletes and acrobats who do beautiful and amazing things on the pole. To her left were two instructors rocking the LED poi practicing for an upcoming recital. On the floor, in front of me, there is another girl stretching in a full middle split, the kind where they lay their stomach flat on the floor. To my left, there is another guy who is a poi freak and his wife, a beautiful dancer on lyra, which is the hula hoop shaped aerial apparatus used by circus freaks who enjoy doing contortion with cold, hard, metal digging into their back. I wish I had filmed this moment. I literally felt like I was backstage at Cirque Du Soleil. I was feeling totally out of place as I repeatedly smacked myself in the face with my poi. But my instructor was right there assuring me that I would be there soon enough, as she always does.
My awesome husband kindly filmed another video of my progress on the aerial silks, of course making me look better than I really am. But I really have come a long way from where I started and I can't describe the thrill of that. It's so true when Jen jokes that she's like a drug dealer because the first class is free. After that you're hooked. So maybe I should just start by saying, "My name is Lauren Wilkins and I'm a cirqueaholic." The studio is coming out with t-shirts. I have requested one that says "circus freak in training" They will also have shirts that say " I Fly to get High" That couldn't be more true. All I can say is, IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!!
I can tell these videos are really going to help me improve because it drives me crazy to watch the footage and realize that I needed to just slightly adjust a hand or a foot to create a beautiful line or hold a pose a little longer and I keep screaming at the video, "Point your toes!" But, honestly, I am thrilled with my progress. It feels so good to be working so hard and dedicating so much time and know that I am getting closer to my goal. Right now, I'm aiming to get my pull-up all the way to the top by my birthday in less than two months. Not sure if that's possible or not. It only took me six months to get one inch off the ground, but I'm going to go for it!
