LIVING WITH MCL

It's been over 11 years since my diagnosis of MCL. It's been so long, much like my birthday, I chose not to even think about it. The only thing birthdays are good for is knowing how soon you'll be eligible for Medicare (less than 2 months for me now), and what new discounts I'm eligible for from local, regional or national retailers. Birthdays are nothing but a reminder of why that new pain you woke up with, or acquired during the day, for no apparent reason, is now making you miserable. Worst of all, birthdays are a reminder things aren't going to get any better. They're a reminder of why you can't do what you were once able to do. The mind is willing (at least in my case), but the body just doesn't want to respond. We are of course all different, and many can withstand the inevitable longer than others. Heck, I even know a few, which makes this even more disheartening. Oh well, such is life! I could go on complaining more, but what would be the point? ...

Thank goodness it's February! It's difficult to put into words what a lousy month January was [but I'll try :)]. It started out with me getting sick for a week, followed by hurting my neck the next week, which I am only now 95% recovered (but at least it is getting better), accompanied by a number of other little things which I'll just categorize as TMI. In between all that, there was a long stretch of bitterly cold weather, for southern California that is (upper 30's), topped off with the deaths of 3 close acquaintances. Edie's brother being one of them, a wine drinking buddy, a second, and of course Dr. Terry Hamblin, who I give a great deal of thanks for all the help he provided me in dealing with my MCL. I could go on and on, listing a few other things which have made this January a particularly memorable one, from a negative standpoint, but I think I'll just leave it that, and spare you any more of my whining. It just seems the older I get, the more emp...