This has been one whale of a couple of months. The Coronavirus has been pretty rough on me mentally. I had become comfortable with not being able to drive or travel the way I was used to. That was offset, by having built our retirement home. My wife and I had big plans for entertaining friends and family.
Enter Covid-19. It has put an enormous strain on our entertainment plans. There are numerous friends within an hour of us. Most are like us. Helping their families where they can. Doing babysitting duties, since most of the daycare facilities are closed, or not worth chancing in these times. This means a person with a challenged immune system, like me, cannot do the invites as planned.
We have occasionally had folk visit, only for a day here, or a weekend there. Almost exclusively family members. Even with that, I find I am a bit uncomfortable due to my compromised immune system. I have not even seen my web design friend since February (2020 that is), ergo, my updates are sorely behind. I mean, I look forward to my Physical Therapy sessions! How crazy is that.
My situation physically has suffered. I have not lost weight, but have lost muscle tone. I have been dealing with bouts of depression. Not suicidal type, just listless and unmotivated. This has led to a lot of just laying in bed. Just getting up to eat and bathroom trips. My meds seem to be right, so they are not to blame.
We will see how the upcoming holidays fare. Hopefully I will be able to get that feeling of family, and togetherness again.
APR
2021
About the Author:
A little about myself: I was born Carl Levon Jones in Conway hospital in 1959 to Hazel Elizabeth Jones. I am the third of four children. My mother never married. This today would be normal but in the old days, it was different. Maybe it was the beginning of the change in view. I was raised by my grandparents from the age of 1 when we moved to Maryland. My mother was still a big part of my life, as she and a few sisters had moved to New York to try to make a living instead of the depressed south. I lived and grew up with my grandparents, brother and sister and cousins until I entered the military at 19 years of age. I spent 12 years in the Army learning to be an electronics technician, just to have computers take over the industry. I, therefore, had to relearn electronics with computers being the main focus. No, I am not talking Windows and Microsoft, but Fortran and different flavors of UNIX creating GUIs. I rose through the IT Field from the bottom, to be a Manager at different DOD Contractors. I was married to my wife, Patt in 1981. We have been together ever since, 38yrs. We had one son, Carl Levon Jones II the following year while still serving in the military. I am a man who believes strongly in family and relatives. I am as close to Patt’s family as I am to my own. Closer in some cases. Unfortunately, my rise in IT was interrupted when I contracted the Autoimmune Disease, Multiple Sclerosis in 2012, diagnosed in 2013. I had to leave work in late 2014. I have been dealing with the nerve damage(Neurological) the disease caused. I went to Clinica Ruiz in Puebla, Mexico for a procedure called Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). It is not offered for my type of MS PPMS in the United States. A battle we have been fighting for some time now. This Blog is about my; MS Journey, my thoughts (Poetry) throughout the years, my experiences and my friends and family (Photo Gallery). Hopefully, this Blog will help at least one person in their decision to conquer the MS Beast, and help to get this procedure available in the United States and covered by the Insurance we pay so much for.