After 8+ years, I have to give up my normal everyday workout routines. I need to find something else that works that doesn’t aggravate my shoulder tendonitis. My wonderful therapists over at physical therapy have started adding in arm exercises to help build up my arm muscles again. The plan is that instead of going 2 days a week to go to therapy 3 days a week. The focus is going to change to building up arm strength to better assist my body as my legs have more and more difficulties. The goal is to do this all without aggravating the muscles in the shoulder that my other workouts were doing. My MS fitness coach will continue to come once a week to work core, legs and some arms but not for muscle building, more for agility.

To accomplish this I needed to make a change to the nursing aid hours already. I need it to go from 4 hours 3 days a week to 6 hours 3 days a week. I need the nurse to be there during the physical therapy times for assistance. Therapy has been exhausting for me since I started. To do it when I don’t have help is silly. Coming home from therapy, slightly or significantly fatigued is exactly when I need help, yet I don’t have the nurse then. I realized how dumb my thinking behind this was and now I’m trying to fix it. Of course it’s easier said then done. I need to see my NYC doctor again for her to submit another nursing care order. Luckily, or maybe since it’s not approved yet hopefully, I’m in the city for my Ocrevus infusion on August 7th so my doctor told me to pop in so she can say she saw me and write the order. Then the insurance company has to approve it. Still can be denied but hopefully it will be smooth.

I’m trying to be proactive and smart and see where my safety isn’t being addressed. When I leave physical therapy, I’m not safe and I run the risk of hurting myself. It was a mistake to not have my aide during this time frame. As far as exercising. I’ll still be moving, just not like I once was, but that is the course of the disease. I know that, just time to accept and adapt.