My life with CIDP

"Thanksgiving is all over & mom put up the tree, looks like a merry Christmas, for everyone...including me!" Ok so any of you that know the "Bad little boy" Christmas song know that I changed the words some, but hey, it fits. (I love Ray Stevens version) This has been an interesting year. Let me begin with last Christmas. I was in a lot of pain because of an exacerbation (no, I didn't finally learn to spell that, I found it in a dictionary!) of my CIDP. I took an extra Lyrica for a few days so that my brother wouldn't know just how much pain I was in while we played video games for 3 days straight. I wasn't getting weak but my endurance level dropped significantly. For my birthday in January my mom, my "twin" & I went to universal studios to go to the Harry Potter section. It was a long walk from the car to where I could get a scooter & we had to stop & rest 3 or 4 times. I had to use my cane (which did not make me happy) beca...

Today's post comes to me from a conversation I had with someone on Facebook. Recently in the CIDP group I'm a member of, a post was made asking about people with CIDP that have had to rely on a wheelchair. I posted that I was in a chair for roughly 2 years but have been walking for the last 5. A woman named Marjory (I hope I spelled that right) sent me a message asking what type of exercises I did that helped me be able to walk again. I honestly can't remember any specific exercises I just know most of what I did I did on my own. Insurance didn't pay for much physical therapy & Lord knows I couldn't afford a gym membership. The most therapy I had was in rehab & that was a very difficult time for me mentally so it really wasn't a lot of help. I got the basics, flex your muscles as much as you can as often as you can. Make them remember how to work. Mostly rehab taught me how to use a slide board, which at the time didn't help me mentally, because to...

                Now on to my 3 besties, Crystal, Laura & Maribel. Each one of them has a special place in my heart. I would be lost without any of the three of them no matter how little I may see or talk to them with their busy schedules. I love them equally (no fightin’ girls) but I’ve known Crystal longer so she is first up on the block.                 I met Crystal (AKA Sunshine) in the spring/summer of 2001. She was this bubbly vibrant ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy pool of employee prospects. She wasn’t even looking for a job at the time, she came in to the store I managed looking for something I was out of stock on at the time, it took me a few months to convince her she wanted to work for me. We became close friends fast and stayed close way beyond either of us working for that wretched company. She was the best dang ...