Happy New Year!!!!!!
It is officially 2019 and I am so freaking excited about what is in store for us in the next year! To be honest, It is hard to believe it is January 1st, 2019. It’s hard to imagine that another year has gone by. But in reflection, I have to say, it has been a pretty damn good year! Looking back to last January, I had been off all the pharmaceutical drugs and medications for 12 months. I had begun to dabble in using CBD and cannabis to help me manage my MS and the crap that I live with because of this fantastical disease. I made my solo trip to Colorado to attend my first ever cannabis show to begin learning about growing my own medicine. I quit smoking tobacco (January 2nd is officially my one year anniversary,) I returned to exercising daily and began amending my eating habits. I decided to kick it up a notch and make the things I had been dreaming about, actually happen. I finally realized that nothing was going to get better unless I took action and made things change. After years and years of doing what the doctors said and turning to others for answers, I began to listen to my own body and I began doing what feels right for me and my disease. I began to actively make my life better, rather than just wishing and waiting around for it to happen.
It wasn’t easy, and there is a whole lot of pain and frustration that comes with the journey. I have learned that it takes a lot of work and commitment to do this “I’m going to be healthy” thing and I now realize that it is and will always be a constant battle because of my disease. I will forever be on this journey, and there will always be something new for me to learn or try or avoid, but irrelevant of the amount of work and the ongoing nature of it all – I’m here to say, the results of my unofficial experiment have been resoundingly positive!
It has been two years since I made the decision to come off all of the medications and drugs my doctors had me on. I went from being a middle-aged woman that was 50 lbs overweight and teetering on the edge of the “the disease got to her and she is just NOT the person she used to be” cliff to being someone that others envy in regards to my physical appearance. I am back to being able and strong and as a result, I don’t look like someone that should be walking around with a cane, or an arm-crutch or riding a Segway. I don’t look like I am diseased or disabled and I’m not going to lie, I LOVE the idea that there might be “healthy/undiseased/unhindered” people out there that see me and what my body can do and wish they were me, or wish they had a strong, fit body like mine.
The irony of that is just too great for me to not enjoy it:)
I went from being “the girlfriend” of nine years to newlywed and wife– something I didn’t think I would ever do again but now can’t imagine NOT doing. I acquired two step-people and we celebrated three graduations between our five children. The oldest officially became a police officer after completing the academy and the youngest broke the national record in powerlifting at the age of 16 with a deadlift of 633 lbs (sorry, proud momma always has to do a bit of bragging.)
We managed to get out on the boat quite a bit this summer, and I’m proud to say that we have advanced from the “they don’t have a fucking clue what they are doing” phase into the “occasionally we do something right and manage to actually catch something” phase. We caught our first ever Dungeness crab, Shawn wrangled in a 19 lb fatty and I managed to place 20th in my first fishing derby – and yes, there were more than 20 people entered 😉 There were actually 1800 people and I even won a prize – a great waterproof bag by Cabella’s that has now become a gym bag for that powerlifter I mentioned earlier.
We received our first ever cannabis plant (a clone that came from a friends compost pile) and began to experiment and learn about the world of growing one’s own medicine. Shawn named that first clone “Doug” (don’t even get me started about naming a female “Doug”) and the clones he took from her, the “Dougettes.” We harvested her around Thanksgiving and the clones are in week 7 of their vegetative state (when they are focusing their energy on growth.) We have since popped a few more unknown strain seeds to see what we end up with and are raising a plant (Bubs) that came from a neglected situation, along with our own little ones. With my medical marijuana (MMJ) card, Washington state allows an individual to grow between 6 and 15 plants, depending on what one’s doctor specifies. I have a 15 plant designation so as we pop seeds, take clones and transition various plants from growing phase to the flowering stage, and then harvest we are constantly making sure to not exceed that number. After all, we don’t want to have to have the stepson come in and confiscate his step-mom’s pot:)
In the midst of all of this, I also managed to finally publish the book that I wrote years ago, about my diagnosis. Segway Into My New Life: A Story of Diagnosis which is available on Amazon, came out at the end of October and I’m humbled and stoked that people are actually buying and reading it!!!
*****Amazon 5 Star review*****
“The book is written in such a way that I could imagine her sitting and telling the story. She’s got a great sense of humor and I found myself laughing at the way she is so matter of fact as it is so refreshing. I cried too as I wondered how she kept going! This book is a must read, I will share my copy and urge my friends to buy their own. As we all need to realize that life does go on! All I can say is I hope Meg has another book in her and I’d pre-order now!”
It’s begun to make it’s way around the world – and hoping to capture images of it in as many places as possible – so if you do buy one, PLEASE snap a photo of it somewhere that is indicative of where you live or reflects something you enjoy doing, post it to social media with the hashtag #segwayintomynewlife and send me a copy so I can add it to the collage!
We will be having a book launch party presented by Heylo Cannabis, here locally in the Seattle area on Sunday January 20th (details to follow shortly) and then Shawn and I are going to Denver, Colorado at the end of the month to attend this year’s Indo-Expo, do a bit of book pimping, maybe find an opportunity or two to share my story, visit with old friends and meet up with some new ones and have another book launch party while in town (again, details to follow shortly.) The plan is to take a number of trips coordinated around book signings and visiting people in the next year. I have come to realize that this is a damn good reason to finally get off my ass and actually meet some of the other amazing, badass MS warriors I have connected with over the years as well as a great opportunity to catch up with friends from the past and connect with the cannabis community that has become so near and dear to my heart. It is a fantastic launching pad to getting my story out there in the hopes of educating others about cannabis and cbd. I want to share the story of how both have helped me on my journey to a happier and healthier life and how it wasn’t until I came off the prescription medications that I had the mental capacity, focus and clarity to finally see the project through to the end. I want the world to know….
“I use cannabis daily and I am getting shit done!”
Lastly – as you can see – TA-DAH!!!! I have been working on overhauling the website and I went and got myself a new logo and look! In the next few weeks, I will be changing up the tabs and layout a bit more to try and make navigating one’s way around the site a bit more user-friendly. I have learned a lot over the past year and I am excited to continue to share! Time and again I have resolved to post more often and so again, I will put into words my hope, which is to get back to writing here more regularly because I have a lot to say – no surprise there I’m sure.
So I will wrap up for now- with the hopes that maybe by making these posts a bit shorter, they will be less daunting to me, and I will then visit and post more frequently. I have no idea if this is a viable solution but I have learned to just keep trying until something sticks:)
Coming up in my next post – a recap of a few amazing companies that I had the pleasure of working with over the past year as I tried to get my shit together and get my life back on track: a long overdue review of PackHealth and the services that they offer and an endorsement of MS Workouts as a great way to incorporate movement and exercise back into your life! I will also be writing about my continuing saga with chronic constipation (I’ll share my recipe for my CBD-Poop Tea) and I will be sharing a super important DENTAL PSA for anyone on pharmaceutical medications – and it involves having 17 cavities filled in one sitting!!!!
Stay tuned, because I have a lot more to share and we are about to launch into yet another journey – one that involves traveling and actually meeting some of you and I can’t wait!!
Sending good vibes!
Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is a great year for you!
Thanks so much Alyssa and right back at you!!!
XOXO
Meg
You are very welcome Meg! I really wish Cannabis was legal in all 50 states because I do hear it is SO helpful especially for pain. Maybe someday it will happen!
I believe it will, but big changes like that don’t happen overnight and certainly when it is going to take big time money away from the pharmaceutical companies 🙂
xoxo
Meg
Hello Meg. Am really happy I found your blog and look forward to purchasing the book. Like you, I was diagnosed in 2007. My frustration is my mobility. I constantly read how some folks have been able to overcome this. My mobility has progressively worsened since the beginning. I have tried braces, electric devices, etc. I excersize with my limited mobility and fatigue issues. Any advice?
Hi Gloria!
Thank you for buying my book and for taking the time to reach out to me. I recently posted a video on my social media of me standing and balancing on one foot….something that two years ago I said I would NEVER be able to do. And yet I am now doing it every day as part of my stretching and yoga practice. This whole experience of pulling out of the downward spiral I was in because of the pain and getting my life and my body back has been EXTREMELY humbling. I KNOW – first hand – what it is like to feel yourself slipping away and I want to reach out and make it better for anyone that is experiencing it because it SUCKS!
I know you mention that you exercise but my advice would be to start there – find things you CAN do, and do them. Then find things you can’t do – small things to begin with, and work on mastering them so that they can then be added to the list of things you can do. I started out with getting off the couch for 20 minutes every two hours to stretch on the floor. Granted I was still stationary for the most part, BUT it was something. It may sound trivial, but I am now convinced more than EVER that our number one defense against this disease is movement.
I would also suggest that you reach out to MS Workouts – the people behind this program are fantastic – they GET our disease and they are putting together great resources for people of all varying abilities.
Curious, are you on a DMD or have you been?
Cheers!
Meg
So excited to hear back from you! I have been on Copaxone since the beginning. I am a believer of moving as much and as often as possible. I’m curious if your mobility issues included over coming drop foot? That is my issue. I continue to stretch and flex.
YES – I experience drop foot – in my right foot – but these days ONLY when I am extremely tired and have pushed my body and my legs to there absolute maximum – which I have to confess I do more often than one might expect:)
Happy New Year! I read Mitch Sturgeon’s book earlier in the year and follow it up with your wonderful book. This has been a good 12 months of MS reading . You have a lot of spunk and spite of the obstacles that have been placed before you. Having MS I can appreciate personally many of the things that you have gone through. After reading your book I really have to say that I’ve enjoyed your blog and even your Youtube exposure. I feel like I’m the recipient of your energy to persevere and go beyond. And I know that just because you’re feeling great one day doesn’t mean the next day doesn’t also have this challenges . Congratulations happy new year thanks for your blog have a happy and healthier new year.
Hi Hans!
First thank you for your kind words and for purchasing and taking the time to read my book!!!! I too have Mitch’s book Enjoying the Ride: Two Generations of Tragedy and Triumph – it is on the top of my “to read” pile – damn holidays and kids coming home and trying to pimp out my own book has really put a hitch in my reading time but I am opptimistic I will get to it soon – if nothing else, I KNOW that I have my reading material covered for the plane ride to Colorado later this month:)
Best wishes for you and your posse’ in 2019!
Cheers!
Meg
Miitch’s audio version is excellent too. Sometimes reading for the MS er can be a challenge,(I know it is for me) at least the Kindle version can give one the option of Robo voice but an audiobook is better.I hope your book goes the audible route as well.
I have been looking into it – and will certainly let folks know when/if it happens!
Congratulations on your new book Meg! So happy to hear about how well you’re feeling.?
Thanks Cinde – I’m happy about it as well!:)
Best wishes to you and yours for the New Year!
Cheers!
Meg
So much how I feel.
I decided to kick it up a notch and make the things I had been dreaming about, actually happen. I finally realized that nothing was going to get better unless I took action and made things change. After years and years of doing what the doctors said and turning to others for answers, I began to listen to my own body and I began doing what feels right for me and my disease. I began to actively make my life better, rather than just wishing and waiting around for it to happen.
This is how we should all live, we are each responsible for ourselves. Stop expecting others to take responsibility for you