Let’s just be honest and up-front.  Life is busy.  It’s difficult to keep all of the plates spinning.  As a father, husband, employee, student, and homeowner it is difficult to even know everything that is on my to-do list much less do it all.  To expand my list just a bit more (not to say, “Hey, look at all I do” but rather to provide context for the thoughts that follow), I have two kids (eksimants and cesimants, 5 and 2) and a wife (who is at the very least a saint) at home.  I own my home, so there are always things that need to be done (mow the yard, water the yard, fix something, etc).  I’m an employee that travels about 75% of the time.  When I’m on the road my workday can run 10-12 hours long.  When I’m home it’s more like 8-10.  I’m a PhD student, and am in a term right now (300 pages of reading this week alone).  I have Multiple Sclerosis.  My thoughts are often shifted to a parent who is going through a health matter.

In short, I have a lot of plates to spin.

I have a lot of things that I could worry about.

I ask myself and God everyday, “how am I going to do all this”.

As I was gearing up for the start of this term that question was nearly all-consuming of my thoughts.  Then one day, an answer came:

I tell you not to worry about your life.  Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear.  Isn’t life more than food or clothing?  Look at the birds in the sky!  They don’t plant or harvest.  They don’t even store grain in barns.  Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them.  Aren’t you worth more than birds?  Can worry make you live longer?  Why worry about clothes?  Look how the wild flowers grow.  They don’t work hard to make their clothes.  But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them.  God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow.  He will surely do even more for you!  Why do you have such little faith?  Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat?  Will we have anything to drink?  Will we have any clothes to wear?”  Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things.  Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these.  But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants.  Then the other things will be yours as well.  Don’t worry about tomorrow.  It will take care of itself.  You have enough to worry about today. — Matthew 6:25-34 (CEV)

Hits home.

Here is the point.  If you are doing the things that God has laid out for your life, then God will take care of the details that surround it.  It is that simple.  Consider Paul.  From prison he wrote that no matter what his circumstance he was content.  Why?  How?  What did he know that we forget? He knew that no matter how many plates he had to spin, God would provide the abilities for him to spin them.  He knew that God would even occasionally spin a few for him.  He knew that when sleep was rare, God would help that sleep to be extra-restful.  He knew that when concepts such as correlation coefficients weren’t making sense that God would help lead him to the “aha” moment.

Jesus tells us, “put God’s work first and do what he wants.”  With that comes the payoff, “the other things will be yours as well.”

I don’t know what plates you have to spin.  Yet, I do know that if you are firmly placing yourself, your life, your plates and your poles into the hands of God, then you’ll get through it.  You’ll reach the end.  You’ll succeed.  You’ll be content no matter the circumstance.

Consider the Psalmist:

I look to the hills!  Where will I find help?  It will come from the Lord, who created the heavens and the earth.  The Lord is your protector, and he won’t go to sleep or let you stumble.  The protector of Israel doesn’t doze or ever get drowsy.  The Lord is your protector, there at your right side to shade you from the sun.  You won’t be harmed by the sun during the day or by the moon at night.  The Lord will protect you and keep you safe from all dangers.  The Lord will protect you now and always wherever you go. — Psalm 121.

When you make your to-do list tomorrow, take a minute and let God help you.  Let God show you the priorities (“put God’s work first”).  Don’t be afraid of interruptions (“put God’s work first”).  Don’t be afraid of that “still, small voice” telling you to sign up for more ways to “put God’s work first”.  And when you hit that “this is as much as I can take” moment, look to the hills.  God is there, and that is what makes it possible for us to be content no matter the circumstance.  That is what makes it possible for us to have joy in the journey.

For the first time since June 22 (when this most recent exacerbation began), I feel completely non-symptomatic!  For all the griping (most of it justifiable) that I do about Prednisone, it is a pretty good deal.  Twenty or so days of side-effects in exchange for being able to walk without dragging a foot, knocking something over because your arm is shaking, and being able to see 20/20 out of both eyes is an acceptable trade off.  I am on day 9 of 12 (dosage days), and am now at 2 pills per day (down from 6).  Excited that Sunday will be the last 2 pills.  Next week is withdrawal week, so nothing but water to drink (and my daily coffee) and three light, but satisfying meals.

In the past when I took Prednisone, I typically gained weight.  To date, I am net-negative two pounds in that regard, which I count as a big win.  For those who are reading this and faced with Prednisone, let me offer some suggestions (these are the things that I changed in my own diet):

• No alchohol of any type
• Water….lots of it.  (I have been mixing one of the 0-10 calorie packaged flavorings so it would at least help mask the Prednisone taste.)
• Don’t salt your food past what the cook already did
• No dessert (although on a couple of occurences I have snuck a twizzler or a miniature candy bar.)
• Limit processed sugar intake
• When you feel the need to eat something, Apples.  I could actually taste the apple!
• Sensible, single-serving portions

I have the 4 remaining days of pills, plus I’m allowing for 10 additional days of “withdrawal” before I go back to my normal diet (although it will be tinkered with as well).  As I said, the Prednisone has done the trick and put me back on firm ground, for which I am thankful.

The Copaxone prescription is in the works.  Dr. Boop’s office is working directly with the fine folks at Shared Solutions (more on them in a second) to get through all of the various insurance pieces.  We are, quite literally, just along for the ride on this one.  As I mentioned before, Copaxone is a very expensive drug, if you don’t have insurance.  We are very grateful that we have good insurance (I know, I gripe about the bureaucracy (and occasional ludicrousness) of it, but I am truly thankful).  We have been able to determine that once approved, the Copaxone will only cost us at a maximum $500/year (it’s almost $30,000/year if you have to pay 100% out-of-pocket).

I’ve talked a couple of times now about Copaxone, but let me give you a little bit more insight (as I understand it):

• It is a daily injection.
• Compared to the other MS treatment options, it appears to be the one with the least and most manageable side-effects.
• The other MS drugs are called Interferons while Copaxone is a Glatiramer Acetate.  Which basically means that the two drugs accomplish the same basic function, yet do it in remarkably different ways.
• It is produced by Teva Neuroscience, and was first recommended to the FDA for approval in the US on September 19, 1996.
• It has been studied in depth in the longest-running clinical trial for any of the MS treatments — over 15 years.
• For a very good overview of the drug, how it works, it’s approval process, and roadmap for future research, I recommend Chapter 11 of Dr. Howard L. Wiener’s book “Curing MS: How Science Is Solving the Mysteries of Multiple Sclerosis” (available at your local library or here).

Teva Neuroscience has established a team of RN’s who hold certifications in MS, as well as a team of Social Workers with training in Insurance, Counseling, and other assistance type programs.  They call this group “Shared Solutions.”  Their job is to assist with the insurance approvals, answer any patient (or family questions), and provide in-home patient training and assistance as needed.  I have spoken with the Nurse (who is also a MS patient on Copaxone), and once we receive our first shipment of drugs, she will come to the house to teach us all about Copaxone and daily injections (something that I am sure that eksimants is excited about).  When I was speaking with our Case Worker at Shared Solutions, I learned that they have a secondary discount with our prescription provider that might make us eligible for $50/refill discount, which would reduce our out-of-pocket from $500 to $350 annually.  Not sure if we meet all of the qualifications, yet we are optimistic.

More to come on the Copaxone front, as more is learned.

That brings you all up-to-date.  Overall things are going very well.

For those of you whom I knew in 1997 (and for the education of everyone else), 12 years ago this past Monday I was admitted to the hospital in Tulsa with the initial exacerbation, and my first spinal tap was 12 years ago this evening.  The knowledge that has been gained in the field of MS research in the last 12 years is nothing short of astounding (again, I refer you to Dr. Weiner’s book).  We have learned so much about how the disease works, how the drugs help, and so many other factors.  However, two key things remain unknown: cause and cure.  Many of the researchers, that I have read, seem to all agree that we are inching ever closer to knowing those two elements, but we are obviously not there yet.  So, we continue to hope and pray.  I urge you to take some time and check out a few websites to educate yourself:

• National MS Society
• MSAA
• MS Foundation
• Nancy Davis Foundation

If you have any questions about it, please ask and I’ll see if I can answer or help point you in a good direction.  The more we know, the better we are.  I am fortunate that I have access through my PhD program to all kinds of research journals that discuss MS.  I have hundreds of pages of research that I plan to read in my next quarter break.

On a non-medical note, sksimants, eksimants and cesimants are all doing well.  eksimants and cesimants had their baptism this past Sunday, it was a beautiful day.  Both sksimants and I have photos on our Facebook pages, so check them out there.  We are all doing well, and good things are afoot.