“April is the cruelest month.” A week of freakishly warm temperatures, 90°F (32.2°C), has turned Spring helter skelter.
Pollen drifting like desert sand may be hyperbole, but mowing my lawn twice before April 6th is not! Even our cat stuck her tongue out at me!
Now let us add Multiple Sclerosis to a Spring afternoon in our backyard …
Chilled fruit fondue is a light, fun, and easy to eat meal for Patti. Bite size pieces of fresh cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon can be pre-set with toothpicks for dipping into peach yogurt (her favorite).
Patti can ‘feed herself’ and I have found this dysphagia friendly in that for whatever reason the combination of fruit plus yogurt tends to encourage Patti to chew and taste her food before swallowing. Any meal with less prompting is a good meal.
Add some cheese and crackers and you feel downright special.
Enjoying being on our back patio doing our best impression of trendy I noticed Patti starting to slow and become disoriented, fruit was suddenly missing both the yogurt dip and her mouth.
As I expressed concern, Patti growled back “I’m all f#cked up!”
Uhthoff's phenomenon is in the house! A pseudoexacerbation associated with heat and Multiple Sclerosis, Patti’s eloquent, succinct description is right on the mark.
For inquiring minds that need more detail - from MS Society of Canada
“Demyelinated fibers in the central nervous system can be very sensitive to even small elevations of core body temperature …Because these symptoms disappear with rest and cooling, they can be confusing … Heat induced weakness presents safety concerns for people with MS … they may find themselves too weak to extricate themselves …”
Fortunately moving both Patti and our meal inside and cranking up the central air conditioning Patti rapidly stabilized as room temps dropped and we returned to enjoying dinner.
Multiple Sclerosis never misses a chance to pounce.
Though long ago I never advanced beyond my Wolf Badge in Cub Scouts I have learned that when it comes to caregiving, (Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall) “be prepared” is always good advice.
Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer
web site: http://caregivinglyyours.com/
videos: http://www.youtube.com/daddyleer
videos: http://www.youtube.com/daddyleer
that fondue does sound delicious, Patrick. I'll have to try it some time. I did hear that people with MS do not do well in hot weather, but now I understand why they don't. glad you were observant and took care of the situation as quickly as you could. Wow that is hot weather too for your part of the woods; been a strange year for you all with all that snow and now hot weather
ReplyDelete(thanks for telling me about your iguana story, I'm marking that place off of my want to go on vacation to :)
betty
Uhthoff's and I have been friends for 20 years. Never know when it may strike but I am a cool cat by nature. Your new food idea sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteFOR ME IT'S THE OPPOSITE. COLDNES GIVES MY RRMS @ FIRST NOW I HAVE SPMS MORE FLARE-UPS ACKES AND FETICE. WHEN IT GETS TO HOT I PUT SOME FROZEN VEGETAGLES IN A PLASTIC BAG ON MY HEAD. IT HELP WITH THE FEELING THAT MY BRAIN IS GOIN TO POP LIKE A BALLON AND THE USEINESS AND WEIRDNESS IN MY BRAIN DISAPIERS.
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