{"id":1097,"date":"2025-12-29T03:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/the-72-hours-i-borrow-my-body-back\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T03:19:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:19:11","slug":"the-72-hours-i-borrow-my-body-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/the-72-hours-i-borrow-my-body-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The 72 hours I borrow my body back"},"content":{"rendered":"

The hardest part of my Multiple Sclerosis Rituxan<\/a><\/strong> infusion isn\u2019t the struggle to find a plump vein for an IV placement, or the five hours Dan and I spend in the infusion center, or even the fatigue that follows.<\/p>\n

The hardest part is the dose of Solu-Medrol<\/a><\/strong> that the nurses give me before my treatment begins. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Thanks to Dan for always being with me at all the infusion enter to help with transfers and snap the obligatory MS infusion photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because these steroids make me feel amazing.<\/p>\n

I accept that the steroids are part of the deal when I receive my disease-modifying treatment twice each year. Solu-Medrol protects me from adverse reactions during my infusion and supports the treatment that I hope will slow the progression and severity of my MS. I take steroids knowing they will lift me up and then let me fall. This isn\u2019t because I enjoy the fall. It\u2019s because I am committed to the long game\u2014a future with Dan that, fingers crossed, will not include MS. <\/p>\n

When my body remembers me <\/strong><\/p>\n

Within hours, my body remembers something it hasn\u2019t felt since my last treatment six months ago. My joints loosen. My arthritis quiets. My muscles cooperate.<\/p>\n

When Dan transfers me, I stand more easily. I\u2019m solid, almost confident. There\u2019s less hesitation, less bracing for what might fail. I feel strong for a brief, intoxicating stretch of time. Capable. Almost unstoppable.<\/p>\n

It is wonderful. But it\u2019s also temporary, and I know that.<\/p>\n

About 72 hours later, the borrowed strength slips away.<\/p>\n

Standing becomes harder again. Transfers take more effort. My joints ache, and my muscles protest. My body returns to its familiar limits, and I am left holding the memory of how things used to work.<\/p>\n

The cruelest part isn\u2019t the pain. It\u2019s the contrast.<\/p>\n

The steroids do more than reduce the inflammation. They reveal a version of me that still exists somewhere inside my body. They show me what\u2019s possible, and then quietly close the door behind them. There\u2019s no gentle transition. No easing back into reality.<\/p>\n

Just poof<\/em>!<\/em> The spell breaks.<\/p>\n

Dealing with the whiplash<\/strong><\/p>\n

I mean, what choice do I have?<\/p>\n

Living with MS for the past 27 years has taught me that medicine can be both mercy and heartbreak. Sometimes the same drug that helps me also reminds me of what I\u2019ve lost. Sometimes hope comes with a countdown clock.<\/p>\n

That emotional whiplash\u2014the rise, the fall, the adjustment\u2014is rarely discussed. But it\u2019s real. And it\u2019s heavy.<\/p>\n

Still, I show up.<\/p>\n

I endure the emotional extremes. I grieve the temporary strength and adjust to the body I must live in now. I recalibrate my expectations and let go of what was granted to me for 72 short hours.<\/p>\n

Not because it\u2019s easy, but because my life is worth fighting for, even when that fight means letting go of something that felt so good.<\/p>\n

Source: acoupletakesonms.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The hardest part of my Multiple Sclerosis Rituxan infusion isn\u2019t the struggle to find a plump vein for an IV placement, or the five hours Dan and I spend in the infusion center, or even the fatigue that follows. The hardest part is the dose of Solu-Medrol that the nurses give me before my treatment…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,15,9,8,13,14,12,10],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multiple-sclerosis-research","tag-brain-repair","tag-marburg-type-ms","tag-ms","tag-multiple-sclerosis","tag-myelin","tag-neuroregeneration","tag-oligodendrocyte","tag-remyelination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}