A couple of weeks ago I received a copy of the recent MRI images and report in the mail. There is lots of good news in it. No new lesions, no loss of brain volume. And the best news is that there are no longer any visible lesions in my cervical spine. Every previous report mentioned a lesion at C1. And there is no mention of edema in the spinal cord at C5/6 where I have a spinal stenosis.

Above I have posted images from this last MRI and the one in 2011 at the same level. It does look to me like the lesions are smaller.

Below are the images from the past 2 years: the one on the left 2016 and the one on the right from 2015.

These are encouraging results and I will discuss more with my neurologist at our upcoming appointment.

This past week we’ve had some warm, summery temperatures. On Friday (two days ago), I put on a summer dress and rode my bike to my new volunteer position. Later on, Daniel took a photo of me with a little bit of a lilac tree we rescued from a house demolition last year and it seems to be doing very well. I love lilacs and look forward to having this tree in the back yard.

Over the past month I have worked on a few little projects. I did six sessions as a volunteer patient at VGH with five neurologists and one neurosurgeon. I was the ‘symptomatic’ patient for cranial nerve exams. One of the instructors was the head of the MS Clinic. I made sure that was on my best behaviour for that! Different instructors take different approaches with me. Some let me tell a lot of my story and others don’t. My favourite of the last batch was Dr. Esma Dilli. She was kind and really smart. She knows a lot about TN and I was really impressed.

I have been fundraising again for the MS Walk for our team, Wahls Warriors. Right now, our team is #1 in Vancouver and I’m #2 individual fundraiser . These things will change closer to the walk but I’m pleased so far. Getting donations every year has its challenges. Most people I ask don’t ever give but if I don’t ask, it won’t happen! Some people give once and never again. The former friends who have dropped out of my life are simply gone. No more donations, emails, phone calls or invitations. Others give consistently every year right away when I ask. I do know that there are so many reasons to give to many different causes, so I do my best not to take it personally.

The MS Society held an official launch for the walk last Tuesday in the heart of downtown Vancouver, and as a top fundraiser for the walk, I was invited to attend. It was nice to be included. I took a few photos of the presentations. When I downloaded them at home, I was really pleased to see my team from last year in the photo on the screen behind the speaker, Stephanie Mosher.

Other than all of these things, the regular activities that consume my time are shopping for food at the farmers market and my local organic stores, Organic Acres and Choices . And along with the shopping for food comes cooking and washing dishes! My daily routines revolve around food and chores around the house.

The sun is shining again! Time to go for a walk.