The Best & Worst With MS: 2022 Year-End Recap
The Best And Worst With MS in 2022
It’s time to pour one out for 2022 with a good old fashioned listicle. This is my personal year-end wrap-up of the best and worst of what went down in 2022.
My year in numbers:
New MRI lesions: 0
Broken bones: 1
Road trips: 3
Number of times I slept through the night: 4
Most consecutive days without washing my hair: 6 (okay, 7)
Doctors appointments: 17
Books read: 37
Dollars spent on adhesive foot warmers: 361.50 (Little Hotties, please sponsor me)
Steps taken: 282 145
Nieces and nephews hugged: all of them
Celebrities with MS were a hot topic in 2022
Most read blog post:
How people with MS really feel about Selma Blair
Most popular social media post:
My biggest MS challenge in 2022: fatigue
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you to be gentle with yourself. Go lie down. While it’s true I’ve never met a bed I didn’t want to take a nap in, we can’t say ‘fuck it’ to everything we don’t wanna do or the kids will die and the dog will be left in charge. I overdid it more than once this year, and I’ll tell you what I told Dan and Jen Digmann, overdo it on your own terms.
Biggest success: Fashion Dis
I still kinda can’t believe that an idea of mine was actually developed into a television show. Like, holy shit. This is real. And we’re about to start filming Season 2!
Biggest bummer: Osteoporosis
I fell and fractured my back earlier this year. I’m fine now, but the fracture led to the discovery that I have Secondary Osteoporosis. If you have MS, bone health should be on your radar. Add a bone density scan and a vitamin D level checkup to your list of New Year’s resolutions. Dairy is a hot topic in MS diets, so whatever protocol you’re on, make sure you’re getting enough calcium.
Best new MS therapy: Horseback Riding
I had a vague idea that equine therapy was a thing that people with MS did, but as a rollator-user I thought I was too disabled to get on a horse. I was wrong. This therapy is the bomb. I’ll write more about Picasso and the gang soon.
Most proud of: Butt Stuff
I want to say Fashion Dis. I’m pretty proud of the new Tripping On Air podcast too. But what I’m most proud of in 2022 was getting the colonoscopy I’d been putting off for two years. Thanks to my MSy neurogenic bowel, I felt like prepping for a colonoscopy would be inviting a nightmare, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. Top tips: I did the picolax protocol and got an afternoon appointment (play the MS card) which meant I could take the first dose at 5pm the day before my procedure, get some sleep, and take the second dose at 7 the next morning. The procedure itself gave me the peace of mind that my tummy troubles are MS-related IBS and nothing more nefarious. The doctor also found 5 polyps. NBD. Get your screenings, Trippers.
What’s up 2023?
If resolutions aren’t your jam, rest assured that I will co-sign any refusals to make miracle MS cures part of your 2023 vision board. You can read Bezzy’s latest Ask Ardra column: Why New Year’s Resolutions Have Nothing To Do With MS here.
Fashion Dis starts filming again this month, so if anyone needs me, call my PA.
On the pod
We’re halfway through season one of the Tripping On Air podcast! We’ve talked about parenting, disability benefits, dating and the worst symptom of MS. It’s been such a thrill to interview some of the people I most admire and others I outright Stan. Our next episode drops January 5th, and it’s a big one. We’re speaking with actor, comedian, and writer, Zach Anner, and he is just as funny, lovely, and wise on the pod as he is all over television and the internet. If you’re not yet familiar with Zach, here’s a quick peek.
It’s my Birthday Month!
Finally, January is my birthday month and I’m not too proud to ask for presents. Please consider subscribing to the pod, or leaving a review. Your support means so much.
Happy New Year, Trippers! What’s on your year-end list? What are you excited about it 2023?
Follow Tripping On Air on Facebook, Youtube, Insta. Subscribe to the blog and never miss a post.
ON INSTAGRAM
Back to
Awesome post! So great to see you listing the good and the bad for the year. Happy 2023!!!
Enjoyed this post, and like the TV show idea! As a PT who had MS and wears an AFO, it is not so hard finding supportive tennis shoes to wear to work. But near impossible to find comfortable, dressier shoes for weddings, etc. I’ve tried many. My brace is just too big, even with removable insoles. Trying to figure out how I can make this shoe quest into a way to not only solve a problem, but make a little money, as well! Too bad, design is not my forte! I’ll look for the show! Best of luck!
Love it! Three cheers for an awesome 2023 😘
Hi! I love reading your post! I always learn something & your post will always put a smile on my face! And today with the combination of ms & COVID, a smile is surprising! Take care, keep going! Kathy
Aw, bummer. I hope you’re back to baseline soon! Thanks for your kind words, Kathleen!
As always, great post! Love your list!
I overdid it “on my own terms” plenty of times in 2022. MS gives the expression “you gotta pay to play a whole new meaning.” 🙄
2023 goals: promoting my recently published memoir.
Happy New Year and all the best for 2023! 🥂🎉
Yes, the MS tax.
Congrats on publishing your memoir! Where can we find it? Feel free to post a link!
You’re the best. Wishing you a very happy new year!
Amazing how everyone is helping each- I had some dark days & without this group I do not know if I would be here- But I am now looking forward to 2023 & the positive vibes- 😊 Let’s All Be Kind & stay Strong
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lynn. It’s true for me too that just knowing I’m not the only one dealing with this MS shit-show gives me a lot of strength.
I hope 2023 is a good one for you and everyone here.
A.
You are the best!! Thanks for all of this and everything you do! HNY!
Well, shucks. Thanks for reading!
2022 held good lessons for me, and 2023 promises to be even better. I plan to devote less time to the MonSter and take advantage of the solitary restrictions of the disease to grow my writing career.
Writing can be so cathartic. Keep us posted on your progress!
HNY! Thanks for keeping us all smiling through good and bad days! Also thx for the timely reminder to ask my Rheumatologist for a bone density test when I see him in a few weeks. 🙃
The good news is that a bone density scan is way easier than a spinal tap, and even an MRI. Glad you’re on top of this!
Hi Adra. Happy New year. And thanks for the memories. Keep up the good work. JE
Nice to hear from you, JE. HNY to you!
If you lived in Boston we could do lunch & talk fashion. I could share all my work arounds I’ve “invented “.
Only disabled people will appreciate them. In the meanwhile thanks for being my guilty conscience..I’ll check out Picolax😬
Would love to know your work arounds! Boston is a great town.
Hello, I always look forward to reading your posts. You are so hilarious and insightful and full of great advice. All your posts are so helpful. Happy New Year Ardra.
Aw, thanks for these kind words, Karen! Happy New Year to you and yours!
Your posts are just the best. I actually get excited when I see that there is a new one. I have many happy memories in 2022. The last day of the year was a total shit show! My first day out of the house in over a week. No, I didn’t go to some fab party, drink a bit too much and then fall. My favorite lie to tell to explain MS bumps and bruises is that I fell off my mountain bike. The reaction I get is priceless and so worth the lie…watch people process that! I simply went out with my daughter, to lunch cuz I don’t do night things. I slipped on the ice and did a cartoon flail in the air landing on my back and slamming my head into the cement so hard my ears rang. Whiplash and concussion. The worst part is we hadn’t done the shopping portion of our outing. We had to swap that for watching Dateline in bed on ice. It is one of our favorite things to do but less fun when your head is spinning and every muscle is seizing up. I have spent the days since on the couch with my two cats on me and my sweet golden beside me….and yes, we have watched plenty of dateline. Surprise, someone is always murdered and bigger surprise, it is always the husband or boyfriend. I’m so glad Laura was home from college and that she shares my dark taste in tv shows.
Oh Erin, I’m so sorry this happened to you! I hope you’re back to baseline soon.
Thank you for your kind words about the blog!
xa