It's the little things that make the difference

An interesting time since my last entry.

The big thing, at least to outsiders, is that I was interviewed, along with a neurologist,and  a CCSVI specialist from Poland, for a BBC Radio 4 programme, Broadcasting House, which is doing a segment on MS and CCSVI. I had hoped that it would be broadcast this sunday, but it looks like other news has overtaken it, and the MS item will go out another time. We may be the most important matter in our own lives, but not in the overall scheme of things.

The interview made me think about the changes my operation has wrought in my life. Yes, the big things, like my massively improved walking ability, being able to work again, are important. The things that have made the greatest impact on my quality of life are what, to someone without MS, may seem trivial.

Being able to tie my own shoelaces. Standing up at the bathroom sink to clean my own teeth. Putting on a pair of trousers without having to sit down or fall over. Do the zip up on my coat. Make someone a cup of tea and be able to carry it in from the kitchen without slopping half of it on the floor. Indeed, making my work colleagues a cup of coffee, that wasn't half full.

On the day of my interview, I baked half a dozen blueberry muffins to offer to my visitors. So what, you may say. But that small thing encapsulated several of the earth shattering changes to my life.

I could read, make sense of, and follow a recipe. I put the muffin tin into the hot oven and took out the finished articles without burning myself or the house. It was achieved, start to finish, in under an hour, instead of all day. I didn't collapse, exhausted, part way through, or even at the end.

It is hard to explain to someone who has not experienced it, just how good something like that makes you feel.

The small things add up to make a world of difference.