An Update

It has been suggested to me that I should update my blog; who am I not to comply? First, I'm happy to report that the steroids did their thing and I'm mostly back to normal now. Both hands are still a little numb (the left more than the right), but that's the primary lingering effect. That and L'hermitte's sign is back.

L'hermitte's sign is a phenomenon where bending the neck (ie looking down) causes unusual sensations from the feet up. Mine actually extends up to my waist, but it's most prominent in my feet. For me it's a tingling feeling, I've also heard it described as akin to an electrical shock. L'hermitte's was actually the first sign (my neurologist once explained that it's not exactly a "symptom") that led me to my neurologist's office. I mentioned it to my GP, who at first told me it was because I wasn't active enough. I looked at her askance and explained that I worked out multiple times per week. She then suggested I make an appointment with a neurologist -- if it stopped happening, I could always cancel. It did not stop, I didn't cancel, and approximately a year, an MRI, a spinal tap, and a numb waist later, I was diagnosed with MS.

There are a few symptoms I experience that I would probably never known about if I didn't train in karate. I think this annoys my neurologist a little, in that they tend to be things she hasn't heard of from others and that don't show up on the standard neurology exam. One of the ongoing things is my poor balance. Not that that doesn't show up, but I think my balance seems more precarious to me than it seems to her because I regularly do things like stand on one leg while holding my other leg up and circling my knee and my ankle. Or try to do a crane stance. Or do a slow-motion front kick. None of these things tends to go well for me, but my balance tends to seem pretty close to normal in the doctor's office.

Also, my arms occasionally get stuck in the air. I've noticed it only a few times, but it's the oddest thing -- I'll be doing a round knifehand block (shuto mawashi uke), and I can't get my arms to descend. I don't get stuck there for more than a few seconds, but I actually have to concentrate to bring my arms down. Most recently, during the Really Bad Flare that incited me to start updating this blog again, I noticed my fingers would split when doing open-handed techniques. You know the Vulcan "live long and prosper" sign with the two middle fingers separated? I was doing that inadvertently, and would have to concentrate to bring my fingers together. Again, not anything I would have likely ever noticed if I didn't move my body in very specific ways that most people just don't ever have occasion to attempt.

My final bit of news is that I have accepted the offer to enter UT's School of Social Work in Fall 2010. It's still not 100% certain that I'll go -- I have to figure out my insurance situation (eg, whether I'll be able to maintain insurance), and my financial situation (walking away from a well-paid job in order to change careers completely is intimidating), but I wasn't going to be able to move forward on getting things in place without accepting, so I've accepted. Assuming finanical/insurance matters work themselves out, I'll be there in the fall. I still don't quite believe it.