Author: hreece1

The day I met my husband, Anthony was definitely a good day! It was March of 1994 and he was a newly returned LDS missionary from Las Vegas, Nevada. I was living in a small town in southern Utah at the time, and just happened to live next door to his grandparents!

Anthony was asked to speak in our little ward that day, and he was the only speaker (I told you it was a small town). I was the chorister, and late to the meeting, due to my class getting out late (one of his uncles was my teacher and the other my Bishop). No, it was not my fault! I quickly went up to the front of the chapel, looked at the cute returned missionary, and proceeded to lead the music. When he spoke about his New Zealand mission, I distinctly thought, “this is the kind of guy I want to marry!” Interestingly enough, he told me later that he looked at me and knew he would marry me!

After church Anthony was surrounded, and a friend of mine, who spent the night before at my house, was trying desperately to speak with him. I got annoyed and left, thinking, “Oh, well!” I changed into some comfy clothes, including sweatpants and a shirt with an upside down fish skeleton on it that read, “Eat fish and die!” (no idea where I got it or what it meant) and I drove my friend home. I had the windows down and let my frizzy blonde hair fly!

When I got home, Anthony, the cute returned missionary, was in my front room talking with my parents and three brothers! I must have looked a mess, with my hair all over and my fashionable t-shirt and sweats on! He chatted with all of us for a little while and then invited my family to a dinner his family was having at the church building. He was actually late for this dinner and it was in his honor! Oops!

I changed and we all went to the dinner with his family. I knew a lot of the family, since most of them lived in this small town! Anthony sat and talked with me the whole time. My Mom says that some of his cousins complained that he spent all his time with me, an his Grandpa told them to leave him alone, he was “dear hunting!” I later found out his Grandpa George had given him a picture of me and told him where I lived! I always loved Grandpa George! He lived next door and ran the store in town. They were good friends before they became family!

I talked with Anthony until he had to leave with his family back to Las Vegas. He gave me a New Zealand key chain and asked if he could take me on a date sometime soon. I, of course, said “yes.” Life was good! We were married that next August. There is, of course, more to the story, but that was one very good day!

Hello again my fiends! Life is crazy, and I have been trying to have time to write for a while. We are still working on floors in the upstairs, and it has been exhausting! Worker girl has been back (wannabe trophy wife is somewhere else, at a spa maybe). My technical difficulties are still alive and running, but hopefully my Katelynn can have time to help me this week. They have been getting better, as my dear husband has figured a few thing out!

So I wanted to write a little about my life with Multiple Sclerosis. What could I possibly write that is good about it? There are a lot of tough things. Let me acknowledge that MS attacks people in different places on the brain, so it is different for everyone. I have lesions all over my brain and a little on my spinal cord. Depending on where it attacks is where problems happen. I generally don’t talk about them, since they transformed my life and really affected me. As time has gone on I can talk about it. I had a time of mourning, where I had to mourn the things I would never be able to do again. I am legally blind (won’t change and can’t do anything about it since it’s the optic nerve). My left foot is permanently numb. I drag it when I’m tired. Also tired is a regular part of my life. Lot’s of embarrassing issues show up at random tames. Not fun, but bearable. Other issues come up due to medications, such as infections. MS is a part of my life. I say, “Oh, well We all have issues! That’s one of mine! ” In spite of all the bad, good has come!

I feel like MS might be a result of my immune system saving my life. That’s good, right? I got what I think was viral meningitis and a few weeks later my eyes went wacky and then dark. I hardly got sick as an adult, and I think my body just mistook some white brain matter (myelin) for the bad guys after the illness. There is no real positive reason for anyone getting MS, but that is my guess after helping Anthony get through so much medical schooling. I still got to raise my children with MS. Meningitis could have had a much worse outcome. Going through it, was terrible. I’m grateful I go to raise my three girls. That has been so good!

When I moved to Idaho, I couldn’t get a driver’s license. Right after my eye issues, I used to have the girls in the back seat tell me whether the light was green, and what the signs said. In small town Utah where we were living, we were okay. Idaho didn’t like my eyes. I went to several regular doctors and then several eye doctors, but no one would sign my paper so I could drive. I was put on the blind list and sent a Medicare card. The only paper they would sign was one for the blind audio book library. The audiobook library is so great! I might have lost some independence, but I have great audiobooks to listen to! I also made many friends as I arranged rides for me and the girls, and I even get handicapped parking Who knew that bad, unfixable eyes had bonuses?

Another good thing that MS did for me was slow me down so I could notice those around me. I understand sickness and health issues in a way I never did before. I used to get annoyed by people who used their health to not do things. I still try to not use my health as an excuse ever, but there are definitely times I just can’t get my body to move, no matter what! I value friendships in a deeper way, and love to hear everyone’s stories! Everyone has a story and everyone has issues. So I have MS? Everyone has something! I’m able to listen and notice.

I discovered that there is a lot more that I can do than I initially thought! You see with your brain really, and I have peripheral vision, so my brain has adjusted to my eyes. Most people don’t know I’m legally blind because I don’t act like it. I figure thing out! I can read and write as long as the text is big enough! I have to read E-books, because I can get them big enough to read, but that’s okay. My phone and texts can be adjusted to big as well! I can write, talk, help, work– even mow the lawn and help put in floors! MS does not stop me from living, AN D I WANT TO LIVE THE GOOD!

So, this is not a post about Multiple Sclerosis. This is a post about living a good life in spite of the mountains and challenges put in our life. One of my challenges happens to be MS. What is good about it? Well, I am still alive and I can still live and love and participate! MS is just one challenge! We all have challenges, and there is good that can come from living them!

Anthony putting in Floors (I’m helping but the picture taker!)

Hello my friends! I am still figuring out all of this computer stuff! One day this won’t be so hard for me! Luckily, my Katelynn is a computer scientist and all my girls are good at this, so I do have help! One day this will all look and work great!

My family moved to Nampa, Idaho in 2011 when Anthony finished his RN. Luckily, the housing market was great for a little family stating over and in need of a house! We were able to buy a big, five bedroom house that was in perfect shape, All of the flooring and fixtures were pretty cheap, but I didn’t care. I had just gotten out of the hospital, having been diagnosed with MS, pretty traumatized and not up for physical labor. Anthony and I still owned a house in Las Vegas that couldn’t be sold due to the economy, and we still had a lot of schooling left. I was so grateful to not have to work on the house! That being said, Anthony and I have replaced floors, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms in several properties we owned in Las Vegas . We have a long history of hard work and sweat equity! I always told Anthony, “Trophy wife! Not worker girl!” I seem to be too cheap to pay for labor! I’d rather have nicer quality versus someone else doing the labor!

Well, ten years later and three teenagers grown, the house could use some love. I always say that a house is a money pit. We need a place to live, but living wears on a place! Things wear out and need to be replaced. We have started on the floors and walls. I have slowly been painting the house a neutral gray and white instead of the old beige, and we have been working on the floors! We ordered three thousand square feet of flooring delivered, and it has been taking up half of our garage for over a year- and a half

During the Covid quarantine, I had three college students living with me. We decided to put the kids to work, and got most of the downstairs done. All that’s left downstairs is the laundry room and the Harry Potter closet (under the stairs). We ordered some new bedroom furniture for one one of the girls, and decided that since it would take time to get here, we would try and finish the upstairs flooring before it came.

Anthony finished his nurse practitioner a couple years ago and has been working all the time, especially since the pandemic. He worked at the prison for a year as a provider, in order to get some good experience, and now he works part-time in the local emergency room and full-time at a quick care. He has always been such a hard worker, but I have been waiting for 27 years for him to have more time for me! We need a change, that’s for sure! I can’t do the floors without him, and he has been very busy! He’s such a good man!

All that being said, this past week was our time to work on floors. Anthony had five days in a row off (we were hoping for a trip, but that didn’t work out), so we started working on the upstairs.

My Dad retired as a school administrator four years ago, and he and my Mom moved here to be around us! They have been a huge help, and worked tirelessly to remove floors, take furniture to be donated, take loads to the dump and put in flooring! There help was invaluable! They also came over and helped me paint on Friday! My room doesn’t look like the same place! I am so grateful for good parents!

To end this post, I have to acknowledge that the good in my life has always come through hard work! I don’t love hard work, but I know it’s good. It’s good for the mind, body and spirit! I love the good relationships that come from working hard together, and I love to the the good outcomes! Life is good, and our labors are good!