A New Journey

Today I came to the end of one road and started down another. I received my first Copaxone injection. I have spent nine years finding every excuse and reason in the book not to start taking the daily injections for my MS. Don't ask me why. I'm not even sure--fear, denial, vanity. Pick a reason.

I'll be honest, I'm still not happy or at peace with this. Can I do this? Hell yeah. Do I want to? Absolutely not. For some reason, even after all this time, I just can't seem to master that whole acceptance thing. But I will keep trying. I am a work in progress. And that is exactly why I have taken this next step.

In the wise words of Rafiki from the Lion King: "It is time."

Here We Go

My first injection was not as bad as I had imagined. That's not to say it wasn't overwhelming, though. My head is still swimming with all the instructions: Find the injection site and don't forget to rotate the sites, remember all the steps to prepare the AutoEject, apply a warm compress for five minutes beforehand, apply ice afterward if I bleed or bruise, let the alcohol dry before adminstering the shot, remember to log where and when I gave myself the shots, find a safe place for meds and container for needle disposal, and on and on. By the time the nurse left my head hurt worse than my injection site. Luckily, I had Mark by my side helping me along. He really is my prince.

He always tells me to look at everything as a new adventure. Well, let the adventure begin.

In time I know everything I learned today will become second nature and at some point I will find peace with this journey. For now I'm taking it day by day.