About us
We are the Handy-Capable Homesteaders: My name is Philip and my wife's name is Rebecca. We live in southern Maryland and enjoy what I would call "Enjoyable Homesteading"! We would define this as enjoying growing herbs & vegetables, raising chickens & pigs, woodworking, culinary arts, and many more projects...but all with a twist! Rebecca has Multiple Sclerosis and her body has stopped cooperating, leading us to learn new ways to do things and enjoy life!
She has great ideas...and I implement them! Feelings to say that she's the "idea person" and I'm the "do it person." We made this post to share ideas we have come up with to help her enjoy more...and in turn, I enjoy more! How does the saying go "Happy Wife, Happy Life!", well it's true! The plan is to share lots of ideas on different subjects and show some handicapped resources and ideas along the way! We want to help you with ideas if you are handicapped, or a care giver, or just looking for creative ideas, to enjoy life a bit more! We have a passion to help others and so here we go!
As for our family, we have two grown children, a cat (Oliver), a dog (Georgie), many fish, many chickens, etc...
For transparency, I have math problems: Chicken math, plant math, animal math, fish math, bicycle math...you will see!
WHAT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS?
[I asked Rebecca to tell us what it was!]
It took me a little while to actually come up with an answer for Phil, because it's so different for everyone, which is why it's commonly known as the snowflake disease.
Technically, it's a neurodegenerative condition where your body attacks itself, so it results in different symptoms. Symptoms can be glaringly obvious, like mine. But for others, you would never know that some people have it just by looking at them. I used to be like this.
Some of its symptoms include tingling, numbness, problems with vision, heat sensitivity, cold intolerance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, cognitive disability, bladder dysfunction, bowel dysfunction, pain, spasticity, easily overstimulated, anxiety, depression, weakness, loss of balance, sleep issues, speech impairment, swallowing difficulties…
Some people might have one or two of these issues and others might have all… or even more than this. Because of its many symptoms, it can be difficult to diagnose. Not having answers is hard. Honestly, it makes you feel like you're going crazy. Doctors might even tell you that! If so, I'm sorry that happened! Tests that led to my diagnosis include: MRI, EEG, Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap), and Evoked Potentials.
If you or someone you know might have it or has been diagnosed with MS, even though it might feel like it, it's not the end of the world! We might need to make adaptations, but that's why you're here! We know all about that and hope you can get some good ideas from following along with us on HandyCapable Homesteaders!
I like to say that life with MS is like a surprise party…. you never know what you're gonna get! I'm an open book, so please feel free to send us an email if you have any questions!
REBECCA'S HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT (HSCT) EXPERIENCE
Hema-WHO?! HSCT
Halting progression. Everyone with MS wants this! I used to feel like I was in an MS free fall!
I have done the gamut of treatment for Multiple Sclerosis. I've always said that what is best for one person isn't necessarily the best for another… and what is best for you at one point in time may be completely different at another. I am a prime example of this!
I've done diet changes, daily injectables, LDN, 100% holistic and then more aggressive treatments, which led to HSCT.
HSCT stands for Hematopoietic (fancy way of saying blood) Stem Cell Transplant.
The very basic explanation of it, is that it takes stem cells out of your body, cleans them and then puts them back. While the stem cells are out and being cleaned, I was given three doses of chemo to kill off most everything still inside me. The purpose is to halt the progression of MS. The earlier you can do this, the better (less to halt, if you're able to do it earlier in your diagnosis).
As of right now, it's probably the most aggressive MS treatment, so not everyone wants to do it right away and not every doctor wants to approve it as an early intervention.
Even though I can't move my arms or legs right now (remember the damage there was already done), I actually experienced several different benefits.
The biggest one for me is probably how it took away my brain fog and fatigue. I used to have to gear myself up for one outing in a week. Now, I can do several a day.
I used to have enormous difficulty with being over-stimulated and carrying on conversations with people, whether it was in person or written. I would say that's about 98 or 99% better, which has been a game changer for my life!
Like I said, what was best for me, may or may not be best for you: If you're interested in learning more, I created a Facebook page during my own journey. You can check it out at Rebecca's MS Adventure.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1RxbvVN6VG/
I am not an expert, but please feel free to send an email if you have any questions I might be able to help you with.