Savior of the World

The youth of our Stake just finished putting on the play, Savior of the World, last week. It was a pretty incredible experience. I was back stage quite a bit during rehearsal and then during the dress rehearsal and the first performance. I got to see the entire play in it's completion on Saturday with Stan and the boys. It was so good. I was in tears off and on throughout the entire play. The girl who played Mary was so talented. The music was beautiful.

Here is a layout I did with a few of the photos I took this past week. Some of them were taken by other people throughout the month during rehearsals. The youth started working on this in November, so a lot of time went into this production. I'm glad I was only our ward's coordinator and I wasn't in charge of the entire thing. It was a little overwhelming just to help. It is something I will never forget though.

Things are getting a little better with my health. My MS seems to have stabilized, at least for now. I never know when it will show it's ugly head. I am hoping I have been on the Avonex long enough that I won't have a flare for quite a while. There are people on Avonex that don't have flares for 2 years. I can only hope for that. I haven't gone more than a few months without a flare so far.

I went to the orthotics place last week. I had to get fitted for a new AFO for my left foot. I also tried out the Walk-aid while I was there. It worked this time. I couldn't get one though. When they called me in April to try it out, they told me that insurance companies were paying for them now. When I went last week to get fit, they told me that a few insurance companies were paying for them, but I would have to get pre-authorization, then I would have to pay for it myself and then get reimbursed by my insurance company. I was so upset with them. Each device is $5,000, and I need two, one for each leg. Who knows how long that is going to take. Hopefully one day that will be the treatment of choice for foot drop rather than the AFO I currently have to wear to keep my foot from dragging.

My diabetes is getting more under control. I have been really careful with my diet. I am still on insulin, but I am hoping I can try diet only when I see the endocrinologist in 2 weeks. My PCP wanted me to decrease my insulin from 4 units to 2 units and my body didn't like that sudden drop in the dose. I went down to 3 units for a while and then decreased it to 2 units after my blood sugars were normal for close to a week. I have been on 2 units for 2 days. My blood sugars have been elevated today, but I'll give them another day or two before I go back up to 3 units. I have been so tempted to see how I do without any insulin at all, but I should probably listen to doctor's orders.

The kids are all doing well. We started school back up again. They aren't really thrilled about that. Rachael is doing driver's ed. We are half way through the first section, then she can get her permit. We need to add her to the insurance first though. She is also registered for dance classes again. She is going to be a teaching assistant in a 5-6 year old basic combo class. She is really excited about this. Andrew has been talking about playing a sport this year, but he doesn't know which one. Stan is going to start doing some training on his bike. He wants to be able to ride from San Antonio to Corpus Christie next year for the MS bike ride. Andrew wants to start riding with him in the morning when he does. I think it will be really good for him and give him and Stan a chance for some time together. It will also give Andrew something besides video games to focus on. Jeremy is his same happy self, although he and Andrew have been fighting more than ever. I guess that is what brother's do.