KATKelly:Suddenly single - life with my daughter, my doodle, and MS

The doodle!  I ended up with the doodle!  How the hell did I end up with the dog?  I am not a dog person.  Always said I would never get a dog and yet, here I am suddenly single with a doodle.  There was no other choice.  There was nowhere else for Lilly to go so here we are. Lilly, the doodle, thinks she is a person.  When I come downstairs in the morning, she is sitting there waiting for me.  I say “huggie?”  She stands on her hind legs, and we hug.  When Áine and I are hugging, she runs over to make it a group hug.    Lilly has some clothes.  Yup, I am a dog owner, and my dog has clothes.  It makes perfect sense when you have a little girl.  Lilly’s first outfit was from Áine’s grandmother in Ireland.  It is a Christmas sweater that looks like a Christmas tree.  It is ridiculous, but she loves it.  From that first outfit, came more.  She has a hoodie with a pocket.  Why does a dog...

Mexico?  For medical treatment?  You’ll die there!  I’ll check at work to see what they say. I’ll ask my doctor.  My colleague from the hospital said “she should absolutely not go there.” Thank you for your input, but f-off!  Do you think we didn't do the research into this?  Do you think we just saw “Come to Mexico for a stem cell transplant” on a billboard somewhere and just said, “oh, yes! Brilliant idea!”  I could understand their concern but not their ignorance.  If you, yourself, have not actually spent hours researching the procedure, the doctor, the facilities, connecting with people who have done it, meeting someone who had it done, then please keep your mouth shut.  Callarse la boca. Wait, wait, is your immune system attacking your central nervous system?  Do you have 80-90 lesions, scars, on your brain & spinal cord that make it difficult to speak, write, drive, cook, work, TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILD?  Are you watching y...

Becoming suddenly single with an 8-year old, a dog, and MS was not something I ever planned but then nothing in my life has seemed to go to plan.  Are there people out there whose lives go to plan? I think there are those people, out there, somewhere, but it hasn't been my experience. It is hard. It is lonely, isolating, and stressful.  It is so f-in hard.  I am responsible for everything about all aspects of my life and my daughter's and our doodle's life. I need to take care of us all physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and when I became suddenly single, there was a lot of mental and emotional trauma for us all.   I had recently retired from my teaching career due to the limitations MS put on me.  I had no job.  My car lease was up, and I couldn't afford to buy it.  I have to pay the mortgage and all of the bills.  I had nothing.  And yet, here I am.  Within a month of separating, I bought a new car, found someone to re...