This is all STILL SO NEW to you. And here you are reaching out to me... how nice that you made that connection at work. This is why NT is so great for me, I haven't made a real personal connection yet. But even if I did, everyone here is STUCK WITH ME now!!!

I am sorry about your vision problems. I hope you Avonex shots go well. I was taking Beta, but am off it for now. I see the neuro tomorrow. Maybe he'll have an idea of what to do next. Good luck to you! You are in my thoughts and prayers!
~a friend

... come on over!!! Chocolate is ALWAYS A GOOD THING!

Thanks for being there... everyone just doesn't know how much that means!
Well, actually, you all do know!!! You are the best!

Hi F2Y~ I'm not a night owl, so sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm glad you came online and found "friends" to talk to though. Isn't that one of the best things about NT?

Please take care of yourself and it would be a good idea to squeeze a nap in today, as your body is still healing.

Well, I might not be an "old friend", but I am old and I would love to be your friend!

And I just wanted to tell you that everything is going to be okay!

Yes MS sucks. Yes your life is different than it used to be...

But your life is going to be different than it used to be even if you DIDN'T have MS.

Life is constantly changing...and some of the changes are harder to deal with than others.

But given enough time, you'll adjust. How could you not, with all these new friends you have!

I'm glad you are starting to take care of number one, which is a very difficult transition for many of us. But just think of how much spare time you will have (to take care of others ) when you aren't working full time any more . . .

I do have one concern though, friend. Do you have LTD coverage at your company? If you do, could you lose that benefit if you move to part-time work?

My LTD plan did not have the option to collect "partial benefits", which actually worked out best for me in the long run anyway. If I had down-graded to a p/t job along the way, and still had to leave the workforce, I would have either not received LTD (after working p/t for a while), or I would have only gotten p/t LTD benefits (by the time I finally retired).

As it was, I worked from home for the last two years, on a full-time basis, and when I couldn't do that any more, I moved to full-time LTD (first short-term, then long-term).

I would just hate for you to miss out on that benefit because you down-graded your career along the way . . . when you perhaps should have just left the workforce and collected full time benefits from the get-go. . .

Sounds like you still have a bit of time to do some inquiries and re-think your decision, if necessary.

Cherie

Cherie,
You make a very interesting point. There is SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT... but I do have to think about my LTD. I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO CALL AND CHECK ON THAT... I 'think' that I could still take full time disability at anytime. But now, I'm not sure. Thank you for mentioning this. Sometimes, the facts can all get muttled when an important decision is at stake! Yes, I do have sometime to work with, which is a good thing. It's a tough decision, as you know. And I know, I will find a good use of my time. Probably spend almost as much time, just doing other things at a less stressful level.
Thanks!

That is a good point, life is always changing. I've heard it said,
"CHANGE IS THE ONE THING YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON!"
More than ever, I believe that now.

Thanks for your kind words!