Gkygrl's Page

I've done a lot of different things in my life, but I feel that a lot of those things don't really matter as much to me now as they did when I was doing them. I've been in the military, been in religious life (how many people can say that in the same sentence), been employed by one of the largest companies in the world (GE) as a web architect, and am now retired due to MS.

MS has a way of putting the brakes on things and making you think twice about other things. I find my daily energy is much like the money in my bank account: limited and worthy of priorities. I find that I want to use my energy for different things now instead of digging my heels into those things like climbing the corporate ladder and getting a Ph.D. Now my days are much more simple and less stressed. My job is taking care of my health and maintaining it at a level so that I can actually enjoy some of the things I love to do and learn how to pursue hobbies again. Life is not stressful anymore and I feel blessed.

I am currently on long-term disability from GE and the Veterans Administration. I received "service-connected disability" for MS from the VA and they take care of me. I choose to get most of my health care through VA Hospitals (I am the queen of auto-immune disorders and recently had a total-thyroidectomy due to Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease.).

My newest venture is martial arts. I have begun studying a system called Combat Hapkido and am considering adding Tae Kwon Do in the future. I love martial arts - it challenges me in every way possible and allows me to exercise mentally and physically. I very much feel that "indomitable spirit" somehow expresses the best way to traverse a journey with MS.

I spend time maintaining various websites on MS (like this one) and blogs:

http://www.squidoo.com/ms_friends
http://msplaques.blogspot.com (personal MS journey)