Almost 10 years ago I was a wife, mom to two toddlers, and a nurse. We had just moved to a state where we knew nobody. I started having these weird things happen to me. I would have numbness and tingling on one side of my body. I would suddenly have blurred vision, trouble thinking, difficulty coming up with the words for common items, my feet were numb, and my balance was off--I was tripping over my own feet. So I went to a doc who sent me to another doc who scanned my brain...and told me probably migraines. Mmmmk. 

Fast forward to one year ago. I'm back in Ohio, I'm a wife, a mom to three now, and a nurse. I started having these symptoms again, but times 100. I am choking when I swallow, my speech is slurred, I have these tremors so bad I can't hold my coffee, use a fork, or paint my nails, I'm stumbling, tripping, my memory got so bad I even forgot a close family member's name once, and the pain. OMG the pain is so bad I can't get out of bed some days. So I go see a few more docs. Did I mention I hate seeing docs? Nurses are the worst patients. We think we have everything, we see nobody about it until we're dying, and then we argue and don't follow directions. Nurses, #AmIRight?! Anyway skip ahead some more, we do another brain scan and this time it shows something. Lesions on my brain. Brain damage. OMG my brain is damaged, I thought. Keep in mind I'm 40 (shhhh...don't tell, I say 39 to everyone else). So that means MS right?! Not necessarily. It looks like MS, sounds like MS, behaves like MS, has a brain scan like MS but on an MS scale could be worse, so we won't call it anything yet. Let's do more tests, they say. 

So this is why I created Mama's Gnome Shop. I needed a way to cope. An outlet. Something positive or helpful to do so I could stop sitting (because I can hardly walk) and thinking (because I have to repeat the same thought, because I forget and get confused) and crying over my lost life. Not literally, but figuratively, as far as my independence that I've spent 40 years ensuring I have. Raising awareness + cute gnomes + maybe make a little money = a win in my book. 

Anyway that's my tentative diagnosis story. Thanks for reading. For those of you that hate reading (like me, I get it, but like why are you on a blog then?!🤣) use the button below for a 60 second (okay maybe 68) video that sums it up. 

Have a great day, y'all! If you're in my neck of the woods, keep warm!