We’re having some hot days here in Michigan. And since we have all these lakes, that heat comes with humidity. Heat is one thing, but add in the humidity and it’s downright miserable. Ask anyone from Michigan or Florida, they’ll be happy to tell you. I stepped outside one day last week and immediately started sweating. Last week it was in the 90s, this week it’s looking to be a teensy bit cooler. It was 79 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:00 this morning, and I think reached 87. It’s one of those things we Michiganders love to complain about. It unifies us, makes us feel like we all have something in common.

But I didn’t come on here to complain about the heat. Not really. I wanted to share how the heat affects me as someone living with multiple sclerosis. This is one of the things I remember the doctors and therapists warning me about when I was first diagnosed. “Keep your core temperature down” they said, “be careful not to get overheated”. I didn’t know at the time how important that advice was, but almost 15 years with the disease and I have a thorough understanding now. My body doesn’t handle extreme temperatures well, either cold or heat. While extreme cold causes me more pain, mostly in my legs, the extreme heat is more debilitating overall. When I get overheated I often feel physically ill. My legs move more slowly, as if I’m hiking through thick mud. I’m more fatigued, and not in the cyclical way I’ve talked about with my Tysabri infusions, but more of a general moving slow. All day, every day. All summer I will need to give myself grace and know that I’ll just be doing everything a lot more slowly. Even running.

Which brings me to today’s example. I’m trying to maintain some level of fitness throughout this fatigue, but with this heat outside it’s forced me to do my running on the treadmill. And when I say running, I really mean mostly walking. It’s been a struggle. Today my plan was to try 5 miles. With two fans blowing on me at full speed and a wet handkerchief wrapped around my neck, I stepped onto my basement treadmill wearing my lightweight running shorts and sport bra. I was able to do some very slow running for portions of my run, but I mostly had to walk, and as I approached the 3rd mile I knew I wasn’t going to make it to 5. I stopped at 3 and called it good. It’s hard to complain about “only” going 3 miles out of 5 when you still remember the days of needing a walker to get around.

I think the heat also affects my already poor balance. I’ve been a lot more tipsy lately. Last night I was at a gathering with my friends and when I stood up from the couch, I almost fell over as I started to walk. Everyone gasped because I think they saw me falling but none of them could get up in time to catch me. Thankfully, I was able to catch my balance and I never went down, but I definitely tried to be more careful going forward, moving more slowly and cautiously.

That walker that I had to use back in 2013 is still in storage and has been for over 10 years. Every day I am thankful I am able to get myself out of bed (even if it’s much later in the morning than I would prefer). I know how beneficial the running and walking is for my M.S. so I just need to keep doing it. Consistency trumps volume, and some days I won’t go the distance I had hoped, but that’s okay. I am still moving. With as hot as it has been outside, that’s no small miracle.