We’ve been moving and I’ve been stressed. That’s redundant, I know. Moving is stress on wheels — which isn’t good for someone with MS.
Studies have shown a link between stressful life events and MS exacerbations, known as flares. Researchers, if you’re reading this, you should have been watching me. I’ve been a symphony of stress!
My wife, Laura, and I have been moving from a two-bedroom-plus-den condo to a two-bedroom apartment just three hours away. We’re also moving to a two-bedroom-plus-den condo 1,200 miles away. Double your pleasure, double your fun.
My MS limits my ability to help very much, and Laura has her own health problems. But we thought that if we moved slowly, we’d be OK. We gave ourselves over two months to find a mover, pack many of our things ourselves, and move in stages.
Who were we kidding?
The 3 movers
I’m a retired journalist, so I know a thing or two about researching. I dove into local community Facebook pages and asked several friends for recommendations. I narrowed it down to three candidates, each with excellent reviews, and I checked their Better Business Bureau reports. I believed any of the three could do the job.
Mover #1: This mover was recommended by a friend who knows everything there is to know about the area where we’ve been living. She’d used this mover more than once and gave him high marks. We met with him and also were impressed. He said he’d “get right back” to us with an estimate. You know where this is going. A month and three phone calls later, and still no estimate. So, we called Mover #2.
Mover #2: Asking for recommendations on Facebook and the social networking service Nextdoor turned up Mover #2. He met with us and said he could do the job. His wife, who does his estimates and packing, came by the next day to look at what needed to be moved and whoops, they wouldn’t be able to move a large antique model boat that we have. But we liked them, so we waited for an estimate without the boat, thought we’d give them the job and then set out to find an antiques mover for the boat. I’d set up an appointment with a third mover, but I left him a voicemail canceling the appointment when we decided to go with Mover #2.
Mover #3: Guess who didn’t get the voicemail? Mover #3 promptly arrived at our door right at the canceled time. I told him that we’d chosen someone else and apologized for the miscommunication, but then my wife asked, “Can you move that boat?” He said he could, so we asked for an estimate. He also cautioned us about Mover #2, and checking further we found enough questionable information to decide to give the job to Mover #3. A day after that, Mover #1 finally called with an estimate. Sorry, Charlie.
It would be nice if I could have been swimming or exercising to de-stress a little during this exercise in frustration. But virus restrictions have limited what I can do, and I’ve been too busy anyway. Maybe now, with the mover issue settled, I can relax a little. Or, maybe not.
Can my stress get any worse?
Just when I thought my MS moving stress was easing, I was hit with a triple whammy: I had overlooked an insurance payment and received a notice that the policy was in danger of cancellation. Next, a man who was supposed to have fixed the air conditioning in our Florida condo reported that had he completed the job, but hadn’t. Then I got a notice in the mail that my driver’s license would be suspended in 10 days because I hadn’t returned some medical forms to the Department of Motor Vehicles — forms I never received.
So what happened, Ed?
While juggling the move, I managed to have a medical statement completed by my neurologist — I have a great neurologist with a fabulous staff, by the way — as well as getting a full eye exam, and get all of the forms sent to the DMV a week before the deadline. Naturally, the DMV people made me wait until the morning of my suspension date to acknowledge that they had received the forms. Thankfully, my license wasn’t suspended.
It took an extra day, but the Florida air conditioning works again. Keep your fingers crossed.
The insurance was quickly paid online without penalty.
Now, the biggie: The move between Maryland locations has been completed. And it went off almost without a hitch — just a small knob was broken off a dresser, which the movers quickly repaired. To top it off, the cost came in under the estimate!
I’m tired, but I’m finally relaxed. Best of all, although studies say that all of this Ms moving stress should have affected my MS, I’m feeling well. Maybe after 40 years of MS, my body has learned to chill, even if my mind hasn’t.
On the other hand, in October we still have to get the rest of our stuff moved to Florida. I’m not gonna stress thinking about it.
(A version of this blog first appeared as my column on the MS News Today website.)
(Featured image by Nina Garman from Pixabay)
Have you seen my new book “We’re Not Drunk, We Have MS”?
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