Ice makes it all better-really!

A while ago I finally got my ice vest! No I am NOT complaining. Last year I applied, but missed the cut-off, or didn't qualify, or didn't have the right amount of freckles in the right orbit of the moon... Who knows... All I know is six months after I submitted my application (as in I forgot I even sent it) I received a phone call from a very nice lady, who totally caught me off guard, and let me know they were done for the season (ah it was mid July) and I should try next year. Umm okay, thanks! 

So with Dr.s Rx in hand I did! I sent it out to three different companies based on referrals I was given. Let me just say upfront, I had no hope again (despite a RX-Seriously). So I filled out the forms (some of them were 4-7 pages and turned them in. I do live in Florida. It's hot like 398 days a year... Okay maybe only 376 but you get the idea... No mater that calendar you are looking at chances are a side of   Hot is on it in my forecast. Good times! Oh and don't get me started on humidity. What it does to my hair along would require a whole different blog that has nothing to do with MS... So where were we.. Oh yes, ICE... Not immigration, the cool kind. So my vest arrived in the mail and I was oh so happy. For me it meant a lot, it meant I could go for walks and not overheat. It meant I could be out at events and not go from fine to heat stroke without realizing it before it was too late. Form me it meant freedom to really enjoy life and not worry about the time involved... Or so I thought. The vest is great don't get me wrong, but like all things it has its faults. This model is made up of nine individual ice packs. Good by the fact that you can lessen the weight by not putting all of them in the little areas, bad by the fact that by nature, ice melts. So over time the ice packs have to be replaced. No it's not 30 minutes, but it's not convenient say if you are away from home all day. Where do you keep the replacements frozen? How do you re-freeze the packets you've used? So yeah, on the surface they are awesome, but if you are going to be at an outdoor event, say a Little League tournament and you don't know the place (hey it could happen) then you have to figure out how you are going to spend the whole day outside in the scorching blazing sun and be able to keep your ice packs frozen... Grant it, I do love my Thirty-one thermals (yep that's a plug) and they work excellent for the long haul... But I still have to think of others and pack things for them... 

Well... Ice is ice... I'm just glad that I have options right now and am able to stay cool... Cause it sure makes a difference. 

Blue vest... Walk ready...