glo

Don - I love reading your posts. You are taking such good care of your mother -- and you still have your sense of humor. My mom (90 years old) isn't even sick, and it takes all four of my sisters to keep up with her shopping, cleaning, doctor apptmts, etc. (I'm 3,000 miles away, so I don't take my turn ) When she broke her hip a few years back they all took turns staying with her and it wore them all out. It's amazing that you are doing all of the caregiving yourself! Tell that doctor to stop talking about side effects. Every time he mentions one, sure enough your mom comes down with it! Enough already! And, oh my gosh, yes -- thank heaven for insurance for prescriptions. Prescription medicines have gotten totally out of hand! Keep on keepin' on! Best wishes Gloria

Yep -- see, here we are wondering what your original post was. (I get that you're scheduled/tentatively scheduled or something for surgery, but with added info. you're now worried that you can't have it.) Whatever the case, Cat, I think Hebbie gave good advice to try your best to get all the doctors talking together so you're sure of what the situation is. Wishing you the very best with whatever treatment you get, and please don't give up on any options -- just proceed with caution. Boy, do I know how hard getting straight answers and being sure the doctors collaborate is! You just get a snippet here and a piece there. HUGS AND BEST WISHES, CAT! Gloria

So thrilled for you Becky. And that ball bat you're gonna take with you when you go down those stairs with Cheryl? I'm gonna look for mine in the closet and dust it off for when 3 months rolls around again. Just give a holler and I'll bring it out to help chase those monsters off. Gloria

Snowflake - Sorry your concentration level is not good for reading right now. Sure hope they figure out the right thing to do about your problems. I'm sure some of it is the stress. My husband was in the hospital nearly a month and I carried a book (the same book) around with me all of that time and never managed to read more than a chapter. Even after his death, I couldn't read -- yes, staring at the TV is something I've done a lot of. Occasionally can even tell you what I watched! The book I carried was "SeaBiscuit". Only book that ever took me six months to read, but I finally finished it. I can in some ways identify with your not stopping at red lights. I have walked out into the garage to find that my garage door has been up for over two hours. I've gotten up in the morning to find I didn't lock the front door the night before. I've gotten on the wrong bus and took two hours to get home when it should have taken 30 minutes. And I'm on no meds at all! Maybe I should get on some. So I certainly think that with all you've been going through, it's no wonder you have these problems, and there's every reason to think they will improve. Hope the "mapping" does the trick. Anyway, yeah -- I'm proud, too, that your boy is reading! My girl is 30 years old now and she's never without a book for long and I'm sure reading is what helped her the most thoughout school and college. Doesn't really matter what they read -- there's something to be learned in every book and just establishing the habit makes it so much easier to learn all other subjects. P.S. I LOVE his dragon-slayer picture. Gloria

Great Cat! Knew you'd have to stick around to see what happens to Harry Potter! Yes, your message could definitely help others. I know many, many of us reading this board have thought -- if not about suicide -- just about what a relief it would be to have the pain and suffering (whether physical or emotional) over and done with. The end of pain for one, causes increased pain of another sort for those left. Have a good weekend, Cat. Gloria

My thanks too, Jane. You are a very generous person. And thanks to Katie and Rick for all their hard work. Gloria

Cat, I'm not sure what to say here. I'm not sure either why you chose to post this, but from some of your other posts, suicide seems to be flitting in and out of your head. I hope you posted this to assure yourself and us that you KNOW that suicide -- although it eliminates all pain and problems for the one who commits it -- gives a deep and lasting grief and feeling of waste to those who are left to contemplate it. And that you would never want to cause that pain for those who love you. Cat -- we all love you here. Please, if you are feeling suicidal, get some professional counseling. And if you need to talk, please PM me. I care about you. Gloria

Snowflake - Isn't that terrific? I just love when kids realize how much fun reading is. Those who grow up not learning to read well and hating it are really at a disadvantage in the work place. Some are able to overcome it through other skills, but reading is important in every job. We have a 26 year-old former marine who works in our office. His telephone manner is impeccable, he sounds so professional and he has a pretty good vocabulary. And a really good heart -- always willing to do anything he's asked. He learns quickly verbally and hands-on, but give him a manual or ask him to study for a test and he's toast. He reads very slowly and doesn't like to read. And reading is great for going places in the mind where our cares don't exist -- for me it works better than TV or movies. Go, Harry Potter! Gloria

He's coming. I know his magic will work for you. Hope this link works. http://www.itagodivxpurgatorio.it/sito/ ... egreti.jpg Gloria

Oh, Cat - I've not been in the spot you are in and I have no right to think that I know how you feel, but I can FEEL the panic and despair in your post. I've been reading your posts for a while now and you have so much to offer us all. Even when you're feeling down, you still reach out with support for others who need encouragement. Please try and hold on until you get the reports interpreted, and give yourself a little time to digest the news - whatever it may be. Hang on, Cat -- we've sent for Harry Potter! Gloria

Ginny, I can only add my love and best wishes for the two of you. Oh, how I wish nobody every had this awful disease. The love between the two of you is oh, so evident in your pictures and in every post. ((((Ginny and Duke)))) Gloria

Don - Just have to tell you how impressed I am with the way you take care of your mother and are so down to earth with your thoughts and feelings. Some of this personal care stuff is touchy even with husband/wife or mother/daughter. I sure understand when you say your mother -- if in her right mind would never put up with an enema from her son. hee,hee Your mother is so lucky to have you. You will obviously find a way to do whatever it takes to get her the proper treatment. Best wishes and prayers for both of you. Gloria

Sandy - I doubt you went off for your appointment without our prayers, even though you forgot to ask for them. This site has grown so large that in order not to miss anybody, I'm in the routine of making my last thought before sleep an all-encompassing prayer for the well-being of everyone on the board. I bet others do this too. But I'm adding extra prayers for you right now for good results. Crossing body parts, too. Gloria

Count my prayers too, Ginny -- for Earl and for you. Wish I could offer more. We're here for you. Gloria

Jane, please accept my sincere condolences. I know this is a very hard thing to bear. I'm so, so sorry. Gloria

Whoa, Peggy - I can relate. I work on floor 22 of a 24 story building. Any hiccup of the elevator makes my heart race. Haven't had the bad luck to drop in one, but a few people in the building have. And of course a few have been stuck for a while. Gotta say, though, that in 10 years of working in this building the elevators have been remarkably reliable. I only know of one dropping incident and like yours it was only a few floors and nobody was hurt. Doesn't make you feel any more confident about riding them about now, though. And dang it there isn't any other way to get up to your floor -- walk, oh yeah -- take half the day. Sure glad you weren't hurt. Hope your heartbeat is back to normal now. Take care. Gloria

Shellie - I love you, too. This just sucks, and you go ahead and get the anger out - we're all here for you. Gloria

Wow, Don - You really have a lot to deal with, but I'm happy that you can still keep a sense of humor going. I know this is all terribly stressful, but it sounds like you are doing wonderfully handling it. If your mom doesn't like taking the Milk of Magnesia, maybe she'd do better with Sennakot tablets. Doctors and nurses didn't tell me that the pain killers cause constipation until my husband was already suffering with it. Then they said he should take the Sennakot or Sennalax every time he took the pain killer. Ask the doctor -- there are other things she can take for it too. Hang in there! Wishing you great success for your trip Monday. Gloria

Hi, Don - Seems like at least the doctors are looking into all options for your mother. That's good. The "goofy" must be a New Mexico medical term. Our doctor said that kind of behaviour is what he describes with the technical medical term "loopy". Confusion does seem to be one of the symptoms of the disease and/or the treatments they use for this disease. Best of luck on your trip. Your mother is very lucky to have you. Oh, and good call on throwing her in the back where your driving can't scare her out of her wits! Best wishes to both of you. Gloria

How about Candy? Anybody heard from her?

Fay - I don't know how to make a dreamcatcher, but I bet someone on this board does. Together, I think we know EVERYTHING! Or is that just we think we do. Until somebody comes up with the dreamcatcher, when you wake up running from that dang ED, just visualize all 1200 of us from the board crowding into your house and forcing him out! Ooh, we may be scarier than he is. Look out for Ry and her cases of toilet paper and I'm betting Snowflake will have at least a bat! Oh, yeah, as we march in, we'll be carrying NED on our shoulders! And he'll bring lots of suitcases, because he's planning to stay with you for a very looonnnngg time! Wishing you sweet dreams and plenty of rest and as always praying for you and all the others on the board. Gloria

You made me smile. Yes, it is definitely easy to get so keyed up that you miss all those signs. Glad your body took over and let your brain get a little rest. No need to tell you that you must take care of yourself or you'll be no good to your mother. You obviously already know that, but like all of us sometimes just have too much to deal with. And it is kind of scary when we realize how much we've been functioning on auto pilot without really being aware. Your mother is very lucky to have you. Your love for her just shines through each message. Wishing you both the best. Gloria

Whew! Just in time. Good thing he contacted you, Katie. Sorry, Ry, put the pencil away. No fine this time.

Special prayers from me too, Mo. You are a very special lady. Gloria

Makwa ~ Haven't had any contact with the Salvation Army for years, but when I was a kid there was a Salvation Army church on the corner of our street, and at that time, they were VERY good at helping anyone who needed help and did not insist that people join the church or any other restrictions. They gave food to people who needed it, ran supervised playgrounds for children in the neighborhood; had groups similar to boy scouts and girl scouts and children were furnished uniforms and everything needed -- nobody was asked for money or turned away from help because they didn't belong to the church. If there's a Salvation Army listed in your area, you might try them. Hope this helps. Gloria