Greetings!

------>Steelers fan here. Look out - we're comin' back!

But for the time being it's still baseball, and it takes a lot to be a Pirates fan! Colorado Rockies just creamed them!

Ry - pity party later? (on the other thread, of course!)

PaLady

I hear so much loss and sadness in your post, PaLady.  Feelings I share.  As you said with such clarity, we expend decades of life and energy and dreams, only to have them reduced relentlessly to mere shadows by pain and its' multitude of associates.  I too am very concerned with the pervasive loss of privacy.  Laws have been passed which mean nothing and are almost never enforced.  Our info is just 'out there' floating around.  As usual, our technology has exceeded our ability to control advances that often occur daily.  The tail is wagging the dog big time.  The plight of cp'ers is not amont our legislators priorities.  And as we all know, it's such a huge national health problem, you'd think they might at leat catch a glimpse.  The 'politics' of pain p*&& me off soo bad I'd best quit now... I'll pray for fewer burdens for you and yours, PaLady. But about those Steelers...Hmmm...I do love the Cleveland- Pittsburgh games! Great rivalry.  Your team has a good chance this year, I think.  Certainly better than the Bears...

 

Not sure how to respond to your observation, Scarred.  There was the LOL disclaimer at the end...:)  I'm very grateful for the thought.  I've missed the contact I established with another group several years ago.  I just got back online since 2006.  This has been fantastic for me.  Even having Bonoco fans lurking about has not diminished the impact of this place.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Part of my day now.  And one I can look forward to. The folks here are down to earth and the talking usually comes easily.  I did spend a few decades earning my livelihood working with people.  It was incredible, exciting, very challenging, and unfortunately, all too often, tragic.  Unless you're totally unsuitable for it, the work is impossible not to love.  It's done here everyday.  I'm just grateful to be part of your group.

 

I'm rambling on once again.  Hoping your night involves serious restorative sleep!!

 

RS, aka karmacrunch, aka crunch, aka *&@##*&&*@#

Thanks, scarred and karma...

Scarred, so sorry about your dad...mine died in 1988 from prostate cancer (my hubby also was killed in 1988 - trucking accident - so 1988 was NOT a good year (seem to recollect it was also a major drought - the corn looked like someone came through with a flamethrower!).

Brothers! My achilles heel is my brother-in-law (BIL). In 2000, one of my BIL's had a nervous breakdown. The other bil, who lives about 1.5 hours from him, refused to go help - he was too busy, so I drove all night to Chicago (about 7 hour drive) through the snow to be with my mother-in-law (MIL). I got things going - set BIL up with VA hospital, got MIL stuff and a medicalert system, etc. When BIL who lived an hour away discovered that his brother had $'s...it was "go home, Gina, I can take it from here" and he put both MIL and BIL in nursing homes. MIL died within a year. There's a MUCH longer story to this story...but I won't go into it here...just say it involves a murder, a young woman, a father, and three sons (my hubby was one of those sons, but he wasn't involved in the murder). If anyone's interested, I have a link to an article about it.

Given I lived in Chicagoland for 20 years...I, too, am a Bears fan, but don't tell the Lions that...gee, if only they had it all in Detroit area - Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my! <G>

As for smoking, quitting was almost a fluke. After breast cancer, my body decided it wanted to go on strike - organ by organ (or so it seemed). Hernias, more biopsies, and then they found a lesion or two on my rib. It was removed (and was NOT cancer, thank God!). My doc came in on my 3rd day after surgery and said "you know what that tube in your chest is...right?" I said "yes" He said "well, if you go home and smoke, you'll probably collapse your lung and die" I threw out my cigs that day. Prior to my surgery, I had been on paxil for depression, and noticed a few weeks later that I was smoking less - I'd even gone out running errands and hadn't HAD a cigarette! I dunno why THIS time I was told I might die was THE time...but it was...you really need to want to quit and I guess between the paxil, the cancer and the statement from my doc, I got the incentive pretty fast! Oh, I did almost buy stock in Dum Dums - want a cig? Pop a sucker! (I guess that sucker and dum dum pretty much describe what I was when I was smoking :/ I quit in 2003. My problems began in 2004

Scarred, just keep on going...you'll quit! I quit many times, but took it back up again - even after a year! Someone once said that if we can go 8-12 hours (when we're asleep), we oughta be able to quit easily - well, easily might not be the best adjective, but...quitting IS possible...and don't get discouraged if you do NOT quit right away.

BTW, Karma, I'm a computer tech so...and I'm only 40 miles north of you :). Thanks for the heads up on the pain rating scale, I'll look into it!

Just a FWIW, if any of you are on oral prednisone (or even inhaled), get your blood sugar checked. I was totally unaware that I'd become a diabetic thanks to prednisone, until my sugars during one hospital stay, hovered in the mid 150's. It was after I got home that I kept checking (they told me not to worry) my sugars (I'd obtained a meter from the "flight for diabetes" at a local air show here at a national guard base - the only stunt pilot eligible for a license who has type I diabetes. I was going to give the meter to a friend of mine (a nurse) who sends 'em overseas for missions, but kept it instead and finally, called in my numbers to my primary, who started me on insulin and referred me to an endo. I am on insulin and amaryl. Prednisone tends to give you high sugars AFTER meals (fastings are good - matter of fact, SO good that one doc wanted me to quit insulin, even though my bedside numbers (like you check your sugar at home) were 150-200).

Take care, and God bless you all!

Granny

Hey Granny!  What an unbelievable story to live though.  And survive!  I recall 1988 was a bad year on my end too, but good Lord, it was a vacation compared with yours.  I'd be interested in that link to more of your story. 

 

So who do you root for when the Lions play the Bears on Thanksgiving?  Re my computer, it's just my friends' old junk cobbled together to at least get me online.  It would maybe be an insult to your skills.  But if you can offer any advice concerning ways to get this thing to run a little better I'd be euphoric.  It may be way too old, but I'm not qualified to know for certain.  If you'd like and have the time, perhaps we could exchange emails and I'll tell ya about this mess.

 

Smoking. Nicotine.  My pulmonologist said it would help "a little" if I quit now.  I try like mad not to see it, but he almost seems resigned to my early demise and doesn't even bother to get in my face about inhaling poison into massively damaged lungs.  Not the best motivaltion.  But I'm going to quit again anyway.  Scarred will succeed long before I can give it up for good.  You mentioned life-changing events/illnesses, Granny.  After the PE, I never had another desire for another beer.  Something I used to enjoy during those football games!  But since 5/06, no beer.  Also, cannot seem to eat much red meat any more.  Lots of other strange changes that I won't bore you with...but it is amazing to experience such rapid and seemingly permanent transformations.

 

Hope your night is restful and Tuesday brings relief!!......karma

 

Howdy, Tom!  Hope I have similar experiences with the aids and nurses who will soon be visiting my home.  I met the case manager for the first time this morning.  She was very polite and professional and obviously knows her job, but based upon my early understanding, she's the go-to person.  I don't think she provides any direct service.  I remain anxious about all the assessments and evaluations and the entire process.  I am rather reluctant (pathologically stubborn!) to allow anyone into this world of mine.  Hell, I am just beginning to realize what happened to me and how I've changed.  But I'll be a good "client/patient" and give this program my best shot.  I was on a waiting list for two years to qualify for this service.  I'd be a major fool to pass it up.  Like you, I use lots of "gallows" humor and it gets me through many if not most tough medical situations.

 

I appreciate your post re my "new" programs.  We'll see what's up in a couple weeks, I think.

 

Have a good night, preferably without the presence of the pain monster.  Ooops...it's actually "good morning" here in good old Ohio...  Best Wishes, Tom....karma

Certainly no hard or hurt feelings on this end, Scarred.  My initial reaction was to assume I had written something to piss-off you and nearly everyone else.  I hope that's not the case.  Regardless, I was unexpectedly and happily surprised that you might consider me to be a receptive listener.  I try not to go off on my own complaining too often or too much.  You can chalk up my first, long and personal posts to pent up venting that was 2 years in the making.  I am sorry if it was too much.  Also, in addition to our mututal acquaintance with the pain monster, we share very similar personal histories.  Your last post hit home with me on so many points.  Except for birth order.  I'm a first born with only my brother, 4 years younger.  So, considering your observations too, it appears rather unavoidable that we'd recognize similarities in our histories.  Not a bad thing in my humble opinion.  Afterall, forums such as this exist to provide "places" for folks with common problems/interest to make connections.  Enough about that...

 

Funny how you managed to (repeatedly) mention your Broncos and the Steelers, but the Bears were conspicuously absent... ...I'll bet Chicago ends up with a better record than Denver!  Not sure if they play eachother but I'll check the schedule.  I agree that Pittsburgh has a good change to perhaps even make the playoffs.  I'm looking forward to watching the Steelers-Cleveland games!  Watching all those games with your dad...what a fantastic gift!!  My daughter and I used to follow the Chicago Bulls religiously during the Jordan era and watched countless games together.  We still talk about those times.  I miss them...

 

I couldn't tell from your sentence, but are you writing a book or reading one?  If you're writing, do you ever share your work?  Well, Scarred, since I'm rather rusty regarding birth order personality characteristics, guess we could leave it for another post.  I should mention, however, that first born kids often develop mule-like characteristics.  Explains some of my behavior!.

 

Hoping that thing called pain did not slither out from under its' rock today!!  Maybe left you alone for awhile?

 

Godspeed,

 

karma

Post Edited (karmacrunch) : 7/22/2008 3:20:38 PM (GMT-6)