To Aimzee, in particular

Hadn't heard from you in a while, until I saw what you wrote in Sonny's thread.  Good to hear from you.  Was wanting an update on Ron, and how he was currently doing.  Is he still having all those major pain issues?  Hoping for some improvement for him  (and for your sake too, of course)

Yes, perhaps his next PSA test will show things settling down, and hopefully not on the rise again.  Will be waiting to hear those results and hoping for the best.

My wife goes back to her surgeon this Thursday.  She is so hoping he will release her to go back to work.  Her employer assures her, that she can stay on "light duty" indefinitely.  For the most part, she is no longer a floor nurse, more of an administrative type.  Though the day she got injured, she had to fill in as a floor nurse.

She is mostly doing better, on the bad days now, she is taking a single Loratab for pain, most days, nothing at all.  Her incision has healed up nicely, such a tiny scar.  Surgeon did a nice neat job for sure.

As long as she can be working again by or before the end of January, we will be able to survive the financial strain this has caused us.  We have had to run a really tight ship these past couple of months.  Doesn't take long to eat up one's savings with no paychecks coming in.  Worker's Comp's decision for denial is being appealed, but we aren't counting on it happening.

As for me, still a lot of hard times in the chronic pain department, exasperated by being her caretaker the past 2 months, and dealing with all my own issues.  Hasn't been easy, that's for sure.  But I am a survialist at heart, and just keep pushing along the best I can.

Sure hope Ron is getting the break he deserves.

May you both have a much better year, 2013.  I wasn't sorry to see 2012 end, personally.

david in sc

An,

Not always easy to be positive, not always the case with me. Talk to anyone with severe chronic pain, and its not easy to be all smiles and happiness all the time. It just hurts too much, and every morning when my eyes open (assuming I am not in pain already), is knowing that I am facing being up another 18-20 hours fighting pain, while trying to maintain some semblence of a life.

You learn real quick in my situation, what you can and can't do, and you have to get over thinking about how things use to be, and what I was able to do. As this thing progresses, my "can do" list keeps shrinking, so I am constantly having to adjust my thinking to match my reality.

Today at PT, they did my monthly accessment, and once again, I have slipped down again, especially in my legs, starting to get a lot of aptropy in my legs, despite walking when I can, and going to PT weekly. Not much can be done about it, other than working with what I have.

Not easy being me these days, but no one ever said life was fair. Things could still be worse, I am always aware of that.

david

Hi Aimzee,

Things are good for my husband and me. We are hoping for a good 2013 for family, for friends (including our friends at healing well) and for us. Our lives are busy and full of non PCa things but I visit this site often. We remain vigilant about Paul's six monthly psa tests but are keenly aware that with the ultra sensitive test PSAs can change quickly as it has with Ron and Bronsen. We hope that they settle and stabalise.

The amount of chronic pain that our friends online and in our group of friends here in Australia are facing on a daily basis is quite astounding. We have a close friend who is a fireman and in the course of rescuing someone many years ago had a portion of a burning building land on his upper back. He is in permanent debilitating pain, he has to have surgery every 9 months or so to burn the nerves near his neck back but he on very strong pain relief. Although he is a lovely man, making the best of a bad situation, in him I see some of what David and Ron are going through.

I wish you all the best for 2013.

Regards,
An