The month started hot as most of the US is having. The 10 day outlook is the same as the last month - 100+. Our air is really bad due to fires burning north of us as far away as British Columbia.
Spent two hours yesterday finally trying to install our TV on the wall mount (but not on a wall). What a headache! Could not find any of his smaller drill bits to drill the holes into the wood. Somewhere there is a blue container full of drill bits but I can't find where he hid them. Too hot to do a lot of digging in the bays outside (remember live in motorhome). Finally got it on only to have the angle screws not hold so it kept tilting down. Called the company this morning but since we bought it last December the 90 day warranty is gone. Their only suggestion is to go to the hardware store and try to find a screw that would work. '
Of course, last night he kept asking where that mounting bracket up in the TV hole came from. We still have the TV sitting on the small frig just below that hole. Again this morning he was asking where it came from. Ugh!
Another headache - bought another LED light to replace an older light that quit working. Well, when we took the old one down a few weeks ago hb threw it away before taking the plug off it. Our lights have plugs to connect them vs the wire screws. Went looking yesterday for one and no one carries them. Tried Home Depot and Walmart then went to an RV repair store. He said he doesn't carry them but they can be bought at O'Reillys or Schucks. No luck - didn't even have anything that would work. Guess I will have to do the old fashion using the wire 'screws' to connect. I will also have to remove the other one we replaced a month ago to figure out the hot wire and ground. The RV wires are blue and white, the lights are red and black.
He has a letter that came from the VA last week about his neuro appt next week. He sits and reads it or tries to over and over. He has sat there for 5 hours 'reading' it. I thought it had gotten thrown away but he found it last night and again was sitting there reading it. Usually silently but at times out loud.
Now back to our hot weather. I am so ready for cooler weather like in the 80s.
Well weather here in Massachusetts is a little bit different, Charlotte. We started in with a sunny warm day which was delightful. Then I heard a few booms of thunder around 2:15 just before my partner was due back from what is most likely her last day at the Pace day program. There were a few drops of rain as she in her wheelchair came down the ramp of the van, then the sky just opened up with pouring rain and cracks of lightning and thunder. She and I were completely drenched by the time we made it into the house. Now we both are in our pajamas and in bed. Its not even 3:30! We'll get up around 4 or 5 to try and have some supper I'm sure.
Update: bought some lock washers and nuts to go on the screw. Not sure there will be enough room to get the nuts on but maybe lock washers will hold it. Figured a way to get the framing we have made to sit how I want it. I bought some cheap drill bits and put screws through the MH cabinet frame into the frame we have made (like a sideways H). I tried to pull it forward and it wouldn't move so it should hold the TV in the position we want. When he gets home, gets his nap then will try to mount the TV again. If the lock washers don't work I guess it will stay on the little frig!
The smoke is so horrible outside. Feel like we are fogged in! If you ever went into a nightclub or bar where you can 'cut the smoke', that is how it is - or seems that bad. Wonder if we can sue British Columbia for 'secondhand smoke'?!!!!
Hey, hey, Charlotte! Vancouver is getting smoke from fires in the Interior of B.C. AND up from the State of Washington. The Coast Mountains are no longe visible, and there is an air quality warning. Let's both retreat to the cabin by the lake. In the meantime, some helpful male will go in and fix your TV. We wish.
Vancouver island no different hazed right in with smoke and we are in the middle of a heat wave so air quality warnings. Smoke coming from the interior of BC, It is on fire one of the worst fire years and yes Charlotte we have gotten smoke from Washington before too so we just have to work together on this. Neighbours helping each other. FYI a number of folks in the states don't realize that British Columbia is about the size of Washington, Oregon, and California put together with less population that LA? A lot of area out there.
I was watching something today and they mentioned there are more people in California than in all of Canada. And many people forget how far north Canada goes.
Watching the Texas Rangers/Mariner game. The pitcher lost his contact somewhere in his eye. They are trying to find it.
It was ready for when he got home - didn't even let him nap. Took about 10 minutes to get it secured on the bracket. So now the TV is up where it should be. It is a little crooked but too bad. My 'h' brace it is mounted on must be crooked. Oh well.
Some of the smoke is also coming from Montana according to the weather service.
One year when we had fires all.around and a lot of smoke we went to the golf course. Wondered if we would be able to breathe or.see well enough to play. The air was completely clean there. It was like a clear bowl was covering the course. I guess it was the grass and water cleaned the air. You might try having lunch at a course or try a park with a lake.
Tues we had a thunderstorm with 60 mph winds and @1/2 " rain. That's a lot for SoCal. Spent Wed and Thurs cleaning up yard and pool. Yesterday a tree branch came down. Need to get out the chain saw. Wed came inside to take a break and found poop all over bathroom and DH sitting in living room scooping poop out of his shoe. Got him upstairs and cleaned up while he is yelling the whole time about how.he will beat the shit out of the guy who came and did this! He kept fuming that he didn't do it. I "went with the flow" and just asked him to calm down and let me help him clean up. Amazingly it worked. After finally relaxing a bit, went in the kitchen and found red ants all over the kitchen sink. Haven't had red ants in the house before. Then realized he must have washed his hands in the kitchen sink and left poop on the faucet handles. Somehow the ants smelled it and came running. Amazing. Cleaned that up and sprayed and they seem to be gone. Not sure what.caused this bout of diarrhea. Maybe onions. Keeping a log now and eliminating things that are suspicious. Fri morning there was a tiny bit of poop in the hallway. Weird. Didn't think much about it. Didn't find any more. Fri afternoon I find another bit of poop next to his side of the bed. It is very obvious now because red ants have.formed a large mound over it. This is on the second floor! So spent yet another hour cleaning and spraying. Not sure if I found their entry point. Creepy! Didn't mention it to DH. He just thinks someone comes in here and does this shit and he seems to like watching me work and sweat. He thinks it is hilarious when I am wiping the sweat off my forehead. It is very difficult to not lose my temper. It is better I guess,that he is happy and content and making jokes like his old self. I am pretending to laugh and find it funny. Pretending to find it interesting when he tells me to come look outside at all the clouds. He calls.them people. Last summer he went to bed at sundown and I got used to having quiet time alone watching shows I like. Now he stays with me. He won't go to bed by himself. I guess he doesn't know what's going on any more and if I am there he knows I will take care of it. I finally went to bed and waited for him to fall.asleep then got up and read a bok for awhile. Why am I writing all this? What difference does it make to anyone? Sorry to blather on. I guess I will go make lunch and then get out the chainsaw and see if i can take care of that tree branch.
bhv, That reminds me of the time I found a small poop in my husband's shirt pocket. I didn't realize what it was at first since I didn't find it until the shirt had gone through the washer and dryer. This kind of thing certainly forces us to relax our previous standards of hygiene in house keeping.
In answer to your question about why you are writing all this, it's because it is so bizarre that you would go stark raving mad if you didn't tell someone. And few people other than Alzheimer's caregivers would believe it if you told them.
And few people except Alzheimers caregivers could totally relate...and probably be able to top every story. Ah yes, the good old days of Poop Patrol.
Actually I think my best Alzheimers poop story concerned one of my grandmothers rather than my husband. Grandma was stubborn, and stayed alone in her house far longer than she should have. The family lived very nearby, was over there constantly, and she lead them a merry dance. She was well-known to the police, too, because she'd call them at all hours to come and check her yard because "people were looking in her windows." (Hallucinations, of course.) Anyway, when Grandma still had her small dog Nipper (trust me, he lived up to his name)...she never did get him house-trained. He would defecate on her bed, and she'd say, "Oh, look! Poo!" And she'd pick it up with her bare hand, put it in her purse, and carry it around like that. Lovely.
The family had a hellacious time getting Grandma into a nursing home, where she was very happy for a number of years until her death at age 92. Not a spouse's story, I guess, but I just felt like telling it.
Feel like we have accomplished something this week.
*The TV is mounted after 8 months of procrastinating and we have all the lights working. *The last fixture we took down he was in such hurry to throw it away he didn't take the connector plug off. Could not find any anywhere so had to use the 'connector screws' to connect the wires. Now we have two LED fixtures and the one tube fluorescent in the living area - should be nice and bright on the long dark winter nights. And we replaced the light without me getting upset with him! *I also got the curtain for the end window by the dining table cut and pinned. decided it would be much easier to sew with a machine so I ordered a refurbished one from Walmart. It comes in Wednesday. I have the rods and sheet to make the curtains for the other three windows so can get that done too. *Also put the bubble foil back up on the front window in an effort to keep some heat out. Seems to be helping. It also meant cleaning up all the dust bunnies I could never get to because the TV was in the way!
Nice to feel like I accomplished something positive for a change.
When you guys were talking about poop it instantly brought to mind that clorox wipes commercial where the mom comes home to find the dad changing the babies diaper on the kitchen counter!
Anyone see the Ace Hardware commercial where the little girl holding a roll of duck tape ask: "why would anyone want to tape a duck?" LOL I will never look at a roll of duck tape the same way again.
Way to go Charlotte! Those are wonderful accomplishments. We have a commercial here with a "She Shed" the woman wonders if something is allowed. Tsk, she says, of course it is allowed, this is MY domain. I think of Myrtle's hermitage every time.
We had a thunderstorm that took down a large branch. Yesterday I got out the electric chain saw and some clippers.and we made quick work of that. Actually managed to work with DH without getting mad. Actually I worked for 2 or 3 hours. He.helped for the first and last.15 minutes. But it was more than average.
Today I got the gas chain saw running and cut down two dead trees that were not all that thick, but too much for the electric saw. The trees even fell where I planned! And I still have all my limbs intact. How about that! I got one chopped up for firewood. Will try to finish the other one tomorrow. I think it needs a new chain, but am afraid to change it. Might try tomorrow though since we have a new chain hanging on the wall.
DH didn't bother to come check on me or anything today. Was wishing he would since he is stronger, but then would be fearful of accidents so probably best he stayed inside.
These comments remind me of the book, Cold Mountain, where the women tend the farms and families while their husbands are fighting in the Civil War. It is amazing what we can do when we have to. I took over plowing snow with the big tractor for a couple of years. It was colder than all get out and although it looks easy, it certainly is not. It actually terrified me but I did it to prove that I could. When I turned 65 I decided that I had made a point and I needed to stop before I got hurt.
Great job on the trees bhv. Doing the tv mount and the curtain rod I used the drill. Really the first time since 1971 when I worked in a factory back in NH building 4 cylinder outboard engines from the block up. Was one of the odd jobs I have had over the years! I mainly never used power tools cause hb had a subtle way of making me feel like only he could.
Yes, Myrtle and her 'she shed'. Wonder how much she gets to enjoy it this summer?
Yeah, Charlotte, I was worried about you hurting your arm reaching up to do that stuff. So happy it worked. Pretty cool building engines. I grew.up helping my Dad repair cars in the back yard and working on my own cars when I left home. Then was an Aircraft Maintenance Officer in the Air Force. But DH generally used the power tools. He doesn't read directions. It is considered unmanly. So for years he has had.trouble starting the lawn mower. I finally looked it over and found all you have to do is press the primer bulb three times and it starts right away. It is fun learning new things.
Here is the commercial Charlotte mentioned. https://www.facebook.com/cmnhospitals/videos/10155065016054535/ Wish I found a link that doesn't involve FB.
And is it "Duck Tape" or Duct Tape"? http://mentalfloss.com/article/52151/it-duck-tape-or-duct-tape
I always used duct tape. But recently saw a commercial for "Duck Tape". I guess someone finally gave in to common speak.and came up with a new brand name. Fancy colors now too.
Charlotte, Do people in your park grow vegetables? I was thinking that with all that dry heat, a lot of things would grow well but watering would certainly be an issue.
There are some of us that try tomatoes. Most don't have a lot of luck growing them in containers. There are more that grow flowers on their patio slab. Some have a couple plants, some a few like me and there is a couple ladies that have their patio, in front of their rig and most of their parking area covered with pots of flowers leaving just enough room to parallel park. Some have set up irrigation systems, then others like me just water with a hose daily. We are a rare park that has no limit on water - we can wash our rigs, cars, small pools for kids, water plants, etc - no limits.
I think the 100+ temps almost daily since mid June has not helped. I had to move most of my flowers next to the RV where they don't get the hot sun all day - they were getting burned between the sun and heat reflecting off the concrete.
Got my refurbished sewing machine Wednesday and another sheet for the rest of the curtains. I hope to get it set up today to work on curtains. I really don't think I will get much done until next week. I still have to wash the curtain before I start cutting and sewing.
Next week it suppose to cool down to the upper 80s low 90s - will be a welcome release. I hate to see our electric bill next week. :-( Thankfully Portland is cooling down too. Hb has his neurologist appt on Monday. We have to take the dog with us and it is suppose to be in the 70s - at that temp and parking in the parking garage the car should be cool. I have been procrastinating but need to make a list of what he can't do anymore for her.
I forgot to say that I was surprised to see that Walmart sold refurbished sewing machines. I've been wanting a sewing machine for a while but was amazed at how expensive they are now. I only want to sew simple things, like hems. I'm going to see what our local Walmart has.
On that subject, yesterday I got a bunch of emails from Walmart saying that my online order (for iTunes credits) had arrived and then got emails that the orders had been cancelled. I did not order iTunes or anything else from Walmart and in fact have only ever ordered a couple of things from Walmart and that was a few years ago. It turns out that someone in Florida who had previously defrauded other customers was using my Walmart online account.
I hope they cancelled that account. Walmart sell sewing machines, TVs, and a lot of things refurbished but I only see them online, not in the stores. A lot of people like refurbished because they supposedly are returned ones that have been gone through.
Refurbished products can be floor models, returned merchandise (box opened but never used, defective but fixed), returned but lightly used, or simply overstock of old models. If a product comes with a full warranty there is a good chance that it is good as new, or possibly better since some companies will look at a returned product very carefully and make sure every bit is up to spec. This varies by company.
Refurbished availability probably changes constantly and they are all in a central warehouse. I doubt there is an easy way for Walmart to distribute refurbished products to its stores in an efficient manner.
Couple days.ago a sprinkler valve burst open. Thankfully there was a shut off valve so I didn't need to fix it at 5pm. Fixed it next morning. Tested ok, but an hour later another pipe burst. Dug a hole to trouble shoot. DH comes out to "take a look and se what he can do" Oh Joy. So he pushed the pipe back together and says try that! I say no, I'll go get the parts and fix it. When I come back the hole is nicely filled back in (using the pool pole) and he is happily back inside watching tv. I fixed that pipe, but now am concerned about water pressure. Holy mackerel. Over 200 psi in the back yard. Thankfully ok in the house. Off to Home Depot. Replaced one pressure reducing valve. But this one is too far from the street. So got out the shovel and found another one next to the water meter. It is ever so close to the one we had a plumber replace last year I can't believe we didn't fnd it then. There is an antique shut off valve between the meter and the reducer that never worked. Decided to leave it in place.
Of course this reducer is a different size than the one I bought. So back to home depot. Just as we find a helper and the right part DH needs the bathroom. Smells pretty bad. Yep he already pooped his pants. So he goes in Mens room and says he will wait for me to bring clean clothes from the car. Long walk. I get back. Two men in there. No Jim. A huge pile of mushy poop on floor in handicap stall and poop smeared all over the bowl. Holy ****. I apologize to the still silent men and go look for DH. No sign. I stop trying to think and an employee asks me what I am looking for.
Here come the waterworks. I manage to say DH has messed up the bathroom and now I can't find him. He offer to page him, but I don't think he would understand the instructions. So the young man calls the manager. He keeps paging the manager as we walk to the front. He finds a supervisor and tells him we have a 911 in the mens room and a lost husband. This guy says not to worry about the mess. First we have to find him. Let's fan out. What does he look like? Every guy in here. I finally get a view of the entrance and there is DH happily waiting to go home.
I need to write a thank you letter to the store manager. I still can't get over how helpful they were. Went back to get my part and the guy remembered me and remembered what I needed and talked me through it to make sure I had everything. Wow.
Got home. Cleaned up DH. Set him up by the pool with a beer. Went out front and installed the reducer and added.a.shut off just above it. Now I can shut off the entire landscaping system while allowing water to the house!!! We've only been trying to get that figured out for 20 years.
I still have.about 5 things to fix ot back, but now can take my time and not lose my temper when holes get filled back in or he can't figure out how to help me tighten something. I am mentally and physically exhausted. But yesterday I made it to our neighborhood ladies gathering. New neighbor has alpacas! We got to feed them treats. For awhile I was in the middle of a huddle of 5-6 alpacas. They are so gentle and curious. It was fantastic. Even better than seeing the girlfriends.
Thanks, bhv, for a very interesting and informative post. You do lead a busy life. I wish you lived next door — I would be consulting you on how to fix house and garden problems on a regular basis.
Monday drove to Portland for his neurology appointment. It is a 3 1/2 drive but I always allow 5 hours. His appointment was at 1 - left at 8:15 arrived at 1:10. Thought since I had time would try a back road vs interstate the whole way. Mistake - got behind two slow trucks (25mph) going up a 5 mile long hill. Then got stuck in traffic on the interstate from an accident. Took 45 minutes to get through that. Thankfully was closer to the front of the line than back, plus the accident happened right where there was an exit so traffic took it going down and back up. Then hit Portland and their nightmare traffic. Checked in and said we were too late. I was ready to really read them my frustration when she checked with the clinic and they said no problem. Just before the accident we had stopped to get McD's 2 cheeseburger and fries meal combo plus a large drink for me.
Doctor appointment went fine. Feb 2016 he scored 12/30 on the MMSE. This time he only lost a point so 11/30. She did agree that even though he only went down 1 point in 1 1/2 years (average is 2 per year), she knew from what I told her the losses were a lot more than the test showed. I told her about his obsession with his glasses and suggested increasing the sertraline to see if that would help. So will try that.
We left Portland and drove to my sister's outside Madras to pick up some of our stuff that has been stored there the last 5 or so years. About 150 miles. Madras is right along the path for 100% of the Eclipse next week. As we got near Madras there were fields filled with tents and outhouses. People have either purchased all the tents or rented them, then renting them out for outrageous prices for the event. I am talking fields with 100 or more tents. There is so much going on in Central Oregon connected to the eclipse including big festivals. I was told a tour group from Japan rented out all the facilities at Kah-Ne-Tee Hot Springs for the even. Where I live we are suppose to have 95% coverage, so will be able to see most of it if I remember. My sister gave me glasses but I am considering putting my back to it, holding my kindle up and watching in it.
By the time we got to my sister's hb was so confused and remained that way all the way home the next day. We did stay the night after loading the car up. Brought my flute home but forgot the music so will have to find some maybe at the thrift store then practice up since I have not played it in years. We left my sister's around 9 got home by 2 where we went by storage to drop off stuff. I did bring my tub full of photos home to go through. Of course he has no memory of the trip but my body sure did. 650 miles in 2 days - not use to that. And when we did he always did the driving and I snoozed. Those days are long gone in the history books. :-(
Even though he was tired I sent him to day care yesterday. Today he didn't get up until 11. I had a nice quiet morning after the lawn guys went by at 7 am.
Now to finish the week off - yesterday was pay day so now to fill up the cabinets again!
Charlotte and bhv ....... I enjoy reading your stories but at my age and situation,It's so difficult for me to imagine what you are going through. When my Helen and I were at your age, we were having the greatest time of our lives. No problems, Nothing to worry about. Just having fun every day,
In spite of the dementia trip we went through, I almost feel guilty for having it so easy compared to what you are going through. From reading your stories , I'm amazed that you can write these stories and have such a cheerful attitude about the whole thing.
That is a lot of driving. I always depend on Waze when driving to help avoid accidents, etc, but it wouldn't help with the slow moving trucks.
I am glad that the doctor realized that the very limited MMSE (they should stop using it, there are better quick tests) doesn't reflect your husband's losses. Though 11/30 is a very poor score.
"My sister gave me glasses but I am considering putting my back to it, holding my kindle up and watching in it. "
People have been asking if it is safe to watch an eclipse by using the camera in a smartphone or tablet. The answer was that you might be OK, or you might not, depending on whether the camera filters out part of the spectrum. But you built in camera will probably be destroyed by a long exposure to the eclipse.
this morning while waiting for the bus I brought up something about the visit to my sister's. This is the first time I have seen him upset over not being able to remember visiting or seeing someone.so far he has never seen to be upset over not remembering but maybe that is changing. Probably a good thing we are increasing is sertraline.
bhv and Charlotte. I don't know how you do it all. You amaze me. Today I spent a half hour today digging up the roots of a sycamore tree trying to grow too near the front of the house. After going down 12 inches I gave up and will continue tomorrow. I have a hydrangea I hope to place there If I can get the sycamore root system out. But half an hour was all I was willing to give to the project today.
Lindylou = you have a lot more personal care than I do. Once you get the roots exposed there are stuff you can put on them to kill them. you could make holes in the root and fill with salt, epsom salts or vinegar (pickle juice is more acidic). It will kill the root then you can dig/chop it out.
Charlotte, you are certainly.welcome to laugh about that hole being filled up. I even had to admire it for a few minutes because it was so neatly done with a pool pole for a tool! Today I started digging for another repair but had to go to bathroom. I heard him pick up the shovel and actually dared to hope he was digging for me. NOOOO SUCH LUCK. What I did was beautifully filled in again.
George, I can't believe you thought that was cheerful. Actually, that day I was not feeling very angry. That is what passes for almost cheerful these days. But I completely lost it the next day. Every repair was more difficult than it should have been. He is still stronger, but was unable to understand which way I wanted him to turn things. Then yet another diarrhea episode. Then he kept interrupting me cause someone called on the telephone but he had no idea who or why. Then he told me how stupid I am for not understanding what he wanted. I even wrote you a funny story about it, but when I pressed "add your comments" it said I wasnt signed in again.
Lindylou, I think I started with all this manual labor about two years ago. I kept hurting my shoulder and pulling muscles. I could only dig for about half an hour, if that. And that was in cooler weather. I had to pay close attention to stay ahead of serious muscle troubles and heat exhaustion. Gradually built up to where I can work for a couple of hours now. With frequent water breaks.
big solar eclipse this morning. I have my glasses and ready. Should start in about 10 minutes hitting 95% which we get to see about 10:23.
Well, he broke his nose support on his glasses again. I think it took him about 2 weeks?
Correction: got to Walmart and looked at them - he did not break the plastic piece, he broke the little metal piece off too so they can't be fixed. Got a call into the VA optical to see when he is eligible for new glasses which is either Sept or Oct.
Sat in a cornfield all afternoon with 500 or 600 other people. (I drove one of my neighbors and her cousin.) Lined up for our Eclipse glasses, and had our umbrellas open to shield us from the sun while we waited. Wonderful experience watching the Eclipse--there really aren't any words for how totally cool it was. In northeastern Ohio we got around 80%. Well worth making the effort to access a viewing device of some kind and take the time to watch the event. The sky turned a strange yellowish-gray, and the temperature dropped, with cool breezes blowing. Seeing the black moon edging across the orange sun was just so totally cool. Wow...just wow.
Wolf, a few days ago, you asked on another thread how I was. Well, I don't know. I know the internal sutures in the rectum haven't dissolved yet (surgery was March 6) and are really painful. It feels like cat gut with knots in it and most are now embedded in the flesh. The surgeon, who is a laid-back guy with a good reputation, says, "Give them another 2 weeks to dissolve." G. P. says, "You may have to go to surgery again and have them removed." Thanks for asking.
Sorry Mary recovery has not yet been done. Since March 6 - dissolving stitches should be dissolved by now. Evidently the surgeon has no idea how uncomfortable and painful they are.
Art is waiting for the bus. Woke up confused this morning. This is seeming to be more than norm now. Oh well.
Mary, that sounds like an incredible pain in the butt. I hope everything comes out alright. I mean that everything works out in the end. Getting to the bottom of this, I hope the sutures dissolve and that your surgeon isn't just being cheeky.
Thanks, Charlotte, Wolf, got a good chuckle out of your posts. You remind me of number 2/4 brother who likes puns, too. I would copy and send Pat your comments, but I don't like to encourage him.
Saga with my daughter continues. We had been doing OK the last couple of months, then yesterday I said something she didn't like so started her tangent of profanity which I can't deal with especially the 'f' word. Told her the conversation was over because I won't put up with it. She did a few more post but didn't read them until today. She calls me petty, says I need to grow up, need to get over it (my dad use to verbally and emotionally abuse me using profanity but thankfully not the 'f' word'). He probably didn't because few used it back then and when they did they were talking about forcing a woman to have sex (his definition). She also went on again she worries about me because of my values I will be alone in my old age and no one wanting to be around me. She has made it clear that she has no desire to see her dad or me. She took off 10 years ago to Tennessee and would only come back if we would support her and her son. When I wrote back about her comment I told her I had to laugh because she has said that so many times. Said her brother has enough respect for me to refrain from using profanity when talking to me (which isn't often), she needs to do the same. Oh well. As I have said before, I don't miss her at all.
Went to the foot doctor about my big toe. I can't have surgery right now to remove the bone spur so he gave me a cortisone shot to see if that would help. I hope it helps. Went to the store afterwards and it was better but there is pain but I think it is more from the needle going in vs the arthritis and bone spur.
I too had to laugh at what Wolf said. So great when we can joke about each others pain but don't let anyone outside of our group (unless they are good friends of Mary's) try it!
Update on a bum affair: Saw my family doctor this afternoon. (The G.P. I saw last week was in a walk-in clinic because my own doctor wasn't available.) Family doctor was more encouraging: ordered something for pain right now and said the surgeon can remove them in his office — no need to go to surgery.
Charlotte, because of your values you're going to be alone in your old age??? What does that even mean? Wow! Don't worry, we won't leave you alone....:) Mary, I hope your bum will feel better - in a hurry! Having them removed doesn't sound pleasant, but can't be much worse than what you feel now, right?
Just to let ya'll know that my cancer has returned & I will be starting another round of chemotherapy on Aug. 31st. There is a free floating mass in my upper abdomen (meaning not attached to an organ), so hopefully the chemo will shrink it, or better yet eliminate it. If not, then it will be surgery. Here we go again...sigh.
So sorry to hear that Mim and so sad. I bet your hair was just starting to come back.
As you know a good friend just died from ovarian cancer after a 3 years battle with non-stop chem. I was so hopeful yours would not come back. Praying the chemo does it in this time. Unlike hers, they never saw anything until she got sick last spring and had to stop - just her numbers were up.
My values are my Christian values, but also that I don't usually swear (I will admit now when I get stressed a 'd' or 's' word slips out but I am usually alone). I will stay around conversations with an occasional word but once they use the 'f' word I am out of there. It was ingrained into me the sexual meaning plus I think when I was being raped when I was 12 the guy used it (he was my sister's boyfriend who she later married and tormented me for years). Whatever the reason, I can't stand it. I even hide jokes that people post if they have that word. It frustrates me that a joke is going along and funny then they have to put some profanity in it. I don't understand why cause IMO it doesn't add anything to the joke except for make it unfunny.
I'm with you Charlotte on the Christian values. I, like you, have the occasional slip up of the tongue when I . get angry, stressed, upset (well, that pretty much covers it, doesn't it!), but the f bomb is offensive to me (don't want to be one the always offended!). It just seems to have become a part of people's conversations. Not for me.
As for my hair, yes it has come back very curly. I keep it trimmed short & have been told how "cute" I look (well....). Now it will be back to square one.
I have to ask, did your sister stay married to that fellow? Did she know what he did? If you'd rather not answer, that's okay.