I also wanted to share with you all that my dad is going through some health issues right now. Some scary ones. He has already been diagnosed with COPD 2-3 years ago and a recent chest scan showed 2 suspicious spots on his lungs....one new and one that they had noted before but it has grown. Last week my Dad had a biopsy on the new one. He had to be put to sleep and it was done through endoscopy within his bronchial tubes. He is so blessed to have a negative biopsy and no cancer found in the fir
Time has passed well slowly or is it rather quickly...hmm times are confusing these days. I suppose that question depends on the day. It's not hard to recognize that the world is a bit out of kilter this year and I hope going forward we as people take the best we can from it. Finding peace has never started out being calm most times. Change is hard but it is a good teacher or reminder. I suppose as for me, I am oddly calm inside...watching the world around me in a kind of slow motion...observing
I can't believe April is here already. 🌷 Spring Fever has spun its' spell. Flowers are popping up to smile at the sun and trees are budding and flowering preparing to burst into life. I really like this time of year... It's a time of new and fresh... New beginnings and new adventures. The drab of winter is replaced over a few weeks with color, warmth, joyful beginnings, everyone is looking up to the sunshine even the flowers, inner hopes start to infuse many... A virtual treat for the senses. Mo
So many things have happened in the past 6 months. Difficult things and good things. Where do I begin. It's weird I can't remember a clear time line but just facts. Let's just see how much I recall. I was diagnosed with Diabetes the first of January...not 6 months ago but it is never ending. Good news is that I first was testing 6.9 on my A1C and I think in August at my 2nd class we checked again and it was 6.3! This was a really positive direction for my health. I cheat though...a lot. Will it
The last 2-2.5 months I've been dealing with a throat issue. Chronic hoarseness, ear pain, and my throat stinging. A couple of weeks ago I went to an ENT who looked in my throat and at my vocal cords. He seems to think my vocal cords have thrush from my asthma inhaler so he had me take a 2 week course of Diflucan. A month ago I filled out paperwork for financial assistance at Vanderbilt for this procedure and any ongoing appointments or therapy I may have. I got the letter today telling me I hav
What can I say... So far 2020 has been earth shaking. Let me warn you before reading: these are my thoughts, my experiences, my worries and where I find my mind these days. This is not meant to add to the fear and chaos or to bring a negative light toward anyone. My words come from me and if you are sensitive to hearing someone's honest, transparent and straightforward thoughts then this may not be for you.
I try to remember January. I don't remember what day I heard the news of a n
My first step here will be a very happy hello. :happydance: I had my stroke last year the day after 4th of July. Bilateral Cerebellar Infarct. I was 43, just helped close down all the stores in our city (which were the only ones in the state) where I had been working for close to 10 years. I was the bread winner as you call it in my home. Active, feeling the best about myself probably ever, looking forward to a future that I felt could only get better. Prime of my life I guess. Even with past
*First let me put a disclaimer here. I am going to talk about faith (religion if I may) as it applies to me. I never want to make another feel that I am weighing their faith or lack of in any way than my own. I believe in acceptance and only strength in whatever faith you may practice. I love you just the same. If this will cause a negative feeling in someone please feel free to click out now. I would never want that.
I made a blog post yesterday that stated God had given me a gift. Just so
It's been quite a while friends...since I have blogged. It's been a tough 6 months and I have struggled with depression and increased anxiety. I am very hopeful...little by little I feel better and I keep busy. Recently, I had an issue with a charge from Microsoft so I called and spoke with a gentleman who transferred me to Payments and billing. I talked to a nice young man named David. He had a pleasant accent, maybe British. I set about explaining my issue...this can be difficult for me and th
I did something I wish I had not yesterday. It started with a Dr. appointment to an ENT due to chronic hoarseness, ear, and throat pain I have been having since January. Seems my asthma inhaler (has a steroid in it) has caused a yeast infection(thrush) on my vocal cords and folds and will probably only need a script for Diflucan. Then I got in my car and drove to where I used to live last year. I got out of the car...knocked on the door...and Adrian answered and invited me in. For those of you t
Things have been a little different lately for all 3 of us here (my dad, my step mom, and me). Some good news is that my dad has finished his course of radiation and chemotherapy. It is now a waiting game...probably another 3 weeks until he has the all important PET scan to see if it did it's job. My dad worries...this waiting is hard for him. He tries to put a mask on but it falls off at times...he gets grumpy, angry about waiting, impatient, and well down right mean at times.
My stepmom
Has anyone said to you, "It's all about you.". I have had this statement said to me numerous times. Today I have been thinking...Do I make others feel this way? Am I egocentric? Do I lack empathy or maybe sympathy? You get the picture I'm sure. There are things I have noticed about myself since the stroke: I talk a lot about myself and the stroke or stroke effects left over. I get on my own nerves sometimes. There are certain things that I feel indifferent about. My stepmom hoards (cleanly but h
I'm sitting here in my living room listening to the birds chirping as the sun rises (its 5:30am). This blog is me getting stuff off my chest. I have to release this "stuff" sometimes... I'm not looking for answers, reactions or sympathy BTW I just hold a lot of stuff in. Also, I don't have a lot of people I can let it all out to (for lack of the ability to get it out or maybe lack of motivation and I get on my own nerves so I can only imagine that I do the same for others and I don't want that).
I hate that I can leave a positive post one day and then am miserable and need to let it out (though it may be negative) the next day. My moods and emotions go from one extreme to the other even though I see my Psychiatrist every 2 months and am medicated with what has worked the best so far. I still can't control it at times. Ughhhh anger/frustration/depression/feeling alone/feeling like nobody...and I think to myself why do I let something so simple so nothing sometimes to affect me. It just d
I've been visiting my sister since July 4 and I've really enjoyed it. Today is Saturday and I will be going home at some point today...it's about an hour away. My brother-in-law has 4 children and they are here every other week...this week. I really enjoy being around them but they all can be disrespectful and mouthy to their dad and my sister so I know at times things get a little rowdy. Today is a day that they all use to clean and work on projects. The girls (I keep them every other week) wer
It has been a week since my daughter moved out of our house and into her own apartment. I never knew it would be so difficult LOL.
First she was having a lot of anxiety about packing and I helped her but she avoided this right until the last moment. This meant spending a long night up really late packing boxes that could have been done much earlier but we did it. It then meant the next morning we woke early and she went and got her keys and officially signed the lease and actually found out
Its been about 3 weeks since my hysterectomy and I am feeling better and better. This time of year is hard for me though both before and after the stroke. 1st it's never been the same since my divorce and 2nd I had my first super set back just a couple of weeks before Christmas when I had a mega panic attack and had psychogenic stuttering constant for 1 and half months last year. This year it's all about the finances...barely making ends meet is hard during a holiday. Well I have decided I have
Part of my problems after stroke are psychiatric in nature. It really upsets me to be so strongly affected by every little thing. It is an emotional rollercoaster even without any physical stuff at a moment. As I said before I haven't been feeling well and have been really tired on top of post stroke fatigue that never went away. My dad woke me up screaming this morning around 6am that my cat had puked a lake on the floor and I had better get up and clean it up. I told him I would clean it but w
It's been close to 3 long years since I began my application for disability. I never wanted to apply. I never wanted to be in a situation where I was in need of such a thing. It's taken a long time to accept. So I have lived with my dad, depended on my mom, got transportation from my sister. I have been on the roller coaster of after stroke effects, dealing with my family's judgements about these and after seeing my Psychiatrist for over 3 years every other month hearing him say you won't be abl
The past few days have been tense. My Dad and my Stepmom hold secrets. During this time when we all feel so lost and vulnerable and want/need transparency. When my Dad was in the hospital (Vanderbilt) and was told for the 2nd time "You have cancer" we were all (including all the Specialist and Doctors) so happy to hear "It's not metastasized lung cancer... It is altogether a different cancer". That is HOPE. Just that knowledge. My sister was at the hospital a lot. Not me, I was sick with strep t
FIRE
Peering out from the darkness, the light grows stronger.
Reaching out to feel it's warmth.
My skin begins to glow.
First, my my arm like a golden diamond with a fire in it's belly.
The velvet light and warmth creeps further up my body until it envelopes all of me.
I feel weightless, like my body is lifted by the sun's arms.
Lifting my head, I drink in all of it's energy.
I can take a clear deep b
Here's a poem I wrote yesterday....sorry if it it long.
Do You See Me?
Do you see me. Look here...right here. I look to your eyes searching for an answer. You look at me, or is it through me. I feel like a ghost, unseen yet in your path. Then, it happens...you walk past me or is it through me. Either way, I am but a shadow of who I used to be. Behind you I follow and tell you I'm fine. Just a lingering dark shadow behind your lit face. It's the light, then you, then me. If you on
This week was my uncle's funeral. He passed Saturday after a year long fight with Cancer and had his service and burial on Tuesday. It was a very good service and focused on my Uncle Darrell's life instead of death. The casket was closed and a beautiful afghan rested on top with some his happiest pictures blown up and placed right into the fabric of the afghan. We actually heard many sounds of laughter as people talked about Darrell because he was always smiling and teasing about something. Many
After my stuttering incident, I noticed that I had slipped backwards quite a bit. My emotions were all over the place and I honestly stayed away from family and friends for quite a while. During the beginning of the stuttering I had postponed my therapy, PT and Speech. I know I definitely should have stayed in speech it probably would have helped but I felt so out of control every second of the day that I had huge anxiety from it. Everything that I had been working on slowly slipped backwards. M
