azrabbit

Stroke Survivor - female
  • Posts

    212
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Blog Comments posted by azrabbit

  1. Ruth, My heart just aches for you and all you have dealt with recently. I don't have advice, except to try and find some time to recharge - like Sue said, this is the time to take people up on offers. If the don't offer, then ASK. I wish I could send you a day of rest in a bottle that you could take as easy as a pill. However, if vitural hugs help, then I am hugging you right now.

  2. Thanks to you all for reminding me how special you all are - for keeping us in your thoughts!

     

    Denny is off on a bike ride as I type. It is starting to get so hot here, he has to get in all the rides he can. I am thinking about buying him a Wii so he has something to do when it goes over 100 here in Scottsdale.

  3. HI Kim,

    I have been reading all your blogs. I am sorry you have to wait out this year's ride, but don't toss in the towel on riding all together. Maybe you need to consider the type of bike you are riding if it is irritating you shoulder.

     

    What kind of bike do you ride? Is it a regular up right or a recumbent? My husband was an avid cyclist before his stroke and is now getting back into riding. It takes a long time to build up the stamina you once had, but it will come back. We used to ride in the MS150 every year. We haven't tride it since the stroke, though he has hopes of doing it one of these years.

     

    Keep blogging and keep us posted on your riding.

  4. Great story Phyllis. Denny has several different canes he likes to use, depending on where we are going. But his two favorites are 1) his walking stick that he used to use when he was a guide at the Grand Canyon. 2) He has one that is a rattlesnake skin wrapped around a cane, complete with head and fangs! Needless to say he gets a lot of comments on that one.

  5. Thanks Asha!

     

    Jean, I do have trouble saying no. As far as the car goes - I have always wanted to make the switch to hybrid. When Ford offered me 120% of book for my trade in, I decided, what the heck! It is hard to say "no" to anything that keeps him interested and active and enjoying life. The problem is he doesn't have a good concept of money. I am thinking of piling up $20 bills and then trying to give him a visual of how much $100 dollars is.

     

    Great idea on the signature for the blog. If only I could write like you!!!

  6. Yep - he is really something. Most days he just about drives me nuts, but we seem to figure it out. I have found with him, communication is more than just words. You have to watch for each gesture, sound effect, letters he writes in the air - backwards I might add so that when you look at the letter he is writing, you can read it as if you were watching it be typed on a screen - and pictures he draws. If you put it all together and know him like I do, you can pretty much figure out what he is trying to say.

     

    Sometimes it amazes me the words he is able to speak. Yesterday we were enjoying some tea and warm banana muffins I had made on the patio. The dogs were doing their very best to beg. All of a sudden Denny comes up with "frenzy." Took me a bit, but I finally figured out he was going for "feeding frenzy" in describing the dogs.

     

    Thanks Donna and Sue for the warm comments. Sue, you and Ray are in my thoughts a bunch lately.

  7. Sue - I love your blogs. You are so honest and open. You really help me examine my priorities. I love the picture in my mind of you wiggling your toes in the red dirt. I remembered how much I used to love to walk in mud as a child and feel it squeeze up between my toes. Then I got to remembering the mud baths Denny took me to once when we were traveling. It was a surprize and so relaxing. Then when you talked of Ray's twinkle toes I remember how much Denny and I loved to dance together.

     

    Thank you for taking me back to some memories of my past that warmed my heart.

    Guest

    lalalala!

    When is the talent show??? What are you gonna wear? Do you have a tape for back up - come on, we all want more details....

     

    Do you need me to pick your Mom up and bring her so she can come too? If my schedule is open, I would be happy to drive her and cheer you on too!

     

     

  8. Sue, I am sending you a big hug! It has to be so hard to deal with facing all of this so soon after getting Ray home. Please be gentle with yourself. NO caregiver is perfect, we all lose our patience and get angry and tired. I had to care for my Dad who was a survivor and then developed dementia. It was very hard after a while and like you, I had to make the decision to have him cared for at a group home. You have to do what is best for you - deep in your heart you will know what that is. Your emotions will try and get you to second guess your decisions. Your children and grandchildren need you around for a long while and you can't let yourself get so run down that your health is jeopardized.

     

    I wish I could come and give you a break for a few hours!! :console:

  9. Thanks Bonnie and Jean. Bonnie, we have biked in Bellingham and loved it there. I am not sure if we are going to have the bike this summer because I haven't figured out how to bring it along. Because it is a side by side tandem, it doesn't fit on regular bike rikes and it is too heavy and awkward for me to get up on a roof rack. We are looking into a different bike for Denny that would be easier for me to put on a rack.

  10. It was great to "meet" you the other night in the chat! Your story is a great story of recovery. Sounds like you have some really great people who care a lot about you. What a wonderful gift that is!

     

    Keep posting!

  11. Wow, thanks for saying exactly what I have been feeling. Like you, I have this uncontrollable urge to tell people that everything is alright even if it isn't. Why is it that we do that? Is it because we were raised to be people pleasures?

     

    I sometimes think it is because if I let people know I need help, then their involvement will just turn into more work for me because I will need to coordinate their tasks. Easier to do it myself than as for help.

     

    When it comes to money, I just get so tired of being needy!

     

    Hope you week goes well...and you find a moments peace.

  12. Kimmie - great news about your kids! You just go ahead and be proud - that is what a Mom is supposed to do.

     

    Glad the new AFO is working out for you. We are still trying to find just the right device for Denny.

     

    Sorry about the bad news and the added cost. Maybe your attorney can work out some kind of discount or payment plan for you. Doesn't hurt to ask.

  13. That is just great news Betty Jean! Nothing like kids to liven up your day. My son-in-law owns a helicopter school in WA and wants one of those radio controlled helicopters. For a joke I bought him one of those small wood models from the hobby shop!

     

    I am laughing out loud thinking about the boxers! What a fun site that must have been. Laughter is good for the soul isn't it?