Re: [TMIC] Today's thought
Went back to work last wedensday, The company I work for does not have disability so i cut the recovery time from 6 weeks to 5 days. I feel really good and nerosurgen said the surgery had nothing to do with my TM but I am now able to put more pressue on my right leg when I use my walker! so thngs just keep getting better! Thanks for asking! -- Original message from "Pieter and Heather" : -- Kim, That is such a good saying. How are you doing since your surgery? Hugs, Heather in Calgary - Original Message - From: kimr1...@bellsouth.net To: TMIC Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 4:00 PM Subject: [TMIC] Today's thought February 9,2009 Miracles are of all sizes. And if you start believing in little miracles, you can work up to the bigger ones.
Re: [TMIC] Today's thought
Kim, That is such a good saying. How are you doing since your surgery? Hugs, Heather in Calgary - Original Message - From: kimr1...@bellsouth.net To: TMIC Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 4:00 PM Subject: [TMIC] Today's thought February 9,2009 Miracles are of all sizes. And if you start believing in little miracles, you can work up to the bigger ones.
Re: [TMIC] Be my strength
AOL EmailDearest Jude, You are in my thoughts and prayers especially as you go into this surgery. You have such a gift for saying just the right things. You should be an author. You can count on me to be there for you always. Hugs to you and to Dave as well, Heather (in Calgary) - Original Message - From: heyjude48...@aol.com To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 12:15 PM Subject: [TMIC] Be my strength Wow...how difficult it is for some of us to keep smiles on our faces and thanksgiving in our hearts. With the loss of loved ones, family strife, difficulties out of our control, lurching, falling, not walking at all and the pain and agony of TM it is a miracle to find ourselves within a group of people with arms long enough to stretch around each and every one of us. It seems as though we all believe in something larger than ourselves. We are strong in our personal faiths and each one of us has a place within this group. If even one of us leaves the List, something is lost forever. When a new member joins, something is gained. We are stronger yet. I must apologize for the times that I have been out of commission and not there for those of you that are in need of comfort. Please know that even though I may not be writing to the List, you are all, my brothers and sisters, in my Prayers...Always. Know that in your heart of hearts and may it help to know that I am still there for you. When I am at my lowest, I take such comfort in knowing that you are there for me. You hold me up, clear my head, help me with the pain while I wait for the next shot of morphine. Your love lifts me up, your Prayers and thoughts keep me strong and I know that I am not alone. Some of you call regularly, some send cards and pictures, others send flowers and a couple of you that live nearby, even visit in person. One of you stands by me Praying and Singing Hymns even when I cannot join you. Know my thanks is true. I will shortly be going through a surgery that I am not feeling comfortable about. I have thoughts of not making it through. I need you to help me. I worry about the infection spreading even stronger throughout my body and blood. I am not yet ready to die. Thank you all for being my lifeline. I am counting on you to send your Prayers up to God in Heaven in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It does not matter if you do not believe...I will believe for both of us. Thank you for your help. I am scared and need your strength. Give me only the energy you can spare. I love you. I am not going to be writing much but if you need me, let me know. Jude A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! -- A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!
[TMIC] Today's thought
February 9,2009 Miracles are of all sizes. And if you start believing in little miracles, you can work up to the bigger ones.
[TMIC] Be my strength
Jude, Please don't let the negative possibilities enter your mind!! You must know that you can do what you have to do, especially with all the positive energies we're sending your way..KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP!!! Much love, janh --- On Mon, 2/9/09, heyjude48...@aol.com wrote: Wow...how difficult it is for some of us to keep smiles on our faces and thanksgiving in our hearts. With the loss of loved ones, family strife, difficulties out of our control, lurching, falling, not walking at all and the pain and agony of TM it is a miracle to find ourselves within a group of people with arms long enough to stretch around each and every one of us. It seems as though we all believe in something larger than ourselves. We are strong in our personal faiths and each one of us has a place within this group. If even one of us leaves the List, something is lost forever. When a new member joins, something is gained. We are stronger yet. I must apologize for the times that I have been out of commission and not there for those of you that are in need of comfort. Please know that even though I may not be writing to the List, you are all, my brothers and sisters, in my Prayers...Always. Know that in your heart of hearts and may it help to know that I am still there for you. When I am at my lowest, I take such comfort in knowing that you are there for me. You hold me up, clear my head, help me with the pain while I wait for the next shot of morphine. Your love lifts me up, your Prayers and thoughts keep me strong and I know that I am not alone. Some of you call regularly, some send cards and pictures, others send flowers and a couple of you that live nearby, even visit in person. One of you stands by me Praying and Singing Hymns even when I cannot join you. Know my thanks is true. I will shortly be going through a surgery that I am not feeling comfortable about. I have thoughts of not making it through. I need you to help me. I worry about the infection spreading even stronger throughout my body and blood. I am not yet ready to die. Thank you all for being my lifeline. I am counting on you to send your Prayers up to God in Heaven in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It does not matter if you do not believe...I will believe for both of us. Thank you for your help. I am scared and need your strength. Give me only the energy you can spare. I love you. I am not going to be writing much but if you need me, let me know. Jude A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!
Re: [TMIC] Be my strength
My, how beautiful you put your heartfelt words. We are with you every way we know how, dear one, and gain strength and peace knowing God is going to take the bestest care ever of you and we are also here. With love...Jeanne ---Original Message--- From: heyjude48...@aol.com Date: 2/9/2009 1:16:20 PM To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Subject: [TMIC] Be my strength Wow...how difficult it is for some of us to keep smiles on our faces and thanksgiving in our hearts. With the loss of loved ones, family strife, difficulties out of our control, lurching, falling, not walking at all and the pain and agony of TM it is a miracle to find ourselves within a group of people with arms long enough to stretch around each and every one of us. It seems as though we all believe in something larger than ourselves. We are strong in our personal faiths and each one of us has a place within this group. If even one of us leaves the List, something is lost forever. When a new member joins, something is gained. We are stronger yet. I must apologize for the times that I have been out of commission and not there for those of you that are in need of comfort. Please know that even though I may not be writing to the List, you are all, my brothers and sisters, in my Prayers...Always. Know that in your heart of hearts and may it help to know that I am still there for you. When I am at my lowest, I take such comfort in knowing that you are there for me. You hold me up, clear my head, help me with the pain while I wait for the next shot of morphine. Your love lifts me up, your Prayers and thoughts keep me strong and I know that I am not alone. Some of you call regularly, some send cards and pictures, others send flowers and a couple of you that live nearby, even visit in person. One of you stands by me Praying and Singing Hymns even when I cannot join you. Know my thanks is true. I will shortly be going through a surgery that I am not feeling comfortable about. I have thoughts of not making it through. I need you to help me. I worry about the infection spreading even stronger throughout my body and blood. I am not yet ready to die. Thank you all for being my lifeline. I am counting on you to send your Prayers up to God in Heaven in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It does not matter if you do not believe...I will believe for both of us. Thank you for your help. I am scared and need your strength. Give me only the energy you can spare. I love you. I am not going to be writing much but if you need me, let me know. Jude A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! <>
[TMIC] Be my strength
Wow...how difficult it is for some of us to keep smiles on our faces and thanksgiving in our hearts. With the loss of loved ones, family strife, difficulties out of our control, lurching, falling, not walking at all and the pain and agony of TM it is a miracle to find ourselves within a group of people with arms long enough to stretch around each and every one of us. It seems as though we all believe in something larger than ourselves. We are strong in our personal faiths and each one of us has a place within this group. If even one of us leaves the List, something is lost forever. When a new member joins, something is gained. We are stronger yet. I must apologize for the times that I have been out of commission and not there for those of you that are in need of comfort. Please know that even though I may not be writing to the List, you are all, my brothers and sisters, in my Prayers...Always. Know that in your heart of hearts and may it help to know that I am still there for you. When I am at my lowest, I take such comfort in knowing that you are there for me. You hold me up, clear my head, help me with the pain while I wait for the next shot of morphine. Your love lifts me up, your Prayers and thoughts keep me strong and I know that I am not alone. Some of you call regularly, some send cards and pictures, others send flowers and a couple of you that live nearby, even visit in person. One of you stands by me Praying and Singing Hymns even when I cannot join you. Know my thanks is true. I will shortly be going through a surgery that I am not feeling comfortable about. I have thoughts of not making it through. I need you to help me. I worry about the infection spreading even stronger throughout my body and blood. I am not yet ready to die. Thank you all for being my lifeline. I am counting on you to send your Prayers up to God in Heaven in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It does not matter if you do not believe...I will believe for both of us. Thank you for your help. I am scared and need your strength. Give me only the energy you can spare. I love you. I am not going to be writing much but if you need me, let me know. Jude A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. _See yours in just 2 easy steps!_ (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/10075x1218550342x1201216770/aol?redir=http://www .freecreditreport.com/pm/default.asp x?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=febemailfooterNO62) **A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/10075x1218550342x1201216770/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=fe bemailfooterNO62)
Re: [TMIC] hello and sorry
Dear Bernie, We are blessed to hear from you anytime you have the opportunity and feel up to it. You and your sister are really going through the mill and my Prayers are many and straight to Heaven for you both. I am supposed to be having mandatory surgery on the decubitus ulcers on my ischeal bones. Parts of the bone must be cut out as it is infected. I am running into a problem because I am not supposed to sit...no sitting at all, Dr.'s orders. I have been traveling by ambulance for a month or so, and although the insurance company has up until now, covered the cost, they are saying they will no longer pay for my rides to and from medical appointments. The cost for the ambulance is $178.00 each way. Sorry, but we simply do not have that kind of money. I don't know how I am going to travel. It hurts like hell to sit and I will be doing more damage if I ride around on my behind in the wheelchair. As soon as they get back from lunch, I will be on the phone with the Dr's office trying to figure something out. So goes the life of a person with TM. I too, love everyone on the list. And, the many special people I am close to, know who they are. Thank you for the support, love and Prayers. I am proof that Prayer works, so please keep it up. Pray that the infection does not come back, that I will be strong enough for surgery and that I will recover quickly and without too much pain. Those of you that know me well, know how deeply I believe in the Power of Prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Please keep me on your Prayer lists in Church, Prayer groups and in your daily Prayers. I will do the same for you. Bernie, you are number 1 on my list. We have known one another a long time now. This is my 8th year on the List. I am so thankful for every one of those years despite the pain and agony and complications with TM. I love you and the whole body of people who make up the List. Love, Jude In a message dated 2/9/2009 11:38:29 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, bpe...@austin.rr.com writes: My Dear TM Friends and Family, It has been a very long time since I have posted to the group; these past months or almost two years now have been awful to say the least. Rick, I am not sure what happened to your son, but I gather he has passed on, so I send you and your family my sincere condolences for your loss. But as was said by others, we may be 'strangers' in many ways, but we are also a very large family and we feel each others pains and sorrows. To Jude, my dear friend... I have caught a few excerpts of what has been happening with you. And I hope you know you are in my prayers, as well as Rick and all others. You have the spirit of a warrior to keep on going as you have been. As for me, some of you know I had a very difficult time in my recovery from my last surgery in March of '08. To keep the facts short, what happened was this: when the doctor went in to replace the pump, he found the doctor who put in the previous pump had used a sort of 'mesh' bag to suture it in place. Well my body apparently did not like this bag (it was the first time it was used in me) and it attacked the bag and my body and ended up making a ball of intertwined scar tissue the size of a grapefruit in my left lower abdomen. He said it was a real mess, and the normal 2 hour surgery took almost 9 hours to clean up most of the mess. I still have some scar tissue and parts of the old catheter left in me, but he said if he had tried to take it all, he would have had to nearly gut me. And it took over 4 months just to get sort of back to my normal routine, I am still not back to what would be normal function for me. I now also have new neurological problems, they are not sure why, but it all started after this last surgery. It is possible that some of the scar tissue followed the catheter into the spinal column, there is no way to check for it with an MRI as I have the metal infusion pump in me; the MRI would rip it out of me. I have new areas of pain in my lower back, I am having spasticity and nerve misfiring in my arms and neck now; they don't think it is TM, more likely MS as sometimes happens with TM patients. So that is just a short burst about me. As many of you know, my oldest daughter has been living with me now to help take care of me, but since then she had a massive thyroid storm January '07, had it surgically removed May of '07 and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Graves Disease. So now she has Hypoparathyroidism and Hypocalcimia. She also started having Grand Mal seizures, they do not know what triggered it, but they put her on Dilantin and they are under control right now. Since then she has gotten progressively worse with wicked non stop migraines and other neurological symptoms; they are searching for the cause, but because we are on government health prog
[TMIC] ** Corrections **
My daughter (aka walking encyclopedia smartass brittanica) pointed out to me that there were a few errors in what I posted, so here is the same post with the corrections made. Thanks and love to all. My Dear TM Friends and Family, It has been a very long time since I have posted to the group; these past months or almost two years now have been awful to say the least. Rick, I am not sure what happened to your son, but I gather he has passed on, so I send you and your family my sincere condolences for your loss. But as was said by others, we may be 'strangers' in many ways, but we are also a very large family and we feel each others pains and sorrows. To Jude, my dear friend... I have caught a few excerpts of what has been happening with you. And I hope you know you are in my prayers, as well as Rick and all others. You have the spirit of a warrior to keep on going as you have been. As for me, some of you know I had a very difficult time in my recovery from my last surgery in March of '08. To keep the facts short, what happened was this: when the doctor went in to replace the pump, he found the doctor who put in the previous pump had used a sort of 'mesh' bag to suture it in place. Well my body apparently did not like this bag (it was the first time it was used in me) and it attacked the bag and my body and ended up making a ball of intertwined scar tissue the size of a grapefruit in my left lower abdomen. He said it was a real mess, and the normal 2 hour surgery took almost 9 hours to clean up most of the mess. I still have some scar tissue and parts of the old catheter left in me, but he said if he had tried to take it all, he would have had to nearly gut me. And it took over 4 months just to get sort of back to my normal routine, I am still not back to what would be normal function for me. I now also have new neurological problems, they are not sure why, but it all started after this last surgery. It is possible that some of the scar tissue followed the catheter into the spinal column, there is no way to check for it with an MRI as I have the metal infusion pump in me; the MRI would rip it out of me. I have new areas of pain in my lower back, I am having spasticity and nerve misfiring in my arms and neck now; they don't think it is TM, more likely MS as sometimes happens with TM patients. So that is just a short burst about me. As many of you know, my oldest daughter has been living with me now to help take care of me, but since then she had a massive thyroid storm January '07, had it surgically removed May of '07 and was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and Grave's Disease. So now she has Hypoparathyroidism and Hypocalcaemia. She also started having Grand Mal seizures, they do not know what triggered it, but they put her on Dilantin and they are under control right now. Since then she has gotten progressively worse with wicked non stop migraines and other neurological symptoms; they are searching for the cause, but because we are on government health programs, it takes forever to get appointments. The latest idea is that she might have something called PTC or pseudo-tumor cerebri. It is not a tumor, but the brain acts like there is a tumor and the spinal fluid levels increase causing great pressure around the brain, thus the headaches and other symptoms. There is no cure, but there are medicines used to diminish the production of excess CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and if all else fails, a stop gap surgery where they place a shunt at the point where the brain and spinal cord meet. When the fluid reaches a certain pressure, the shunt opens and releases excess fluid into the body where it is disposed of through other body functions. She has applied for SS assistance and was turned down (of course), we are trying to live on just my income, and she hates feeling useless. She wants to get back to work and school so bad, but she barely has enough energy to get through a day just around the house. My youngest daughter has been treated for Endometriosis for about 8 years now, has had numerous surgeries to remove scarring and lesions, but the pain got no better. So they removed her right ovary last year in hopes that would solve it, but as you can guess, it did nothing, and she still suffers from severe pain and cramping, and all the other things associated with that disease. Thank God my ex wife - (kids mom) has had no serious repercussions since her bout with breast cancer and a radical mastectomy, and the removal of most of her right lung (due to the spread of the cancer). She just has to take it easy as she gets short of breath really easy, but otherwise she seems to be doing relatively well. So we have one thing to feel good about, and thank God she is blessed with no more cancer right now. Every one of us in my family, including my brother and his kids and my sister have autoimmune disorders. I say there is a genetic link to these
[TMIC] Hello and sorry
Our dear, dear Bernie, Even if you never have the strength to write to us, you will always be right in the middle of every one of us and we will take care of you and love you as much as we possible can in our own special way. You may add all of your family to our list because they are in need of a love and caring and prayers that this group seems so capable of giving. Always know that we are as close as your computer whether you are able to answer or not and please do not feel sorry if you just can't do it? You and yours will be in the midst of our thoughts and prayers and please pass that on to them, would you? We love you and care for you all..Jeanne ---Original Message--- From: Bernard Pelow Date: 2/9/2009 10:38:13 AM To: TMIC Subject: [TMIC] hello and sorry My Dear TM Friends and Family, It has been a very long time since I have posted to the group; these past months or almost two years now have been awful to say the least. Rick, I am not sure what happened to your son, but I gather he has passed on, so I send you and your family my sincere condolences for your loss. But as was said by others, we may be 'strangers' in many ways, but we are also a very large family and we feel each others pains and sorrows. To Jude, my dear friend... I have caught a few excerpts of what has been happening with you. And I hope you know you are in my prayers, as well as Rick and all others. You have the spirit of a warrior to keep on going as you have been. As for me, some of you know I had a very difficult time in my recovery from my last surgery in March of '08. To keep the facts short, what happened was this: when the doctor went in to replace the pump, he found the doctor who put in the previous pump had used a sort of 'mesh' bag to suture it in place. Well my body apparently did not like this bag (it was the first time it was used in me) and it attacked the bag and my body and ended up making a ball of intertwined scar tissue the size of a grapefruit in my left lower abdomen. He said it was a real mess, and the normal 2 hour surgery took almost 9 hours to clean up most of the mess. I still have some scar tissue and parts of the old catheter left in me, but he said if he had tried to take it all, he would have had to nearly gut me. And it took over 4 months just to get sort of back to my normal routine, I am still not back to what would be normal function for me. I now also have new neurological problems, they are not sure why, but it all started after this last surgery. It is possible that some of the scar tissue followed the catheter into the spinal column, there is no way to check for it with an MRI as I have the metal infusion pump in me; the MRI would rip it out of me. I have new areas of pain in my lower back, I am having spasticity and nerve misfiring in my arms and neck now; they don't think it is TM, more likely MS as sometimes happens with TM patients. So that is just a short burst about me. As many of you know, my oldest daughter has been living with me now to help take care of me, but since then she had a massive thyroid storm January '07, had it surgically removed May of '07 and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Graves Disease. So now she has Hypoparathyroidism and Hypocalcimia. She also started having Grand Mal seizures, they do not know what triggered it, but they put her on Dilantin and they are under control right now. Since then she has gotten progressively worse with wicked non stop migraines and other neurological symptoms; they are searching for the cause, but because we are on government health programs, it takes forever to get appointments. The latest idea is that she might have something called PTC or pseudo-tumor cerebri. It is not a tumor, but the brain acts like there is a tumor and the spinal fluid levels increase causing great pressure around the brain, thus the headaches and other symptoms. There is no cure, just a stop gap surgery where they place a shunt at the point where the brain and spinal cord meet. When the fluid reaches a certain pressure, the shunt opens and releases excess fluid into the body where it is disposed of through other body functions. She has applied for SS assistance and was turned down (of course), we are trying to live on just my income, and she hates feeling useless. She wants to get back to work and school so bad, but she barely has enough energy to get through a day just around the house. My youngest daughter has been treated for Endometriosis for about 8 years now, has had numerous surgeries to remove scarring and lesions, but the pain got no better. So they removed her right ovary last year in hopes that would solve it, but as you can guess, it did nothing, and she still suffers from severe pain and cramping, and all the other things associated with that disease. Thank God my ex wife - (kids mom) has had no serious repercussions since her bout with breast cancer and a radical mastectomy, lung cancer and the removal
[TMIC] hello and sorry
Bernie, What a tale you had to share! Please know that we're here for you and you and your family will be in our prayers. Please keep us updated!! janh My Dear TM Friends and Family, It has been a very long time since I have posted to the group; these past months or almost two years now have been awful to say the least. Rick, I am not sure what happened to your son, but I gather he has passed on, so I send you and your family my sincere condolences for your loss. But as was said by others, we may be 'strangers' in many ways, but we are also a very large family and we feel each others pains and sorrows. To Jude, my dear friend... I have caught a few excerpts of what has been happening with you. And I hope you know you are in my prayers, as well as Rick and all others. You have the spirit of a warrior to keep on going as you have been. As for me, some of you know I had a very difficult time in my recovery from my last surgery in March of '08. To keep the facts short, what happened was this: when the doctor went in to replace the pump, he found the doctor who put in the previous pump had used a sort of 'mesh' bag to suture it in place. Well my body apparently did not like this bag (it was the first time it was used in me) and it attacked the bag and my body and ended up making a ball of intertwined scar tissue the size of a grapefruit in my left lower abdomen. He said it was a real mess, and the normal 2 hour surgery took almost 9 hours to clean up most of the mess. I still have some scar tissue and parts of the old catheter left in me, but he said if he had tried to take it all, he would have had to nearly gut me. And it took over 4 months just to get sort of back to my normal routine, I am still not back to what would be normal function for me. I now also have new neurological problems, they are not sure why, but it all started after this last surgery. It is possible that some of the scar tissue followed the catheter into the spinal column, there is no way to check for it with an MRI as I have the metal infusion pump in me; the MRI would rip it out of me. I have new areas of pain in my lower back, I am having spasticity and nerve misfiring in my arms and neck now; they don't think it is TM, more likely MS as sometimes happens with TM patients. So that is just a short burst about me. As many of you know, my oldest daughter has been living with me now to help take care of me, but since then she had a massive thyroid storm January '07, had it surgically removed May of '07 and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Graves Disease. So now she has Hypoparathyroidism and Hypocalcimia. She also started having Grand Mal seizures, they do not know what triggered it, but they put her on Dilantin and they are under control right now. Since then she has gotten progressively worse with wicked non stop migraines and other neurological symptoms; they are searching for the cause, but because we are on government health programs, it takes forever to get appointments. The latest idea is that she might have something called PTC or pseudo-tumor cerebri. It is not a tumor, but the brain acts like there is a tumor and the spinal fluid levels increase causing great pressure around the brain, thus the headaches and other symptoms. There is no cure, just a stop gap surgery where they place a shunt at the point where the brain and spinal cord meet. When the fluid reaches a certain pressure, the shunt opens and releases excess fluid into the body where it is disposed of through other body functions. She has applied for SS assistance and was turned down (of course), we are trying to live on just my income, and she hates feeling useless. She wants to get back to work and school so bad, but she barely has enough energy to get through a day just around the house. My youngest daughter has been treated for Endometriosis for about 8 years now, has had numerous surgeries to remove scarring and lesions, but the pain got no better. So they removed her right ovary last year in hopes that would solve it, but as you can guess, it did nothing, and she still suffers from severe pain and cramping, and all the other things associated with that disease. Thank God my ex wife - (kids mom) has had no serious repercussions since her bout with breast cancer and a radical mastectomy, lung cancer and the removal of most of her right lung. She just has to take it easy as she gets short of breath really easy, but otherwise she seems to be doing relatively well. So we have one thing to feel good about, and thank God she is blessed with no more cancer right now. Every one of us in my family, including my brother and his kids and my sister have autoimmune disorders. I say there is a genetic link to these diseases, but doctors say no. So either we are the unluckiest family in the world, or there is a link, they just haven't searched hard enough for it. So all in all, I do n
[TMIC] hello and sorry
My Dear TM Friends and Family, It has been a very long time since I have posted to the group; these past months or almost two years now have been awful to say the least. Rick, I am not sure what happened to your son, but I gather he has passed on, so I send you and your family my sincere condolences for your loss. But as was said by others, we may be 'strangers' in many ways, but we are also a very large family and we feel each others pains and sorrows. To Jude, my dear friend... I have caught a few excerpts of what has been happening with you. And I hope you know you are in my prayers, as well as Rick and all others. You have the spirit of a warrior to keep on going as you have been. As for me, some of you know I had a very difficult time in my recovery from my last surgery in March of '08. To keep the facts short, what happened was this: when the doctor went in to replace the pump, he found the doctor who put in the previous pump had used a sort of 'mesh' bag to suture it in place. Well my body apparently did not like this bag (it was the first time it was used in me) and it attacked the bag and my body and ended up making a ball of intertwined scar tissue the size of a grapefruit in my left lower abdomen. He said it was a real mess, and the normal 2 hour surgery took almost 9 hours to clean up most of the mess. I still have some scar tissue and parts of the old catheter left in me, but he said if he had tried to take it all, he would have had to nearly gut me. And it took over 4 months just to get sort of back to my normal routine, I am still not back to what would be normal function for me. I now also have new neurological problems, they are not sure why, but it all started after this last surgery. It is possible that some of the scar tissue followed the catheter into the spinal column, there is no way to check for it with an MRI as I have the metal infusion pump in me; the MRI would rip it out of me. I have new areas of pain in my lower back, I am having spasticity and nerve misfiring in my arms and neck now; they don't think it is TM, more likely MS as sometimes happens with TM patients. So that is just a short burst about me. As many of you know, my oldest daughter has been living with me now to help take care of me, but since then she had a massive thyroid storm January '07, had it surgically removed May of '07 and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Graves Disease. So now she has Hypoparathyroidism and Hypocalcimia. She also started having Grand Mal seizures, they do not know what triggered it, but they put her on Dilantin and they are under control right now. Since then she has gotten progressively worse with wicked non stop migraines and other neurological symptoms; they are searching for the cause, but because we are on government health programs, it takes forever to get appointments. The latest idea is that she might have something called PTC or pseudo-tumor cerebri. It is not a tumor, but the brain acts like there is a tumor and the spinal fluid levels increase causing great pressure around the brain, thus the headaches and other symptoms. There is no cure, just a stop gap surgery where they place a shunt at the point where the brain and spinal cord meet. When the fluid reaches a certain pressure, the shunt opens and releases excess fluid into the body where it is disposed of through other body functions. She has applied for SS assistance and was turned down (of course), we are trying to live on just my income, and she hates feeling useless. She wants to get back to work and school so bad, but she barely has enough energy to get through a day just around the house. My youngest daughter has been treated for Endometriosis for about 8 years now, has had numerous surgeries to remove scarring and lesions, but the pain got no better. So they removed her right ovary last year in hopes that would solve it, but as you can guess, it did nothing, and she still suffers from severe pain and cramping, and all the other things associated with that disease. Thank God my ex wife - (kids mom) has had no serious repercussions since her bout with breast cancer and a radical mastectomy, lung cancer and the removal of most of her right lung. She just has to take it easy as she gets short of breath really easy, but otherwise she seems to be doing relatively well. So we have one thing to feel good about, and thank God she is blessed with no more cancer right now. Every one of us in my family, including my brother and his kids and my sister have autoimmune disorders. I say there is a genetic link to these diseases, but doctors say no. So either we are the unluckiest family in the world, or there is a link, they just haven't searched hard enough for it. So all in all, I do not get on the computer very often anymore. But that does not mean I am not thinking of you, I check emails every few days; but generally have no energy or am in in
[TMIC] THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU CAN"T LIGHT A CANDLE TO SHOW OTHERS THE WAY WITHOUT FEELING THE WARMTH OF THAT BRIGHT LITTLE RAY!! AND YOU CAN"T GIVE A ROSE ALL FRAGRANCE WITH DEW WITHOUT SOME OF ITS SWEETNESS REMAINING ON YOU!! GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GREAT DAY! TIAD PAM!!! **Who's never won? Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?ncid=emlcntusmusi0003)
